When I picked up Jewel’s sophomore effort, I worried that it was bound to be affected to some degree by the success of her previous album, but pleasantly, though it echoes the same signature sound, it isn’t Pieces Of You, Part II. In a very short time, Spirit has earned my respect with such memorable songs as “Deep Water”, “Down So Long” (the closest this album comes to the grittier sound of “Who Will Save Your Soul?”, which is actually the song that made me sit up and pay attention to Jewel), and the first single, “Hands”. If anything, Jewel’s lyrical skill has intensified on this album, but in a few places it seems as though the edge of the music composition has suffered. Some of the songs are very predictable in the 
instrumental department, and end up being carried by the vocal alone, which seems like a slight letdown after some of the well-composed music on Jewel’s first album. Though this is still a solid collection, I think Jewel will need to concentrate more on the music for the next album, and may have to invent a slightly new sound to avoid creating a sonic signature that makes every album or song sound the same.
- Deep Water (4:16)
- What’s Simple Is True (3:34)
- Hands (3:54)
- Kiss The Flame (3:17)
- Down So Long (4:13)
- Innocence Maintained (4:08)
- Jupiter (4:18)
- Fat Boy (2:54)
- Enter From The East (4:02)
- Barcelona (3:53)
- Life Uncommon (4:56)
- Do You (4:21)
- Absence of Fear (3:43)
- This Little Bird (2:43)
Released by: Atlantic
Release date: 1998
Total running time: 53:56
