Joy: A Holiday Collection, Jewel (Atlantic)

I was afraid of this. Jewel is an excellent singer with great chops and no shortage of sincerity, but her records work best when the songs challenge her out of that granola-fed folksinger riff she can do in her sleep. Which means a Christmas album by her is going to highlight all the sappiest aspects of her performing side. This 1999 CD is exhibit A for the prosecution. It really doesn't belong on this site; in fact, Atlantic is missing an opportunity if it doesn't push this CD through its Nashville wing. For that matter, there is enough of the religious side of the holiday to push it to Christian radio too. The only thing that really rocks out here is a performance of "Go Tell It On the Mountain," but that gets smooshed into a medley of Jewel's "Life Uncommon" and the Bette Midler tune "From a Distance." She duets with her mom on "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in a performance similar to one that ran on VH1 though she manages not to work in any yodeling with her dad. And there's a more reverent version of her hit "Hands" to close the album. Obviously, there was a lot of forethought and effort expended here, including the period-appropriate "enhanced content"; too bad it's all so conventional in the end.