Jennifer Love Hewitt Barenaked CD

Personnel includes: Jennifer Love Hewitt (vocals); Meredith Brooks (vocals, acoustic & electric guitar); Goldo (vocals, keyboards, programming); Emerson Swinford (acoustic guitar); David Darling (guitar); Livingstone Brown (keyboards, bass, programming); Michael Parnell (keyboards); Glen Holmen (bass); Abraham Laboriel, Jr., Russ Miller (drums); Alex Gregg (programming); Andrew Boston (DJ); Windy Wagner, Rose Stone, Sharon Perry, Carolyn Perry, Darlene Perry (background vocals).
Recorded at Glenwood Place Studios, Burbank, California; The Village Recorder, West Los Angeles, California; Can-Am Recorders, Tarzana, California.
Jennifer Love Hewitt was teen pop before teen pop was cool, but she sat out its glory years of 1999-2001, concentrating on her film career and transition from adolescence to adulthood. Her 2002 musical comeback, BareNaked, is the culmination of her journey to womanhood and, appropriately, it doggedly avoids any comparisons with teen pop. Where Pink chose Linda Perry as the collaborator, J-Love hired Meredith Brooks, who certainly does move Hewitt far away from teen pop, firmly planting her into adult alternative pop with a record that wants to sound like Michelle Branch but can't shake the fact that it sounds like Meredith Brooks. This is not a bad thing, since it's well-crafted, appealing melodic acoustic pop, not nearly as provocative as the coy cover art and title, all earnestly sung by Love. If it doesn't ring as authentically as, say, Branch or Vanessa Carlton, it's because at her core Hewitt is a show-biz kid, and she still sounds a bit like she's putting on a show. But, thanks to Brooks' sturdy craftsmanship, it's a pretty good show all the same, with plenty of good MOR tunes and a winning, warm production that is only ridiculous on the hippy-dippy voice-and-bongo interpretation of "Me and Bobby McGee." Many critics have laughed this off because it's Jennifer Love Hewitt and because it is unabashedly square mainstream pop, but it's very good in its style and is a nice new beginning for a singer/actress that seemed to be stuck in dance-pop. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
You may know her best as TV's Sarah Reeves, but even during Jennifer Love Hewitt's mid-'90s heyday as a fixture on Party Of Five, she was cutting albums on the side. Despite being signed by Jive, (home of Britney and much of the bubblegum brigade), Hewitt enlisted more mature singer-songwriter Meredith Brooks to produce BARENAKED, her third American album. Together, Brooks and Hewitt turned out a record that allows the actress-turned-vocalist to cut loose minus any trite arrangements. With this kind of freedom, Hewitt shows an unexpectedly expert grasp of genres, dabbling in R&B ("Stand In Your Way"), gospel-flavored workouts featuring tight string arrangements ("Stronger"), and anthemic pop ("First Time").
Brooks's production also infuses modest loops and hip-hop-flavored beats into other fare including the poignant ballad "You" and sassy "I Know You Will." Aside from a subtly suggestive album cover, the only other thing BARENAKED about this 2002 Jennifer Love Hewitt release is a virtually a capella cover of "Me And Bobby McGee" that is a testament to the young actress-singer's unheralded vocal range.