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One listen to Jewel's new This Way and you might be a little surprised at the noisy guitars and sexy attitude. Sounds like the Alaskan songstress has some explaining to do.
by C. Bottomley
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 here are two kinds of people in the world - those who think Jewel is a true poet and those who find her too winsome to bear. But the singer-songwriter's new album might just eradicate that latter group: in sound and style, This Way is a bold leap forward. For her third disc, the 27-year-old singer grabbed the production reins herself. In doing so she's captured an immediacy that comes close to the friskiness of her live shows. Gone is the fey attitude that's occasionally marked past discs. Here, she embraces roadhouse swagger and Eastern sensuality. Fans should be happily surprised, and critics - well, they may have to reconsider their previous stances.
Content in her relationship with rodeo rider Ty Murray, brassy enough to go hook up with "Smooth" songwriter Itaal Shur, and surprised at how many listeners have found post-September 11 solace in her hit "Hands," Jewel sat down to tell VH1's C. Bottomley why she isn't going to be standing still just yet.
VH1: This Way seems to have a deliberately broader scope than previous records. Are you going for broke this time?
Jewel: I really wanted this record to reflect more of what I do in my live show. And it's been harder for me to do it previously, because records have never really been my strong suit. I've always been a much better live act. I didn't understand the language of the studio. You sing differently in a studio. The language, the craft - it's just a whole different deal. I avoided the problem on my first record by doing a live album. My second record I used a producer, which was frustrating in a way, because I think a lot of the punky spirit and provocative nature of the lyrics didn't come across - the music was pretty. This time I really wanted it to have a much more raw feel. And so I just decided to take control. It was a project I drove from the beginning because I had a very strong vision, and I was very protective of it. I think because of that I came out with a record that I really think sounds like me.
VH1: How do you think the fans that have gotten their idea of who you are from the radio will react on first listening? Or more to the point, what reaction are you hoping for?
Jewel: I don't know. I feel like you have to listen to the whole record to get a picture of the macrocosm. If you listen to one song, it will be a really isolated event. But to get the feeling for the whole record, you've really got to go from track to track and see how each song is juxtaposed, because one track will be almost opposite from the next. Which was fun for me, because I could show a wider range of my vocal ability. So I really don't know how people will react. It's sort of impossible to predict, to tell you the truth.
VH1: On this record you're really trying to change people's perception of you are as an artist. Is the title - This Way - a warning? Does it tell us you're on a musical journey we should follow?
Jewel: No, not necessarily. I think partly it's the perverseness of my humor. A record that most people will see as different for me - songs like "Serve the Ego," say - they'll hear as a slight departure. I liked titling the record after something... using the irony of that. The sentiment is really the opposite. To me it's just my own sense of humor, my own private joke. The record title had less to do with the actual title track than it did a road sign saying, 'Come this way.'
VH1: You've taken time off from the music business over the last couple of years. What has happened - perhaps more personally than professionally - that has prepared you to make this album?
Jewel:There are many paths you can take throughout the course of a career. It's really important to know where you'd like to end up, so that as you make decisions, you navigate a path that will lead you to your ultimate destination. Some people want fame, popularity and huge sales. I've always hoped to have a really long career. So I've tried to make each of my creative decisions and business decisions to allow for longevity. As a side effect I got really famous and really big. I didn't realize the two could go together. I didn't realize that I would be as big as I was without necessarily striving for fame.
Once you are successful, there's a very seductive rhythm at work that keeps you wanting to outdo yourself. By the end of Spirit I felt like I didn't want to get into that trap. It almost makes you cartoon-like. I really wanted to make sure that I was able to stick up for the creativity of my songwriting instead of all my writing being skewed by, 'I want a hit. I want a No. 1 hit.'
So I took a lot of time off. I wasn't really sure if I would come back into the big pop machine. What I ultimately realized is that I was going to keep about it like I originally had. Which was to just do music that I like - if it ends up becoming a hit, that's great. So the idea was to get away from it long enough that I could come back with my head clear, able to make a record that I just really, really enjoyed. One that I felt was provocative and spoke to social issues and spoke musically in new ways. I wanted to grow and change.
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