Freewheelin' Woman

Seven years after rebooting her career with the vaguely back-to-basics Picking Up the Pieces, Jewel declares shes a Freewheelin Woman, making an ebullient, eclectic album to match. Although the record does have a couple of quieter, reflective moments reminiscent of her folky beginnings, Freewheelin Woman is anchored in soul and stretches out toward pop, moving quickly through all the byways separating the styles. Jewel sings about heartbreak a fair amount here, yet the record never seems heavy or sad. Take "Living with Your Memory," a brassy exercise in prime Muscle Shoals R&B: her clever spin is that the memory loves her stronger and longer than any man ever could. Jewel doesnt always indulge in a joke. Presented here as a duet with Darius Rucker, "No More Tears (Theme from Lost in America)" -- an anthem for a 2018 documentary about homelessness, not a chestnut from the classic 1985 Albert Brooks comedy -- is as earnest as she ever gets, as is the melancholy lament "When You Loved Me." These moments function as texture and color on an album that takes the sentiment of "Dance Sing Laugh Love" to heart: its a bright, cheerful bit of self-empowerment that is as infectious as it is positive. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine