With sweetly heartfelt vocals, the artist elevates ideals such as honesty, clean living, relational sensitivity and an appreciation for the arts (“Foolish Games”). “Painters” relates a widowed woman’s affectionate reflections on her marriage. The refusal to give up on a semi-comatose young man’s life is the subject of “Adrian.” “Angel Standing By” further illustrates unconditional love and devotion. Jewel prefers handshakes and hugs to pain and drugs on her optimistic call to arms, “Little Sister.”
She talks of saving our own souls and having a paranoid fear of God on the huge hit single “Who Will Save Your Soul.” The title cut calls for tolerance, falsely equating a disgust for homosexuality with discrimination based on race or gender. Jewel imagines ripping out her father’s throat and bashing in his teeth (“Daddy”),
Despite some sparkling sentiments, this Jewel suffers from a few glaring flaws. Appraisal: Not worth the investment.
