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Down to Earth
Studio album by
Jem
Released16 September 2008
Recorded2006–2008
StudioDetroit and Los Angeles
Genre Trip hop
Length47:18
Language
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Japanese
Label ATO
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]
ArtofRhyme3.75/5 [3]
Billboard(positive) [4]
Digital Spy [5]
The Guardian [6]
musicOMH [7]
Paste6.1/10 [8]
The Phoenix [9]
The Times [10]

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.

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 track [14]
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 performance for Down to Earth
Chart (2008) Peak
position
US Billboard 200 48
Chart (2009) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart [15] 64

Release history

Release history for Down to Earth [16]
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 [a]

Notes

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

References

  1. ^ a b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ "Down to Earth by Jem". Apple Music. ATO Records. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Official UK Albums Chart". Theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Jem | The Official Website of Jem". Jem-music.net. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
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