Picking Up the Pieces (Jewel album)

Picking Up the Pieces
Studio album by Jewel
Released September 11, 2015 (2015-09-11)
Length 1:02:28
Label Sugar Hill
Producer Jewel
Jewel chronology
Let It Snow: A Holiday Collection
(2013)		 Picking Up the Pieces
(2015)
Singles from Picking Up the Pieces
  1. "My Father's Daughter"
    Released: August 14, 2015[1]

Picking Up the Pieces is the twelfth studio album from American singer-songwriter Jewel, released on September 11, 2015, through Sugar Hill Records. Self-produced, the album is said to be a bookend to her 1995 debut album, Pieces of You.[2][3]

Background and writing

The announcement for the album came on July 1, 2015, as part of Jewel's monthly "EDA INCLUSIVE" series on her website.[2] In the same post she describes the writing process:

"My focus for this CD was to forget everything I have learned about the music business the last 20 years and get back to what my bones have to say about songs and words and feeling and meaning...It took real effort to clear my thoughts and have no rules and just create - going back to my folk/American roots that I began with."[2]

The album features new material as well as songs Jewel has been playing live since the mid-nineties but never recorded. One of the new tracks, "My Father's Daughter," is a collaboration with Dolly Parton.[3]

Production

Jewel originally hired Paul Worley to produce the album, but he backed out about a week before rehearsals insisting she produced it herself, suggesting she will thank him later for the idea.[2]

Jewel wanted to capture a live sound for the album. Portions of it were recorded during a set at The Standard in Nashville, while others were captured during a live performance in front of friends in Nashville's historic RCA Studio A. They were done in one take, with "no overdubs, no layering tracks, no auto-tune or tricks," according to Jewel. She describes the overall sound as "minimal, focusing on the singing, lyric, and emotion."[2]

Jeff Balding, who engineered Jewel's 2001 album This Way, is credited with engineering the full band songs on the album, while the acoustic tracks were engineered by Erik Hellerman. The entire album was mixed by Gary Paczosa.[2]

Release

The album's lead single, "My Father's Daughter," was released on August 14, 2015.[1]

Picking Up the Pieces was released on September 11, 2015, through Sugar Hill Records.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Renowned for Sound[5]

Picking Up the Pieces has received mostly positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album three and a half out of five stars and states: "her decision to return to the (Pieces of You) form but not the sensibility of her earlier music is what makes Picking Up the Pieces a successful neo-comeback."[4] Marcus Floyd from Renowned for Sound rated the album four and a half out of five stars and claims: "Jewel’s voice hasn’t been heard this raw for 20 years, it shines throughout the entire album," and that "Jewel has successfully returned to her roots, and her fans will thank her for it."[5]

Track listing

Picking Up the Pieces — Standard edition[6]
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Love Used to Be"  Jewel[7] 5:41
2. "A Boy Needs a Bike"  Jewel[8] 4:10
3. "Everything Breaks"  Jewel[9] 4:01
4. "Family Tree"  Jewel, Lisa Carver[10] 3:36
5. "It Doesn't Hurt Right Now" (featuring Rodney Crowell)Jewel, Rodney Crowell[11] 4:35
6. "His Pleasure Is My Pain"  Jewel[12] 5:42
7. "Here When Gone"  Jewel[13] 4:44
8. "The Shape of You"  Jewel, Dallas Davidson, David Lee Murphy[14] 4:15
9. "Plain Jane"  Jewel[15] 3:49
10. "Pretty Faced Fool"  Daniel Couch, Brett James, Kip Moore[16] 3:51
11. "Nicotine Love"  Jewel[17] 6:33
12. "Carnivore"  Jewel[18] 4:20
13. "My Father's Daughter" (featuring Dolly Parton)Jewel, Carver[19] 3:25
14. "Mercy"  Jewel[20] 3:46
Total length:
 1:02:28

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[21] 75
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[22] 61
US Billboard 200[23] 28

Release history

List of release dates, showing region, format(s), label and reference
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
United States September 11, 2015
Sugar Hill [6]

References

  1. 1 2 "My Father's Daughter [feat. Dolly Parton]: Jewel: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. ASIN B013FAGD1Q. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Jewel - Official Website :: Jewel". jeweljk.com.
  3. 1 2 Moss, Marissa R. (July 28, 2015). "Jewel Returns to Folk Roots on 'Picking Up the Pieces' Album". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Picking Up the Pieces - Jewel — Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Floyd, Marcus (September 1, 2015). "Album Review: Jewel – Picking Up The Pieces". Renowned for Sound. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  6. 1 2 "iTunes - Music - Picking Up the Pieces by Jewel". iTunes Store. United States: Apple Inc. September 11, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Love Used to Be". ACE Title Search. ASCAP.
  8. ↑ "A Boy Needs a Bike". ACE Title Search. ASCAP.
  9. ↑ "Everything Breaks". ACE Title Search. ASCAP.
  10. ↑ "Family Tree". ACE Title Search. ASCAP.
  11. ↑ "It Doesn't Hurt Right Now". ACE Title Search. ASCAP.
  12. ↑ "His Pleasure Is My Pain". ACE Title Search. ASCAP.
  13. ↑ "Here When Gone". ACE Title Search. ASCAP.
  14. ↑ "The Shape of You". ACE Title Search. ASCAP.
  15. ↑ "Plain Jane". ACE Title Search. ASCAP.
  16. ↑ "Pretty Faced Fool". ACE Title Search. ASCAP.
  17. ↑ "Nicotine Love". ACE Title Search. ASCAP.
  18. ↑ "Carnivore". ACE Title Search. ASCAP.
  19. ↑ "My Father's Daughter". ACE Title Search. ASCAP.
  20. ↑ "Mercy". ACE Title Search. ASCAP.
  21. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (September 19, 2015). "ARIA Albums: Bring Me the Horizon 'That's the Spirit' Debuts At One in Australia". Noise11. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Jewel – Picking Up the Pieces" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Jewel – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Jewel. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
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