''Perfectly Clear'' is the seventh studio album recorded by American singer Jewel. Her first album of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

, it was released on Valory Records (an imprint of

Big Machine Records Big Machine Records is an American independent record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Specializing in country and pop artists, Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by fo ...

) on June 3, 2008 (see 2008 in country music).

Album description

The album is composed of a mixture of new and old fan-favorite songs, although only one of the songs had previously appeared on one of her albums. "

2 Become 1 "2 Become 1" is a song by the English girl group the Spice Girls. Written by the group members, together with Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard during the group's first professional songwriting session, it was produced by Rowe and Stannard for t ...

", from '' 0304'' appeared in a new country version that was re-titled, "Two Become One". Its lead single, "

Stronger Woman "Stronger Woman" is a song written by Marv Green and co-written and recorded by American recording artist Jewel. Her first release to country radio, it is also the first single from her album '' Perfectly Clear'' (2008), which was produced by John ...

", peaked at #13 on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart. John Rich, one half of the country rock duo

Big & Rich Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a solo ...

, produced the album. "I Do", was released to country radio on June 23, 2008 as the album's second single, which peaked in the Top 40. "Till It Feels Like Cheating" was released on October 27, 2008 as the third single, but only stayed on the charts for one week debuting and peaking at #57. ''Perfectly Clear'' debuted at #8 on the ''Billboard'' 200 with 48,000 copies. The album was released in Australia on May 29, 2009. It was released across Europe in June 2009. The European edition also includes the video for the first single "Stronger Woman". As of June 2010, the album has sold 370,000 copies worldwide, including 240,000 in the U.S.

Critical reception

The album received generally favorable reviews. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine gave a mixed review, giving the album 2.5 stars out of 5. The reviewer said that "Jewel doesn't call upon the gritty storytelling of a real Nashville star ��the album is overcrowded by placid soft-rock tunes like "Two Become One" and "Anyone But You" with schmaltzy choruses and flavorless piano-laden verses." Allmusic gave a mixed review too, giving the album 3 stars out of 5. The reviewer also criticized Rich's production and the "poppy, simple songs about relationships ��but it does mean it feels more like the Jewel that everybody came to love back in 1995 A positive review came from ''Entertainment Weekly'', which received the album well, calling Jewel an "earnest storyteller", and ''Billboard'' magazine, which said that the album "is not only persuasive, but down-home, old-school country." ''The New York Times'' gave the album an ambivalent review, saying that Jewel's voice was "sharp ndassured" but criticizing the production.

Track listing

Personnel

* Steve Brewster - drums * Mike Brignardello -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Eric Darken -

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

* Jason Freese - mellotron, Hammond organ, synthesizer strings,

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

* Wes Hightower - background vocals * Jewel - acoustic guitar, lead vocals, background vocals * Mike Johnson - pedal steel guitar * Liana Manis - background vocals * Ethan Pilzer - bass guitar * John Rich - background vocals * Mike Rojas - accordion, Hammond organ,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, Wurlitzer *

Adam Shoenfeld Adam Shoenfeld (born April 29, 1974) is a professional guitarist, songwriter and producer based in Nashville, TN. Primarily focused on modern country music, his guitar playing has been featured on over 200 albums, and is closely associated with Bi ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

Glenn Worf Glenn Worf is an American bassist known mainly for his work as a session musician. He has recorded with many major country music acts and also tours with Mark Knopfler. Early life and education Worf was born in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up in Mad ...

- bass guitar *

Jonathan Yudkin Jonathan Yudkin is an American multi-instrumentalist who is a proficient player of banjo, violin, mandolin, and other stringed instruments. He is a Nashville-based session musician, record producer, arranger, and band leader. Biography Growin ...

- banjo,

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

dulcimer The word dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments. Hammered dulcimers The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...

, fiddle, mandolin,

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Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2008 albums Big Machine Records albums Jewel (singer) albums Albums produced by John Rich