Down to Earth (Jem album)

Down to Earth is the second studio album by Welsh musician Jem, the follow-up to Finally Woken. The first single, "It's Amazing", was featured on the soundtrack to the Sex and the City movie. The album spawned four singles.

Down to Earth
Studio album by
Jem
Released16 September 2008
Recorded2006–2008 in Detroit and Los Angeles
GenreTrip hop
Length47:18
Language
LabelATO
Producer
Jem chronology
Finally Woken
(2004)		 Down to Earth
(2008)		 Beachwood Canyon
(2016)
Singles from Down to Earth
  1. "It's Amazing"
    Released: 3 June 2008
  2. "Crazy"
    Released: 26 August 2008
  3. "And So I Pray"
    Released: 26 May 2009
  4. "I Want You To..."
    Released: 26 October 2009
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic54/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
ArtofRhyme(3.75/5)[3]
Billboard(positive)[4]
Digital Spy[5]
The Guardian[6]
musicOMH[7]
Paste(61/100)[8]
The Phoenix[9]
The Times[10]

The press release states that Jem co-wrote the album with a variety of people including Jeff Bass, Lester Mendez and Greg Kurstin and sings in Japanese on the track, "Aciiid!". The album also includes a collaboration with South African singer-songwriter and poet-activist Vusi Mahlasela on the track "You Will Make It" which was dedicated to the memory of D12 member Proof.[11][12] Although the collaboration never happened, Jem wanted to work with Eminem for the song, saying "The track is about losing someone and I wrote it the day after his friend Proof was murdered. I was in Detroit with Eminem's friends, who I happened to be recording with, when it happened".[13]

Critical reception

Down to Earth was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 54 based on 7 reviews.[1]

In a review for AllMusic, critic reviewer Andrew Leahey wrote: "Down to Earth's title depicts Jem as a grounded musician, but its wide-ranging sound suggests something different, as the singer has yet to find a style that fully suits her capabilities."[2]

Track listing
Down to Earth track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Down to Earth"
Bass4:33
2."Crazy"
  • Jem
  • Bass
Bass3:39
3."I Want You To..."
Mendez3:38
4."It's Amazing"
  • Jem
  • Mendez
Mendez3:58
5."Keep on Walking"
  • Jem
  • Bass
Bass4:12
6."You Will Make It (featuring Vusi Mahlasela)"
  • Jem
  • J. Griffiths
Mike Bradford6:11
7."I Always Knew"
  • Jem
  • Mendez
Mendez3:09
8."Got It Good"
  • Jem
  • Bass
Bass4:26
9."Aciiid!"
Kurstin2:56
10."How Would You Like It"
  • Jem
  • J. Griffiths
Bradford4:02
11."And So I Pray"
  • Jem
  • Kevin Beber
Bradford2:42
12."On Top of the World"
  • Jem
  • Mendez
Mendez4:52
iTunes Bonus
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Forever and a Day"
  • Jem
  • J. Griffiths
  • Joseph George
3:49

Personnel
  • Hiroko Aoyagi – vocals
  • Jeff Atmajian – piano, string arrangements, piano arrangement
  • Jeff Bass – bass, guitar, keyboards, producer, drum programming, tracked by
  • Kevin Beber – drum programming
  • Brian Berryman – engineer, fader engineer
  • Mick Bolger – trombone, trumpet, euphonium, mellophonium, E flat cornet
  • Mike Bradford – producer, string arrangements, instrumentation
  • Del Casher – sounds
  • Bryan Cook – engineer
  • Nick Cuchinella – trombone
  • Nabil Elderkin – photography
  • Johnny Evans – saxophone
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing
  • Jem Griffiths – vocals, producer, vocal engineer, poetry reading
  • Justin Griffiths – acoustic guitar
  • John Hanes – mixing
  • Mark Aaron James – design
  • Ted Jensen – mastering
  • Shinobu Lee – vocals
  • David Levita – acoustic guitar, guitar
  • Lester Mendez – piano, producer, string arrangements, brass arrangement, instrumentation
  • Monica Mendez – sound design
  • Milan, Derrick & The Krew – chorus
  • Eddie Miller – vocal engineer
  • Rafael Padilla – percussion
  • Phillip Ramos – studio assistant
  • Tim Roberts – mixing assistant
  • Ken Robinson – trumpet
  • Sonus – strings
  • Welsh Choir of Southern California – chorus
  • Joe Wohlmuth – engineer

Charts
Chart (2008) Peak
position
US Billboard 200 48
Chart (2009) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[14] 64

Release history

[15]

Country Date
United States 16 September 2008
Canada
Japan
Ireland 30 January 2009
United Kingdom 2 February 2009
Europe
Sweden 4 February 2009
Portugal 16 February 2009
Poland
Denmark 23 February 2009
Germany 27 February 2009
Austria
Netherlands
Switzerland
Norway 2 March 2009
France 3 March 2009
Finland 4 March 2009
Greece 6 March 2009
Italy 20 March 2009[lower-alpha 1]

References
  1. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  2. Leahey, Andrew. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  3. "ArtofRhyme review". Artofrhyme.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  4. Billboard review
  5. "Digital Spy review". Digitalspy.co.uk. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  6. Caroline Sullivan (30 January 2009). "The Guardian review". London: Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  7. "Jem – Down to Earth – review". Musicomh.com. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  8. "Paste review". Pastemagazine.com. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  9. "The Phoenix review". Thephoenix.com. 23 September 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  10. "The Times review". Entertainment.timesonline.co.uk. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  11. Raible, Allan. "Review: Jem's "Down To Earth". ABC News. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  12. Jem - Down To Earth (CD liner notes). ATO Records. 88088-21630-2
  13. Kilkelly, Daniel. "Jem hopes to team up with Eminem". digitalspy.com. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  14. "Official UK Albums Chart". Theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  15. "Jem | The Official Website of Jem". Jem-music.net. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

Notes
  1. Italy's release was originally planned for 6 march 2009, as announced on Jem's official MySpace, but it was later postponed.
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