“My mission was to try and make a record where I didn’t feel diluted,” she explains of a 14-track collection of songs that finds the singer baring her soul and exploring a wide range of sonic textures, from sparse to exotic, in a manner few have ever treaded so successfully. Perhaps due to Jewel's desire to confront the darker side of life head on, her inimitable vocals sound as emotionally potent here as on her earliest work, conveying an unrelenting desire to share herself once more, a poet and troubadour on a lifelong journey of reflection. “It was the time in my life to do this,” the Alaskan-born music icon says bluntly, reflecting on her decision to record, produce and now release Picking Up the Pieces, her first “proper” album of new studio material in five years and a self-described return to the territory explored on her landmark 1995 debut, Pieces of You. The itches are ever-present to document her thoughts and perceptions in musical form. Jewel knows that at this point in her life – after selling millions of albums and establishing herself as one of the most successful musicians of her generation – she could take many routes: she could wait on releasing a new album for years at a time, strictly choosing to perform live instead or perhaps she’d focus on her memoir, the forthcoming Never Broken or be satisfied she wrote two children’s books and a pair of successful children’s albums. “I’m lucky for that,” the singer-songwriter says with a laugh, playing down the fact that over the past few decades she’s penned hundreds of poignant songs, many of which she’s been performing in concert for over two decades but has chosen not to record. Jewel has never had a case of writer’s block if need be, she can write on command. Picking Up the Pieces - Latest Album by Jewel

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