Jewel - Live At Humphrey's By The Bay
Live at Humphrey's by the Bayis Jewel's first concert disc, and it's a solid success, a blend of signature material and hints of forward progress. Shot just before her 2002 "This Way" tour, the program begins with a startling reminder of Jewel's beautiful pipes on the a cappella "Per La Gloria D'Adorarvi." That protean voice slides gracefully into her whispery and carnal octave-jumper, "Near You Always," adopts a witty, talking blues attitude on "Sometimes It Be That Way," and paints in nocturnal hues for "Grey Matter." Jewel is solo for most of the set, contributing to the sometimes airless feel of her prolific broken-love songs. But "The New Wild West" is an imagistic, extroverted wonder, and "Everybody Needs Someone Sometime" is sassy and shimmering.--Tom Keogh