Albums of 2015: Jewel - Picking Up the Pieces

Music can be passed down through generations like family heirlooms, precious and forever.

For me, I was gifted Johnny Cash, Perry Como, Burt Bacharach, Joni Mitchell, Elton John. Songs that have resonated with me throughout my whole life, seeing me through good times, hard times, first dances, big birthdays or life-changing gigs.

For my kids, I want to give them Jewel. Her musical poetry has seen me through key moments – those first tentative steps taken with Pieces of You and Spirit when I was living alone in London for the first time at 18; or This Way, when I was finding my path, travelling in my early 20s; the confusing attempt at mainstream with 0304 and even her Fisher Price kids album, Lullaby, released at the same time I had my own babies.

Now that we are both mothers I want to give my girls her gift of beautiful melody, country-infused guitar, uniqueness of voice and poetry to really listen to. Jewel’s pen takes residence in the finer details of life – hiding in the dusty cracks of an Alaskan log cabin or as open as the midnight sun over mountains. These are folk story songs about what is important – family, love, heartache and the hope of joy.

Picking Up the Pieces is like a fragment of a forgotten dream. It’s a musical testament to unlocking the past in "Love Used to Be" and "Everything Breaks"; living in the moment with "It Doesn’t Hurt Right Now" and looking to the future in "Pretty Faced Fool".

Jewel is back in a place where she should be, musically, personally, spiritually, at a time when we are both finding out who we are, what we are made of. She has gone back to her roots, finding the strength to tell her own story-songs of heartbreak but ultimately of courage and hope.