Critical Reception
The album received generally favorable reviews. Rolling Stone 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 2 and half 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 assured" but criticizing the production.
Read more about this topic: Perfectly Clear
Famous quotes containing the words critical and/or reception:
“From whichever angle one looks at it, the application of racial theories remains a striking proof of the lowered demands of public opinion upon the purity of critical judgment.”
—Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)
“He’s leaving Germany by special request of the Nazi government. First he sends a dispatch about Danzig and how 10,000 German tourists are pouring into the city every day with butterfly nets in their hands and submachine guns in their knapsacks. They warn him right then. What does he do next? Goes to a reception at von Ribbentropf’s and keeps yelling for gefilte fish!”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)