Customer Rating:  
Summary: Great songwriter, serious musician
Comment: Getting away from the typical "diva" category that many female vocalists are limited to, Jewel is a serious musician, singer, song-writer, and shows a depth to her style that indicates serious study of her craft.
She Brings a fresh, easy sound that has a light acoustic instrumental drive, allowing the lyrics to stand out and be appreciated. Not beautiful, happy songs, but songs with soul. Jewel's vocal style shows influence from diverse artists such as Joni Mitchel and Bob Dylan.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent Service!
Comment: This CD was published in 1995 and it is 13 years ago. However, I still got a brand new CD from Amazon.com and it is really worth to buy CDs there. Thank you.
Customer Rating:
Summary: JEWEL "PIECES OF YOU"
Comment: First of all, I'm a really big fan of Jewel, I think she's one of the best singer/songwriters of all time.
On "Pieces Of You" I think the title track, "Near You Always," "Adrian," "I'm Sensitive," "You Were Meant For Me" and "Emily" are all great songs, both vocally and lyrically. I find that with the rest of the songs, the songwriting is still great but the vocals are what really lets the songs down. Jewel has always managed to write good lyrics that are interesting, she's written great stories like "Adrian," "Fat Boy," "Till We Run Out Of Road," "Stand," "Goodbye Alice in Wonderland," "Good Day," "Stephenville, TX" or "Rosey And Mick" - the love songs she writes are never cheesey, she just always keeps the writing really good.
Her vocals on this album (other than the six songs I mentioned, which I don't just think are alright songs, they're great songs) are very awkward, they're not easy on the ears at all, and Jewel has clearly learnt from this as she hasn't sang in this style since, she has said she doesn't know why this album sold over 11 million copies worldwide and I agree, when I think that her other albums combined haven't sold as many as this album, I find it sad, I just can't understand how "Goodbye Alice in Wonderland" is her only album not to sell over a million copies, the vocals on all her albums other than this one are on a high level, I guess the positive thing though is that Jewel is sticking to singing in the best way she can and isn't going back to singing in the way she does here.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Jewel
Comment: Has anyone ever really listened to some of the lyrics by Jewel? She's really twisted in the head. Her mellow tone covers a lot of the dysfunctional lyrics though. But the songs Daddy, Adrian, and a few of the others just make me wonder what kind of childhood she had. Other than that, this Cd is pretty good. i like a few of the songs on there and like I said, she has a mellow tone. It's comforting when you don't pay any attention to the lyrics.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Pieces of Jewel shine brightly all over every track...
Comment: Many fans of Jewel's music today may be surprised if they ever take the time to listen to her debut album `Pieces of You'. Stripped of the polish and shine that her newer music embodies and presented in a raw and delicate manner; the tracks on `Pieces of You' are some of her most emotional and touching work to date. This album is collectively perfect, truly inspiring and resonant from start to finish; a beautiful collection of heart reaching songs that embellish this beauty's magnificent voice; literally and figuratively.
I'm sure just about everyone has heard Jewel's singles off this album; `Who Will Save Your Soul', `Foolish Games' and `You Were Meant for Me'; but what they most likely haven't heard is the album versions of these songs. Yes, all three of these tracks were polished and cleaned up for the radio and thus were presented to the public in commercial form. Listen to the rawness of the brilliant `Foolish Games' (in my humble opinion one of the greatest songs ever written and or performed) then you will see first hand the talent this singer/songwriter possesses. `Who Will Save Your Soul' opens the album with some spunk, a track that gives us a taste of Jewel's marvelous baritone as well as her sarcastic lyrical message. `You Were Meant for Me' is probably her most popular track to date, the song that immediately is identified to her. It's a beautiful track that serves as a great example of the depth of her talent.
Some have made mention of the fact that some of the tracks here are recorded live. I don't see how this is a bad thing, and if it bothers you then obviously you don't appreciate the brand of music that Jewel is presenting here. This is her passion, her drive and she is recording it in a way that expresses that. So on tracks like `Little Sister' when she sounds out of breath or on `Near You Always' where you can hear her breathing or on `Angel Standing By' when her chords are muted and rough the listener should, instead of balking, be enthralled at the experience these tracks are delivering to us. We can feel her love and devotion to her music with every strum of the guitar.
There are a few tracks that touch deeper than others; tracks like the aforementioned `Foolish Games' (I swear, this song is utter perfection) and `Angel Standing By' (so graceful and elegant) as well as `Adrian' and the title track `Pieces of You'. `Adrian' is a very sad and emotionally stirring song about a young boy and a tragic accident and the love surrounding him. It brings tears to my eyes. `Pieces of You' is a pivotal track here, a song that lyrically takes the album to another level. It says, in simple words, so much here about the world in which we live and the people we've become. `Daddy' is another song that has deep resonance (and no, this is not about Jewel's father, whom she claims to love very much). This is a track I'm sure will bring on the floodgates to quite a few listeners.
Jewel's folk roots can be seen full throttle on tracks like `Painters' and `Don't', two very impressive tracks. `I'm Sensitive' is fun and fresh and is extremely entertaining and `Morning Song' is cheeky and similar to `You Were Meant for Me' in structure and delivery. The closing track `Amen' is utterly flawless, a beautiful way to close out a brilliant album. It's graceful and intriguing and commanding of our attention. As the track comes to a close we are compelled to listen to it again.
`Pieces of You' is Jewel's best album, honestly. It is untouched and real, an album that is entirely her own. She has compiled music that means something to her and in the end that is what matters to the listener. If the artist feels connected to their music that will transcend through the stereo and into the ears and minds of their audience and thus it will mean something to us.
I love Jewel, and I love her newer music as well, but nothing she has done since has compared to the creativity and passion she has brought to this stunning debut. Jewel continues to shine, but this album is where she has shone the brightest.
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