![]() It was so different from so much other music hot on the radio at the time – lots of grunge and alternative rock like Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, and Live. He was not a slick producer and stuck with Jewel’s raw natural sound, which was part of what made Pieces of You so successful as a debut album. As a result, she chose him to be the album’s producer. Recording Pieces of Youīen Keith was the co-producer of Neil Young’s Harvest Moon, an album Jewel loved. She would ultimately sign with Atlantic Records, launching her recording career and setting the stage for the production of Pieces of You. The bootleg proved so popular that it ignited a bidding war for her musical services at the major labels. Jewel’s buzz rocketed when a bootleg recording of her playing at The Innerchange to her large San Diego following was broadcast on 91 XFM radio. Jewel was convinced she was going to be framed for the drugs, but thankfully she wasn’t. The songwriting pair also helped the cops load the confiscated pot. Jewel and Steve Poltz were given AK-47s just in case something went bad, a memorable experience to be sure. The couple happened to be whale watching with cops who suddenly got a call to arrest drug smugglers. ![]() And the song “ You Were Meant For Me” was written during a drug bust in Mexico where Jewel and Poltz were traveling. The song “Who Will Save Your Soul” was written while Jewel was busking during a solo hitchhiking trip she took during her spring break from Interlochen Center for the Arts, where she had a vocal scholarship. Poltz met Jewel at Java Joe’s where she was a barista. Steve Poltz, Jewel’s ex-boyfriend, co-wrote two of the album’s tracks. The studio tracks were done at Neil Young’s personal studio in Redwood City, California. There is a mixture of both studio and live recordings on the album – the live ones were recorded at The Innerchange. ![]() Jewel, innately gifted, wrote the songs on Pieces of You when she was just a teenager, mostly between the ages of 16 and 19, and honed them playing at The Innerchange, a cafe in San Diego where she had a weekly gig. Songwriting and Development of Pieces of You The album, recorded live at The Innerchange and at the Broken Arrow Ranch studio in Redwood City, California, clocks in at 58:31 and was released by Atlantic Records. Pieces of You was released on Februin the United States and falls under the pop/rock and folk-rock genres. Jewel also got an assist from an opening spot on Bob Dylan’s tour. It would be over a year before the album would start making waves. To promote it, Jewel and a surfer friend drove around from gig to gig at high schools, stores, and radio shows. But, the album did not catch on right away. The album, co-produced by Ben Keith, only had a budget of about $50,000. The album peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart on March 1, 1997, while staying on the chart for a total of 114 weeks. The album sold over 12 million copies in the United States and is one of the best-selling debut albums of all time.
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