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#20
by
Jessica
on 13 Oct, 2023 13:10
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The story of Down So Long:
...To coincide with the release of the bonus live version of Down So Long from the upcoming deluxe edition:
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#21
by
Jessica
on 01 Nov, 2023 12:52
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Here's a new Behind the Song for Hands
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#22
by
Jessica
on 06 Nov, 2023 07:51
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Next up is a Gloria demo:
And the explanation video:
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#23
by
Jessica
on 10 Nov, 2023 12:31
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Here's an interview with Jewel on the Today show to advertise the new release. Mad props are given to Alan Bershaw, Mr BB, for his critical role in putting this release together!
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#24
by
Jessica
on 10 Nov, 2023 12:34
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The Beeswax Operetta is apparently 6 minutes long!
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#25
by
Fabio
on 13 Nov, 2023 09:03
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#26
by
Jessica
on 16 Nov, 2023 07:24
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A promotional shout out to MrBB himself, Alan!
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#27
by
jewelwiki
on 16 Nov, 2023 11:03
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I love this! Alan deserves this recognition and so much more.
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#28
by
Heart
on 16 Nov, 2023 22:58
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All songs from spirit 25th anniversary has been uploaded to Jewel youtube channel (see link below).
If all these songs are uploaded in youtube, isn't this will make many people will not buying the album (CD, LP, vinyl, digital audio) (they can listen to it on youtube instead of buying the album) ?
So does it really a good idea to upload those songs on youtube?
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXqGdjLep1lqvWHi5BzHEKKOs79qWoJHb&si=SeejHFncmw23g__6
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#29
by
jewelwiki
on 17 Nov, 2023 06:11
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Most new albums are posted to artists YouTube channels now. Better to get streams and revenue vs not. People who will buy will buy regardless.
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#30
by
Jessica
on 17 Nov, 2023 08:21
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"fill your mouth with mental slavery and you shall lead a life uncommon..."
Did I hear that right? The little lyric tweaks in Songs of Freedom versus what Life Uncommon eventually became are something else!
EDIT: It might be "free your mind from mental slavery..." but it sounded all weird the first couple times.
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#31
by
Jessica
on 17 Nov, 2023 09:46
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So this is pretty cool, but nowhere near as cool as the POY anniversary release. I really think adding four live tracks from the first album wastes a lot of space on here. I think the two Madrid recordings of WWSYS and FG were on a Spirit Aussie release or something, so I understand their inclusion, but the other two weren't so great that other gems that really belong in the era couldn't be included. For instance, Absence of Fear was always a crowd favorite during concerts and Jewel really got into it, so it's a shame one of those couldn't be squeezed it in instead of that 2nd WWSYS. Does Anyone Believe in Love Anymore debuted during this tour and could have also been a real treat for hardcore fans and filler fans alike.
I'm glad this was priced reasonably, though. Wandering seems like a song for the Sweet and Wild era and the Beeswax Operatta improv song to finish it up was a cute little treat. Seeing the evolution of Life Uncommon and Hands is academically interesting and both are great inclusions. I love Last Dance Rodeo, and the boombox version feels weird in the record, but I like it anyway as a novelty.
Overall, I give this 6/10 - glad I got the CD, but there's not gonna be a lot of replay on my end. The rating stays over 5/10 just because Spirit was a banger of a record back in the day, but below 7/10 because of the wasted space. A full 17% of the bonus tracks are from the last record, and that's a bit much. So much of the bonus material is from the same televised concert in Madrid, too. It just doesn't seem like there's as much heart in curating this particular collection as was put into the last one. It doesn't flow as well and the disparity in recording quality can get a little glaring. This is especially true with The Sue Lee Song. It's almost disruptive how poor the vocal recording is compared the Enter From the East that precedes it.
I sure am grateful for the Angelfood I have from this era already, I'll tell you what! I think I'll give JewelStock a spin to scratch the itch.
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#32
by
jewelwiki
on 17 Nov, 2023 14:06
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I have similar feelings, Jess. I love hearing the new stuff, but with I'm left wanting more. At first, I thought Enter from the East was repeating when I listened to The Sue Lee song – just similar guitar pattern (Travis picking?). I think with 4 CDs for POY set a high bar for this release. I really liked hearing Barcelona live. I think for hardcore fans, this one was tough because there were so many tracks that we've heard before.
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#33
by
Jessica
on 17 Nov, 2023 14:25
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Yeah it's like the same chords and everything! It's pretty rough. Might as well slap Grey Matter in the same run while we're at it.
And you know, if those two songs wouldn't have been right by each other, it wouldn't have been so bad. Scootch Sue Lee to after the LDR Boombox bit or whatever and that would have hidden how comparably rough the vocal recording on it was, but putting it right next to a painfully similar song just accentuates the shortcoming. I understand including some version of it to mark the Ride With the Devil era, but oof it's harsh where it is.
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#34
by
Jessica
on 17 Nov, 2023 14:33
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#35
by
Jessica
on 18 Nov, 2023 17:04
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I just ran the credits on Ride With the Devil to be sure: this is NOT the soundtrack version of What's Simple is True that's used in the film. Not sure if it's what was on the CD
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#36
by
jewelwiki
on 18 Nov, 2023 20:09
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I asked Alan about that on Facebook. He said it was the version from the soundtrack but not the banjo one from the movie itself. I think that would've been better since this is so close to the regular version.
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#37
by
Javo
on 19 Nov, 2023 05:36
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So I haven't visited here in a while. This re-release made me very happy at first, but I agree that there isn't a lot of new stuff for die-hard fans (like a lot of us here). I will buy the LP and the CD both. Would love to have the signed double LP in blue as well. But importing from America is hell over here. Even when Jessica send me a gift I had to pay more import duty's then the LP costed. I could make a case out of it but that would have cost me more then just pay it.
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#38
by
addictedsober
on 19 Nov, 2023 08:14
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i agree with most of you here
even if im not a jewel fan since the beginning, some of these live tracks and very similar tracks (hands radio & whats simple is true movie version) seem redundant when theres SO MUCH material out there
me personally, i loved the hands studio demo and would love if they could explore that route more... demos with alt lyrics and/or raw vocals & different production
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#39
by
Frag
on 18 Dec, 2023 07:10
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Finally got a chance to listen to most of the CDs on my road trip this weekend. I skipped quite a few tracks bec. they didn't seem new or unusual to me at all. The main thing I took away from the experience is a reminder of how much I loathe the non-word "drownding".
I will say, though, that 'my' song still makes me a little weepy, even after all these years. And the vocals on Enter from the East - esp. the chorus - still floor me.
