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Jewel's fourth heads for the mainstream. It's no place for an Alaskan.
Renowned for her camper-van days, Jewel still goes backpacking in mountain wildernesses (and she hasn't
unsnaggled her front teeth, either). But rugged self-reliance may have deserted her music. This album stumbles on the lower slopes of her ambitions. One song, The New Wild West, does take a sweeping, caustic overview of her country - "Each man for himself/A nation of civilised steeples/ And lonely people" - as cellos and strings race along and her blood is definitely up. But mostly her erratic quest for poetry lacks a passionate focus, and co-producer Dan Huff's humdrum rock inclinations are no help (his previous clients include Megadeth). Perhaps she could take fresh compass bearings from stars like Sheryl Crow, who makes true art on the main-travelled road, or Kate Bush, who just heads for the musical and emotional back country.
Phil Sutcliffe
[There's also a full page ad for This Way on page 31]
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