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Jewel
Freewheelin’ Woman
Words Matter Media
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Twenty-seven years into her recording career (and counting), very few artists have been as stylistically fearless as Jewel Kilcher. Folk-rock, adult contemporary, new wave, country and other sonic canvases have all been fair game for this musician, vocalist and songwriter. The diversity of Jewel’s output has, on occasion, invoked noticeable polarity with listeners and pundits; reactions typically range from adoration to derision. However, the eclectic arc of Jewel’s creative trek is demonstrative of a true pop genre aesthete aware of her abilities and intent despite any willful mischaracterizations of her art.
It’s within this context that both the title—Freewheelin’ Woman—and the content of Jewel’s thirteenth studio album makes perfect sense. Hosted on her own Words Matter Media imprint, Freewheelin’ Woman arrives seven years after the issuance of Picking Up The Pieces (2015) on Sugar Hill Records. Unlike that effort, or any of her previous sets, this collection is singular regarding how its material was constructed. “This is the first album I’ve written from scratch,” Jewel recently explained to Glamour. “I've always had thousands of songs in my back catalog, but I wanted every single song to be representative of who I am now and the woman I am now.”
Although the writing methodology might have changed this time around, Jewel’s incisive, earnest way with a pen is still active. All twelve entries featured on Freewheelin’ Woman offer up the varied emotional spectrum of a woman forty-seven years young. Whether it’s the unbothered sauciness of the album opener “Long Way ‘Round” or the lovable, overt cheer of “Dance Sing Laugh Love,” Jewel is operating from a place of mindfulness and joy. Even when she skirts a more ruminative air, like on the plaintive downtempo “Grateful,” Jewel does not sit in her pain, she deconstructs and processes it into song form. Better still, while drawing from her own life to fuel these pieces, Jewel makes sure to engage in a bit of classic storytelling too with the excellent “Half Life.”
Musically, the tracks must be able to back up these lively scripts and Jewel doesn’t disappoint on Freewheelin’ Woman. Stationing herself behind the boards to co-produce the long player, she invites veteran tunesmith and former glam metalhead Butch Walker to join in on the fun. Together the pair jettison the evocative guitar-pop of Pick Up The Pieces for a full, flavorful and feminine pop-soul vibe spanning the late Sixties up through to the mid-Seventies; secondary production assistance is also on tap from Dave Bassett, Sam Hollander, Grant Phillips Michael, Steve Poltz, and Tommee Profitt.
Cuts like the bluesy floorfiller “Dancing Slow,” with beloved rock band Train providing session player muscle/guest vox support, and the brass-kissed funk stomper of “Living With Your Memory” steer Jewel firmly into throwback R&B territory. Barring the rarest exception, notably “Leave The Lights On” from 0304 (2003), rhythm and blues is a space Jewel hasn’t explored too often. It’s to her credit that she does so here with reverence for the craft and culture, while leaving room for her interpretation to shine through.
While that cited pop-soul element—with just a touch of new school production flash on its compositional topside—is in place as the tentpole sound of Freewheelin’ Woman, she only restricts herself but so much. Brilliant retro-modernist exercises “Alibis” and “Love Wins,” cast respectively in proto-disco and surf rock colors, once again signpost Jewel’s instincts as a cunning pop genre act. She also revisits something familiar in “Almost” and “When You Loved Me,” two understated folk ballads that evince her unquestionable mastery of this musical field.
Driving everything here is Jewel, the singer. The versatility of her instrument is showcased throughout Freewheelin’ Woman, spanning everything from raw sensuality to melodic polish. Still, two sides, “No More Tears” and “Nothing but Love,” emerge as standouts on the LP. “No More Tears,” a duet with Darius Rucker (of Hootie and the Blowfish), is a fantastic vehicle that allows Jewel to play off a guest’s energy—Rucker’s handsome, rugged voice complements her stirring vocal tone. The selection also doubles as the theme to Lost In America, the 2019 documentary about the stateside homelessness crisis, making it one of the first songs drafted during the earliest stages of the Freewheelin’ Woman sessions. On “Nothing But Love,” the record’s closing measure, Jewel floats over the arrangement with an uncanny blend of delicacy and power.
And so, Jewel inches ever closer toward her thirtieth year in the public eye and continues to crank out fine albums capable of generating long-term conversation—Freewheelin’ Woman is no exception. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but as this writer (and self-confessed audiophile) often remarks, “we all hear music differently.” To my ears, Jewel’s Freewheelin’ Woman is another awesome entry into a back catalog of already worthy projects, and there’s more to come.
Frankly, I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Notable Tracks: “Alibis” | “Dancing Slow” | “Living With Your Memory” | “When You Loved Me”
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