Pieces Of You

Personnel: Jewel Kilcher (guitar, vocals); Kris Wilkinson (strings); Robbie Buchanan, Charlotte Caffey (piano); Spooner Oldham (keyboards); Tim Drummond, Mark Howard (bass); Oscar Butterworth (drums). Recorded at the Broken Arrow Ranch, Woodside, California and live at Innerchange Coffeehouse, San Diego, California. All songs written or co-written by Jewel Kilcher. Jewel was nominated for the 1997 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. "Who Will Save Your Soul" was nominated for a 1997 Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. When this Alaskan decided to give up her day job and move into her Volkswagen van in 1993, she began an almost storybook ascendance to the upper echelon of singer-songwriters. Like so many other aspiring musicians with a guitar and a story to tell, Jewel is a keen observer of human behavior. But it is her voice, a classically-trained instrument that has developed far beyond Jewel's 22 years, that makes her debut album--much of which was recorded at Neil Young's Broken Arrow Ranch with pieces of his HARVEST MOON band--such a joy. Jewel's is a special voice, one that can portray enormous emotional range with only slight alterations in color and texture. She sings "I'm Sensitive" with coy innocence, and gives the title track a biting, scolding quality. "Amen," the album's finale, is perhaps Jewel's most stunning vocal display, with her gorgeous, ethereal falsetto lifting us into a world where beautiful voices can speak volumes.