Jewel: Country act isn’t a fake

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Singer-songwriter Jewel went country a few years ago, and she’s staying there.

Her second country release, “Sweet and Wild,” is out this week.

She feels at home, although her crossover to country from pop once was questioned in an Entertainment Weekly article.

“It was odd timing. Everybody was doing it at the same time,” says Jewel, best known for singles “Who Will Save Your Soul” and “You Were Meant for Me.”

Jewel gained entry into the typically close-knit community with her first country release in 2008, “Perfectly Clear.”

“Country has a great meter for knowing if you’re faking it,” she says. “And I don’t think because I’ve had success in one place it’s not granted elsewhere.”

But Jewel had an advantage: She had always drawn country fans to her concerts. She just couldn’t cater to them much because Atlantic, her record label earlier in her career, didn’t have strong inroads at country radio to get her into that market, she says.

Jewel says she always felt a kinship with country music because of her emphasis on lyrics and storytelling.

“That’s what I’ve been able to build my career on: being myself and telling the truth, doing the old-fashioned thing of writing and crafting a song from beginning, middle and end,” she says.

Jewel was raised on a ranch, and her father is a cowboy, something she was asked to downplay in early interviews. Her husband is rodeo cowboy Ty Murray.

During her ’90s heyday, Jewel helped shepherd a female singer-songwriter revolution with her best-selling album from 1995, “Pieces of You.”

On her Star Light Cafe Tour, Jewel is solo and acoustic, pulling off what she says is a difficult show. Jewel throws the set list out the window, letting the show flow freely. She has hundreds of songs in her arsenal, which allows for requests that fuel the show. Fans even hold up lyrics for her to read if she’s forgotten them.

She’ll cover country and pop material on the tour but adds that in the stripped-down setting, it’s all the same.

“The songs don’t sound country or pop,” Jewel says. “It’s just me.”