0304 is the fifth studio album by American singer Jewel,released on June 3,2003,by Atlantic Records. Inspired by Jewel's sudden success topping the US BillboardHot Dance Club Play chart in early November 2002 with a remix of "Serve the Ego",the final single from her previous album This Way,the album is a radical departure from her previous folk-oriented musical efforts and is instead more pop and dance-focused.[1][3]
Within the booklet to 0304,Jewel includes a note to her fans,explaining,"This record may seem different to you. To me,it's closer to what has been in my head for years. I wanted to make a record that was a modern interpretation of big band music. A record that was lyric-driven,like Cole Porter stuff,that also had a lot of swing. And a lot of it is thanks to Lester (Mendez),because when I told him I wanted to make a record that combined dance,urban,and folk music,he didn't look at me like I was crazy. I loved making this record,and it's the first record I enjoy listening to. It's fun! I hope you all love it. I hope it makes you feel young and sexy and smart."[4] For the album,Jewel teamed with producers Lester Mendez (Shakira,Enrique Iglesias) and Rick Nowels (Madonna).[3]
0304 received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic,which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications,the album received an average score of 63,based on nine reviews.[5]Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic stated that "it's the first album of hers that's a sheer pleasure to hear",while noting that "[she] includes a note to her fans,explaining,'This album may seem different to you,' which is putting it mildly",to convey the surprising,yet pleasing modern sound,and that "she puts herself out on the line more than she ever has,and she's come up with her best record,with her best set of songs and best music yet."[1] Ron Slomowicz from About.com declared that "the album is balanced by dance pop that you would expect to hear on a Britney album."[3] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine was also positive,writing that "the album is more pop than electronica,but it also presents one of the most startling—yet oddly fitting—transformations in pop history"[10] and also comparing the album to Madonna's Ray of Light (1998) and American Life (2003).[10] Barry Walters from Rolling Stone agreed with Cinquemani,describing the album as "essentially a wanna-be version of Madonna's American Life" and noting that "she's found herself an artificial flavor that tastes good."[9] A positive review also came from Uncut,who wrote that "the tunes are stunning,her voice has never sounded better and she makes serious points few others would dare in a pop context."[12] Brian Hiatt from Entertainment Weekly opined that the "unexpected dance-pop vibrancy makes it Jewel's best album."[7]
The album also received some mixed reviews,with some critics criticizing the change of style adopted on the album. Alexis Petridis from The Guardian wrote,"Like Robbie Williams's Escapology,0304 virtually knocks itself out in its attempts to win over the US public",while commenting that she looks "desperate" and "uncomfortable" on the album.[2] Darryl Sterdan from Jam! said that the album "isn't going to save her soul—or anyone else's."[13] Caroline Bansal from musicOMH described the album as "an enjoyable 54minutes of pop,full of catchy,chirpy songs,proving Jewel's ear candy as well as eye candy credentials. The album could be the soundtrack of a summer's day at the beach,or for getting ready for a girly night out."[14]
Commercial performance
0304 became the highest-debuting album of Jewel's career,entering the Billboard 200 at number two (behind Metallica's St. Anger) with 144,000 copies sold in its first week.[15] It earned a gold certification from Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) one month after its release,on July 14,2003,[16] and had sold over 771,000 copies in the United States as of June 2010.[17]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Jewel Kilcher; all music is composed by Kilcher and Lester Mendez, except where noted.
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