Sheryl Crow | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Sheryl Crows fresh, updated spin on classic roots rock made her one of the most popular mainstream rockers of the 90s. Her albums were loose and eclectic on the surface, yet were generally tied together by polished, professional songcraft. Crows sunny, good-time rockers and world-weary ballads were radio staples for much of the 90s, and she was a perennial favorite at Grammy time. Although her songwriting style was firmly anchored to the rock tradition, she wasnt a slave to it -- her free-associative, reference-laden poetry could hardly have been the product of any era but the 90s. Her production not only kept pace with contemporary trends, but sometimes even pushed the envelope of what sounds could be heard on a classicist rock album, especially on her self-titled sophomore effort. All of this made Crow one of the most dependable stars of the decade, and she showed no signs of relinquishing her hard-won success in the new millennium. Sheryl Suzanne Crow was born February 11, 1962, in Kennett, Missouri. Her parents had both performed in swing orchestras, her father on trumpet and her mother as a singer; her mother was also a piano teacher, and ensured that all her daughters learned the instrument starting in grade school. Crow wrote her first song at age 13, and majored in music at the University of Missouri, where she also played keyboards in a cover band called Cashmere. After graduating, she spent a couple of years in St. Louis working as a music teacher for autistic children. She sang with another cover band, P.M., by night, and also recorded local advertising jingles on the side. In 1986, Crow packed up and moved to Los Angeles to try her luck in the music business. She was able to land some more jingle-singing assignments, and got her first big break when she successfully auditioned to be a backup singer on Michael Jacksons international Bad tour. In concert, she often sang the female duet part on "I Just Cant Stop Loving You," and was inaccurately rumored by the tabloids to have been Jacksons lover. After spending two years on the road with Jackson, Crow resumed her search for a record deal, but found that record companies were only interested in making her a dance-pop singer, which was not at all to her taste. Frustrated, Crow suffered a bout of severe depression that lasted about six months. She revived her career as a session vocalist, however, and performed with the likes of Sting, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Foreigner, Joe Cocker, Sinéad OConnor, and Don Henley, the latter of whom she toured with behind The End of the Innocence. She also developed her songwriting skills enough to have her compositions recorded by the likes of Wynonna Judd, Céline Dion, and Eric Clapton. Thanks to her session work, she made a connection with producer Hugh Padgham, who got her signed to A&M.; Padgham and Crow went into the studio in 1991 to record her debut album, but Padghams pop leanings resulted in a slick, ballad-laden record that didnt reflect the sound Crow wanted. The album was shelved, and fearing that shed let her best opportunity slip through her fingers, Crow sank into another near-crippling depression that lingered for nearly a year and a half. However, thanks to boyfriend Kevin Gilbert, an engineer whod attempted to remix her ill-fated album, Crow fell in with a loose group of industry pros that included Gilbert, Bill Bottrell, David Baerwald, David Ricketts, Brian MacLeod, and Dan Schwartz. Dubbed the Tuesday Night Music Club, this collective met once a week at Bottrells Pasadena recording studio to drink, jam, and work out material. In this informal, collaborative setting, Crow was able to get her creative juices flowing again, and the group agreed to make its newest member -- the only one with a recording contract -- the focal point. Crow and the collective worked out enough material for an album, and with Bottrell serving as producer, she recorded her new official debut, titled Tuesday Night Music Club in tribute. The record was released in August 1993 and proved slow to take off. Lead single "Run Baby Run" made little impact, and while "Leaving Las Vegas" attracted some attention, it reached only the lower half of the charts. A&M; took one last shot by releasing "All I Wanna Do," a song partly written by poet Wyn Cooper, as a single. With its breezy, carefree outlook, "All I Wanna Do" became one of the biggest summer singles of 1994, falling just one position short of number one. Suddenly, Tuesday Night Music Club started flying out of stores, and spawned a Top Five follow-up hit in "Strong Enough" (plus another minor single in "Cant Cry Anymore"). Crow was a big winner at the Grammys in early 1995, taking home honors for Best New Artist, Best Female Rock Vocal, and Record of the Year (the latter two for "All I Wanna Do"). Her surprising sweep pushed Tuesday Night Music Club into the realm of genuine blockbuster, as its sales swept past the seven million mark. After close to a decade of dues-paying, Crow was a star. Unfortunately, success came at a price. In 1994, Crow had been invited to perform "Leaving Las Vegas" on Late Night with David Letterman. In a brief interview segment, Letterman asked if the song was autobiographical, and Crow offhandedly agreed that it was. In actuality, the song was mostly written by David Baerwald, based on the book by his good friend John OBrien (which had also inspired the film). Having been burned by the industry already, some of the Tuesday Night Music Club took Crows comment as a refusal to give proper credit for their contributions. Baerwald in particular felt betrayed, and things only got worse when OBrien committed suicide not long after Crows Letterman appearance. Although OBriens family stepped forward to affirm that Crow had nothing to do with the tragedy, the rift with Baerwald was already irreparable. Some Club members bitterly charged that Crows role in the collaborative process was rather small, and that the talent on display actually had little to do with her. Tragedy struck again in 1996 when Crows ex-boyfriend, Kevin Gilbert, was found dead of autoerotic asphyxiation. Stung by the accusations, Crow set out to prove her legitimacy with her second album when the heavy touring for Tuesday Night Music Club finally ended. Bill Bottrell was originally slated to produce the record, but fell out with Crow very early on, and the singer ended up taking over production duties herself. However, she did bring in the noted team of Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake as assistant producer and engineer, respectively. Froom and Blake were known for the strange sonic experimentation they brought to projects by roots rockers (the Latin Playboys) and singer/songwriters (Richard Thompson, Suzanne Vega), and they helped Crow craft a similarly non-traditional record. Released in the fall of 1996, Sheryl Crow definitely bore the stamp of the singers personality and songwriting voice, especially in the idiosyncratic lyrics; plus, she was now doing most of the writing, usually with her guitarist, Jeff Trott, proving that she could cut it without her estranged collaborators. The singles "If It Makes You Happy," "Everyday Is a Winding Road," and "A Change Would Do You Good" were all radio smashes, and "Home" also became a minor hit. Sheryl Crow went triple platinum, and Crow brought home Grammys for Best Rock Album and another Best Female Rock Vocal (for "If It Makes You Happy"). Crow toured with the Lilith Fair package during the summer of 1997 (the first of several tours), and subsequently wrote and performed the title theme to the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. In the fall of 1998, she returned with her third album, The Globe Sessions. A more straightforward, traditionalist rock record than Sheryl Crow, The Globe Sessions didnt dominate the airwaves in quite the same fashion, but it did become her third straight platinum-selling, Top Ten LP, and it won her another Grammy for Best Rock Album. It also spawned two mid-sized hits in the Top 20: "My Favorite Mistake" and "Anything But Down." In 1999, she contributed a Grammy-winning cover of Guns N Roses "Sweet Child o Mine" to the soundtrack of the Adam Sandler comedy Big Daddy. She also performed a special free concert in New Yorks Central Park, with an array of guest stars including Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Chrissie Hynde, the Dixie Chicks, Stevie Nicks, and Sarah McLachlan. The show was broadcast on Fox and later released as the album Live in Central Park, just in time for the holidays. "There Goes the Neighborhood" won her another Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal; however, partly because of some shaky performances, the album flopped badly, not even going gold. Hit with a case of writers block, Crow took some time to deliver her fourth studio LP. In the meantime, she produced several tracks on Stevie Nicks 2001 album, Trouble in Shangri-La, and also recorded a duet with Kid Rock, "Picture," for his album Cocky. Finally, in the spring of 2002, Crow released Cmon Cmon, which entered the LP charts at number two for her highest positioning yet. It quickly went platinum, and the lead single, "Soak Up the Sun," was a Top 20 hit and another ubiquitous radio smash. The follow-up, "Steve McQueen," was also a lesser hit. At the beginning of 2005 it was announced that there would be two simultaneously released new albums available by the end of the year. The project was then scaled back to the single-disc Wildflower, which saw release at the end of September. Crow was forced to take time off from her musical career in 2006 after being diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. After successful treatment, she returned in 2008 with her sixth studio album, Detours. The soul-inspired 100 Miles from Memphis followed in 2010 and featured guest spots from Keith Richards, Justin Timberlake, and Citizen Cope. By the end of that year she had performed with Loretta Lynn and Miranda Lambert on the title track of a Lynn tribute album, Coal Miners Daughter. This country-focused collaboration was an early indicator of the direction that Crows work would eventually take in the years that followed. A creatively quiet 2011 ended with her appearance on William Shatners space-themed third studio album, Seeking Major Tom. Crows delicate, piano-fueled cover of K.I.A.s "Mrs. Major Tom" was generally received by critics as one of the highlights of the disc. Then, in summer 2012, she revealed details of another health scare. Although Crow had been diagnosed with a brain tumor at the end of 2011, it was found to be benign, and six months on she was quoted in many news reports as feeling healthy and happy. That November she issued the download-only, politically charged "Woman in the White House." It was her first self-penned material to appear in a couple of years and was her most out-and-out mainstream country track to date. March 2013 saw the release of "Easy," the first single to appear ahead of Feels Like Home, a country-steeped full-length that appeared in September of 2013. Feels Like Home debuted at seven on the Billboard Top 200 -- and number three on the country chart -- but generated no country hits, so Crow changed direction for 2017s Be Myself by reuniting with her 90s collaborators Tchad Blake and Jeff Trott. The politically charged 2018 single "Wouldnt Want to Be Like You" saw Crow pairing up with St. Vincents Annie Clark. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 21 Title: Live Released: Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:05:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Leaving Las Vegas (05:45) 2 Run Baby, Run (05:40) 3 Cant Cry Anymore (04:26) 4 No One Said It Would Be Easy (05:46) 5 All I Wanna Do (04:53) 6 Strong Enough (03:09) 7 Happy (Rolling Stones) (02:56) 8 I Shall Believe (06:36) 9 Father, Son (03:57) 10 The Na-Na Song / Everybody (05:55) 11 Solidify (05:24) 12 What I Can Do for You (06:49) 13 Nobody Needs You When Your Down (04:25) |
 | Album: 2 of 21 Title: The Globe Sessions Released: 1989-09-21 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:03:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 My Favorite Mistake (04:07) 2 There Goes the Neighborhood (05:02) 3 Riverwide (04:07) 4 It Don’t Hurt (04:49) 5 Maybe That’s Something (04:18) 6 Am I Getting Through, Parts I & II (05:31) 7 Anything but Down (04:18) 8 The Difficult Kind (06:19) 9 Mississippi (04:41) 10 Members Only (04:57) 11 Crash and Burn / Subway (11:26) 12 Resuscitation (03:59) |
| The Globe Sessions : Allmusic album Review : Since her dense, varied, postmodernist eponymous second album illustrated that Sheryl Crow was no one-album wonder, she wasnt left with as much to prove the third time around. Having created an original variation on roots rock with Sheryl Crow, she was left with the dilemma of how to remain loyal to that sound without repeating herself on her third album, The Globe Sessions. To her credit, she never plays lazy, not when shes turning out Stonesy rockers ("There Goes the Neighborhood") or when shes covering Dylan (the remarkable "Mississippi," an outtake from Time Out of Mind). However, she has decided to abandon the layered, yard-sale production and pop culture fixations that made Sheryl Crow a defining album of the mid-90s. The Globe Sessions, instead, is the work of a craftswoman, one who knows how to balance introspective songs with pop/rockers, one who knows how to exploit her signature sound while becoming slightly more eclectic. In that sense, the album is a lot like a latter-day album from her idols, the Stones -- it finds pleasures within the craft and the signature sounds themselves. That means that there are no surprises (apart from the synthesized handclaps, of course). The Celtic homage "Riverwide" may be new, but its not unexpected, much like how the whiplash transition in "Am I Getting Through" isnt entirely out of the blue. Thats not necessarily a bad thing, though, since The Globe Sessions has a strong set of songs. Since it lacks the varied sonics, humor, and flat-out weirdness of Sheryl Crow, its never quite as compelling a listen as its predecessor, yet it is a strong record, again confirming Crows position as one of the best roots rockers of the 90s. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 21 Title: Sheryl Crow & Friends Live From Central Park Released: 1992 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:13:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Everyday Is a Winding Road (05:30) 2 My Favorite Mistake (04:13) 3 Leaving Las Vegas (07:21) 4 Strong Enough (03:36) 5 It Dont Hurt (05:56) 6 A Change Would Do You Good (05:17) 7 Gold Dust Woman (04:25) 8 If It Makes You Happy (05:03) 9 All I Wanna Do (05:59) 10 Happy (03:20) 11 The Difficult Kind (05:56) 12 White Room (05:50) 13 There Goes the Neighborhood (05:31) 14 Tombstone Blues (05:04) |
 | Album: 4 of 21 Title: Tuesday Night Music Club Released: 1993-08-03 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:17:57 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Run, Baby, Run (04:53) 2 Leaving Las Vegas (05:09) 3 Strong Enough (03:10) 4 Can’t Cry Anymore (03:41) 5 Solidify (04:08) 6 The Na‐Na Song (03:13) 7 No One Said It Would Be Easy (05:29) 8 What I Can Do for You (04:14) 9 All I Wanna Do (04:33) 10 We Do What We Can (05:39) 11 I Shall Believe (05:34) 1 Can’t Cry Anymore (04:24) 2 Leaving Las Vegas (05:34) 3 Run Baby Run (05:58) 4 The Na-Na Song (03:42) 5 Strong Enough (03:12) 6 All I Wanna Do (05:18) |
| Tuesday Night Music Club : Allmusic album Review : Sheryl Crow earned her recording contract through hard work, gigging as a backing vocalist for everyone from Don Henley to Michael Jackson before entering the studio with Hugh Padgham to record her debut album. As it turned out, things didnt go entirely as planned. Instead of adhering to her rock & roll roots, the record was a slick set of contemporary pop, relying heavily on ballads. Upon hearing the completed album, Crow convinced A&M not to release the album, choosing to cut a new record with producer Bill Bottrell. Along with several Los Angeles-based songwriters and producers, including David Baerwald, David Ricketts, and Brian McLeod, Bottrell was part of a collective dubbed "the Tuesday Night Music Club." Every Tuesday, the group would get together, drink beer, jam, and write songs. Crow became part of the Club and, within a few months, she decided to craft her debut album around the songs and spirit of the collective. It was, for the most part, an inspired idea, since Tuesday Night Music Club has a loose, ramshackle charm that her unreleased debut lacked. At its best -- the opening quartet of "Run, Baby, Run," "Leaving Las Vegas," "Strong Enough," and "Cant Cry Anymore," plus the deceptively infectious "All I Wanna Do" -- are remarkable testaments to their collaboration, proving that roots rock can sound contemporary and have humor. That same spirit, however, also resulted in some half-finished songs, and the preponderance of those tracks make Tuesday Night Music Club better in memory than it is in practice. Still, even with the weaker moments, Crow manages to create an identity for herself -- a classic rocker at heart but with enough smarts to stay contemporary. And thats the lasting impression Tuesday Night Music Club leaves. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 21 Title: Sheryl Crow Released: 1996-09-23 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:00:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Maybe Angels (04:54) 2 A Change Would Do You Good (03:49) 3 Home (04:51) 4 Sweet Rosalyn (03:59) 5 If It Makes You Happy (05:23) 6 Redemption Day (04:26) 7 Hard to Make a Stand (03:07) 8 Everyday Is a Winding Road (04:17) 9 Love Is a Good Thing (04:42) 10 Oh Marie (03:31) 11 Superstar (04:57) 12 The Book (04:44) 13 Ordinary Morning (03:58) 14 Free Man (03:20) |
| Sheryl Crow : Allmusic album Review : Hiring noted roots experimentalists Tchad Blake and Mitchell Froom as engineer and consultant, respectively, Sheryl Crow took a cue from their Latin Playboys project for her second album -- she kept her roots rock foundation and added all sorts of noises, weird instruments, percussion loops, and off-balance production to give Sheryl Crow a distinctly modern flavor. And, even with the Stonesy grind of "Sweet Rosalyn" or hippie spirits of "Love Is a Good Thing," it is an album that couldnt have been made any other time than the 90s. As strange as it may sound, Sheryl Crow is a postmodern masterpiece of sorts -- albeit a mainstream, post-alternative, postmodern masterpiece. It may not be as hip or innovative as, say, the Beastie Boys Pauls Boutique, but it is as self-referential, pop culture obsessed, and musically eclectic. Throughout the record, Crow spins out wild, nearly incomprehensible stream-of-consciousness lyrics, dropping celebrity names and products every chance she gets ("drinking Falstaff beer/Mercedes Ruehl and a rented Leer"). Often, these litanies dont necessarily add up to anything specific, but theyre a perfect match for the mess of rock, blues, alt-rock, country, folk, and lite hip-hop loops that dominate the record. At her core, she remains a traditionalist -- the songcraft behind the infectious "Change Would Do You Good," the bubbly "Everyday Is a Winding Road," and the weary "If It Makes You Happy" helped get the singles on the radio -- but the production and lyrics are often at odds with those instincts, creating for a fascinating and compelling (and occasionally humorous) listen and one of the most individual albums of its era. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 21 Title: C’mon, C’mon Released: 2002-04-08 Tracks: 13 Duration: 56:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Steve McQueen (03:25) 2 Soak Up the Sun (04:52) 3 You’re an Original (04:18) 4 Safe and Sound (04:32) 5 C’mon C’mon (04:45) 6 It’s So Easy (03:24) 7 Over You (04:38) 8 Lucky Kid (04:02) 9 Diamond Road (04:09) 10 It’s Only Love (05:05) 11 Abilene (04:05) 12 Hole in My Pocket (04:37) 13 Weather Channel (04:42) |
| C’mon, C’mon : Allmusic album Review : Its hard to call The Globe Sessions a stumble, but its stripped-down, straightforwardness paled in comparison to the dark pop-culture kaleidoscope of Sheryl Crows eponymous second album. Thats why Cmon, Cmon, Crows long-delayed fourth album, is such a delight -- its the sunny flip side of that masterpiece, a skillful synthesis of classic rock and modern sensibilities thats pretty irresistible. Crow has turned into the professional she always acted she was -- she not only crafts songs impeccably, she knows how to record them, filling the record with interesting sonic details, whether its the Steve Miller-styled "woo hoo"s on "Steve McQueen" or subtle Mellotrons on "Over You." That kind of sly sonic adventure was missing from Globe Sessions, as was her predilection for almost-absurd lyrical asides -- check the digital cable reference on the lead single, "Soak Up the Sun," along with its opening line of "My friend, the communist" -- and the return of both makes Cmon, Cmon a delightful return to form. Theres so much to enjoy on the surface of the record, particularly in its unashamed glossy sheen and classically structured hooks, that its easy to enjoy just on that level, yet it also works as a set of songs nearly as consistent and rich as those on her second album. Where Sheryl Crow was a quintessential fall album -- even at its happiest, there was an undercurrent of melancholy and weariness -- this is a record designed for the sunkissed open road of spring and summer. Even when shes singing about heartache, theres an assured sense of purpose, even a swagger, to this album that shines through. Yet it doesnt just work a mood, it showcases her skills at a peak. Its Sheryl Crow at her best, delivering music that is firmly rooted in the past, yet recorded and performed with a modern feel and flair, something that was absent from The Globe Sessions. Its pretty much what the follow-up to Sheryl Crow should have been and what she needed to release for her fourth album, but even better than expected. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 21 Title: Live at Budokan Released: 2003-07-22 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:15:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Steve McQueen (05:06) 2 Everyday Is a Winding Road (06:30) 3 My Favorite Mistake (04:50) 4 Cmon Cmon (04:56) 5 Strong Enough (04:15) 6 If It Makes You Happy (05:57) 7 The Difficult Kind (05:40) 8 A Change Would Do You Good (08:06) 9 Home (07:39) 10 Weather Channel (04:48) 11 All I Wanna Do (05:20) 12 Soak Up the Sun (05:01) 13 There Goes the Neighborhood (07:11) |
 | Album: 8 of 21 Title: The Very Best of Sheryl Crow Released: 2003-10-13 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:17:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 All I Wanna Do (04:33) 2 Soak Up the Sun (04:52) 3 My Favorite Mistake (04:07) 4 The First Cut Is the Deepest (03:45) 5 Everyday Is a Winding Road (04:17) 6 Leaving Las Vegas (05:09) 7 Strong Enough (03:10) 8 Light in Your Eyes (04:01) 9 If It Makes You Happy (05:23) 10 Run, Baby, Run (04:53) 11 Picture (04:58) 12 Cmon, Cmon (04:25) 13 A Change Would Do You Good (03:49) 14 Home (04:51) 15 There Goes the Neighborhood (05:02) 16 I Shall Believe (05:34) 17 Lets Get Free (04:35) |
| The Very Best of Sheryl Crow : Allmusic album Review : Sheryl Crow was one of the key artists of the 90s, if the yardstick is capturing the sound and spirit of the time. A former backing vocalist for Michael Jackson -- an association that led to dubious tabloid headlines romantically linking her with the singer long before she was a star in her own right -- she rode the first great wave of Women in Rock hysteria of the alt-rock explosion to fame with her first album, Tuesday Night Music Club, in 1994, settling into the weary aftermath of the post-grunge years with her brilliant eponymous second album in 1996, riding out the end years of the Clinton administration with the measured, mature Globe Sessions in 1998, and then defying the gloom of the W years by soaking up the sun on 2002s Cmon Cmon. It was a body of work that defined the times without getting too much critical respect (similar to Billy Joel in that respect, even if the music is totally dissimilar), and while her albums were always good and occasionally terrific, she made her greatest mark as a singles artist on the ever-morphing world of 90s radio. Released in late 2003, The Very Best of Sheryl Crow is the first attempt to summarize those years, and it does a pretty good job of it. All of the big hits are here: the deceptively effervescent "All I Wanna Do," the defiantly effervescent "Soak Up the Sun," the sweet resignation of "My Favorite Mistake," the giddy "Everyday Is a Winding Road," the evocative "Leaving Las Vegas," the sexily exhausted "If It Makes You Happy," the soccer-mom anthem "A Change Would Do You Good," the absurd escapism of the heavily Pro Tooled "Steve McQueen," and best of all, "Picture," a superb country duet with Kid Rock previously unavailable on any of Crows albums. If the collection seems to be missing songs, its because it is. Like most contemporary hits collection, it chooses to highlight album tracks ("Home," "The Difficult Kind," "I Shall Believe") in lieu of minor hits -- a tactic that is highly debatable, since those album tracks may be favorites of the artist or the concert-attending audience yet those who follow an artist via the radio will find many songs absent, some more noteworthy than others. In this case, "Run Baby Run," "Cant Cry Anymore," "Dyer Maker," "Anything but Down," "Sweet Child O Mine," and "CMon CMon" are all missing in action, with "Cant Cry Anymore," "Anything but Down," and maybe "Run Baby Run" being truly missed (the covers of Zeppelin and Guns N Roses being the byproduct of the 90s pop climate where major and minor artists alike had more contributions to soundtracks, benefit albums, and tribute records than could be counted; some hit the charts, as in this case, but most didnt). This is a minor quibble, since it effects the general texture and feel of the album more than the overall effect, but its enough to keep it from being the unqualified home run that it should have been. Even so, The Very Best of Sheryl Crow does capture her biggest and best songs, adding two good new songs to the mix (a cover of Cat Stevens "The First Cut Is the Deepest," which uses Rod Stewarts version as the starting point, and the solid new song "Light in Your Eyes"), that in turn capture the feel of the 90s by proxy. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 21 Title: Wildflower Released: 2005-09-23 Tracks: 12 Duration: 50:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I Know Why (04:15) 2 Perfect Lie (04:34) 3 Good Is Good (04:18) 4 Chances Are (05:16) 5 Wildflower (03:57) 6 Lifetimes (04:12) 7 Letter to God (04:04) 8 Live It Up (03:42) 9 I Dont Wanna Know (04:28) 10 Always on Your Side (04:15) 11 Where Has All the Love Gone (03:41) 12 Always on Your Side (04:10) |
| Wildflower : Allmusic album Review : Originally, Sheryl Crow planned to have her follow-up to 2002s Top Ten hit Cmon, Cmon be two simultaneously released albums, announcing their autumn release at the beginning of 2005, but by the time the fall rolled around, the project had been scaled back to a single album: Wildflower. If Cmon, Cmon was a cheerful, bright record ideal for sunny summer days, Wildflower is its opposite, a warm, introspective record thats tailored for the fall. Its not dissimilar to 1998s The Globe Sessions, which felt like a somber hangover to the wonderfully weird party of her eponymous 1996 second album, but where The Globe Sessions had a weary, heartbroken feel, theres a comfortable, lived-in atmosphere and sense of genuine affection on Wildflower. Celebrity press and pre-release hype attributed this love-mad vibe to Crows romance with cyclist Lance Armstrong -- the couple announced its engagement the same month Wildflower was released -- and there surely must be some sort of correlation between Crows personal life and work, but anybody looking for an album explicitly about her relationship with Lance (the way that, say, Eric Benets Hurricane is all about his divorce from Halle Berry) will be disappointed. There are certainly plenty of songs about love here, but Crows songs are not about specific events (unless theyre neo-protest songs like the lively "Live It Up"). Theyre open-ended, so its easy to hear the record and never think about Armstrong. As a matter of fact, the subjects of the songs matter less than the feel of the album. Its easy to spin Wildflower a couple of times before the songs start to sink in -- unlike her other records, theres nothing here that immediately grabs your attention, theyre all growers -- but the mood of the record is immediately appealing. That sustained warm, burnished, relaxed feel -- at once rootsy and upscale, modest and classy -- is reason enough to return to Wildflower to give the songs a chance to take root, and once they do, the album seems to be one of her most consistent records and one of her best. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 21 Title: Hits and Rarities Released: 2007-11-12 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:19:37 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 All I Wanna Do (04:33) 2 My Favorite Mistake (04:07) 3 Soak Up the Sun (04:52) 4 Always on Your Side (04:10) 5 The First Cut Is the Deepest (03:45) 6 Everyday Is a Winding Road (04:17) 7 Try Not to Remember (04:39) 8 Leaving Las Vegas (05:09) 9 Strong Enough (03:10) 10 If It Makes You Happy (05:23) 11 Run, Baby, Run (04:53) 12 I Shall Believe (05:34) 13 Light in Your Eyes (04:01) 14 CMon CMon (Corrs version) (04:25) 15 A Change Would Do You Good (03:50) 16 Wildflower (03:57) 17 Sweet Child o’ Mine (03:51) 18 Tomorrow Never Dies (04:51) |
| Hits and Rarities : Allmusic album Review : Released for the British market, Hits and Rarities combines a good basic Sheryl Crow hits compilation with a collection of rarities that are either not that rare or interesting. The first disc is the stronger of the two, containing almost all of her big hits, not presented chronologically but presented entertainingly and not leaning too heavily on any particular era. Here, there are a few minor rarities -- the alternate Corrs version of "Cmon Cmon," soundtrack contributions to the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, the film Home of the Brave ("Try Not to Remember"), and her unfortunate cover of Guns N Roses "Sweet Child O Mine" from Adam Sandlers Big Daddy -- which actually seem rarer than the stuff on the second disc. Seven of the 12 tracks there are live, many taken from the 2003 Live at Budokan, then there are two alternate takes, the B-sides "Chances Are," "Subway Ride," and a 1996 cover of Derek & the Dominos "Keep on Growing." Nothing bad here, but hardly a worthy collection of Crows stray tracks and certainly not worth seeking out, as its neither complete nor really compelling. But the hits disc is good and if youre in the home territory, or find this at a bargain price, its a nice -- if not necessary -- package overall. [A single-disc edition of Hits and Rarities was also released.] | ||
 | Album: 11 of 21 Title: Detours Released: 2008-01-30 Tracks: 15 Duration: 57:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 God Bless This Mess (02:09) 2 Shine Over Babylon (04:02) 3 Love Is Free (03:22) 4 Peace Be Upon Us (04:22) 5 Gasoline (05:07) 6 Out of Our Heads (04:27) 7 Detours (03:28) 8 Now That Youre Gone (03:51) 9 Drunk With the Thought of You (02:38) 10 Diamond Ring (04:10) 11 Motivation (03:47) 12 Make It Go Away (Radiation Song) (03:23) 13 Love Is All There Is (04:01) 14 Lullaby for Wyatt (04:07) 15 Rise Up (04:06) |
| Detours : Allmusic album Review : Nothing puts life in perspective like a brush with death, and that truism is brought into blazing relief on Sheryl Crows sixth album, Detours. Crow survived a battle with breast cancer in February 2006. Around that same time, she separated from fiancé Lance Armstrong and, roughly a year later, she adopted a son. Thats a decades worth of life packed into two years, but these highs and lows -- or Detours as she calls them -- have led Crow to produce her liveliest, weirdest album since 1996s messy masterpiece Sheryl Crow. On that record, Crow shook up her success by undercutting the retro-rock of Tuesday Night Music Club with loping looped beats and a skewed lyricism that kept even bright tunes like "A Change Will Do You Good" slightly off-kilter, but ever since that album her records grew increasingly mannered, as she whittled away her eccentricities. All those eccentricities return on Detours, partially due to that tidal wave of life events, but also to the revival of her relationship with producer Bill Bottrell, the man who helmed Tuesday Night Music Club. Bottrell and Crow had an acrimonious split during the making of the second album -- several of their collaborations did make that record, including "Maybe Angels" and "Hard to Make a Stand" -- and while Sheryl sustained her stardom, no producer let her be as loose or revealing as Bottrell, as he helped give her pop tunes odd, distinguishing touches and kept her ballads spare and haunting. These gifts are put into sharp relief on Detours -- perhaps a shade too sharp, actually, as the album is divided into a half of careening protest pop and a half of moody introspection, which may showcase how Bottrell captures Crows distinct moods, but doesnt quite give this album the classicist flow of her first records. Even if the album slows down a bit too much on its second stretch -- the one containing unadorned confessionals of broken engagements ("Diamond Ring"), cancer ("Make It Go Away [Radiation Song]"), and adoption ("Lullaby for Wyatt") -- the individual moments all work according to their own merits, while that first half contains Crows most compelling music in years. Much of this is explicitly political -- references to war, petroleum, and New Orleans all run rampant -- but compared to her sometimes didactic public speeches, her socially conscious writing is surprising, filled with odd juxtapositions and sly jokes. That sense of humor alone is a relief, but its married to music thats restless, encompassing the worldbeat textures of "Peace Be Upon Us" (featuring Ahmed Al Himi on backing vocals), the lopsided shuffle of "Love Is Free," and the sultry 70s Stones swagger of "Gasoline." Crow hasnt been this free or fine since Sheryl Crow, but there is an emotional directness on Detours that makes this a progression, not a retreat, and with any luck, this album isnt a one-time journey down a side road but rather the touchstone for the next act in her career. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 21 Title: Home for Christmas Released: 2008-09-30 Tracks: 11 Duration: 41:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Go Tell It on the Mountain (03:07) 2 The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) (03:23) 3 White Christmas (03:31) 4 I’ll Be Home for Christmas (03:42) 5 Merry Christmas, Baby (03:15) 6 The Bells of St. Mary’s (04:33) 7 Blue Christmas (03:25) 8 O Holy Night (03:40) 9 There Is a Star That Shines Tonight (03:59) 10 Hello My Friend, Hello (03:41) 11 All Through the Night (05:13) |
| Home for Christmas : Allmusic album Review : Originally released as a Hallmark exclusive for the holiday season of 2008, Home for Christmas was expanded by a single cut for its exclusive 2010 for Target: “Long Road Home,” taken from Sheryl Crow’s fine 2010 tribute to Southern soul, 100 Miles from Memphis. This may be a secular tune, but it fits snugly next to the rest of Home for Christmas, as that holiday record was designed as a slow, soulful stroll through seasonal classics, Crow turning in excellent versions of tunes as diverse as “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire),” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Crow doesn’t necessarily reinvent these songs -- “Merry Christmas Baby” is taken at a slightly faster gait than usual, “White Christmas” grooves like classic Stax -- but she does inhabit them and her band is tight and dexterous, giving this Christmas album some unexpected and welcome soul. It’s a good enough holiday album that it shouldn’t be thought of as a thrown-off exclusive: it’s one of the better pop Christmas records of the last half of the 2000s. | ||
 | Album: 13 of 21 Title: 100 Miles From Memphis Released: 2010-07-19 Tracks: 12 Duration: 59:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Our Love Is Fading (06:21) 2 Eye to Eye (05:33) 3 Sign Your Name (05:36) 4 Summer Day (04:29) 5 Long Road Home (04:12) 6 Say What You Want (04:48) 7 Peaceful Feeling (04:01) 8 Stop (04:39) 9 Sideways (05:09) 10 100 Miles From Memphis (04:59) 11 Roses and Moonlight (06:39) 12 I Want You Back (03:04) |
| 100 Miles From Memphis : Allmusic album Review : The title and sound of 100 Miles from Memphis can’t help but recall Dusty in Memphis, Dusty Springfield’s 1969 blue-eyed soul classic, but Sheryl Crow’s 2010 album isn’t quite a strict homage to Dusty. Crow draws from many of the same ‘60s sources as Springfield, but she also dabbles in reggae (thanks to the chunky guitar of Keith Richards on “Eye to Eye”) and digs into the cool, seductive ‘70s groove of Hi, channeling Al Green on a sleek reworking of Terence Trent D’Arby’s “Sign Your Name,” complete with support from Justin Timberlake. Add to this the extended funk coda of “Roses and Moonlight,” the hippie singalong of “Long Road Home” and one of Crow’s signature good-time social-conscious raising anthems in “Say What You Want” and 100 Miles from Memphis boasts a considerably more expansive palette than Dusty in Memphis, yet it’s all bonded by its smooth, soulful groove due in part to the co-production from Doyle Bramhall II and Justin Stanley. This pair gives 100 Miles a sound that’s recognizably Southern yet has a distinctly sunny vibe not too far removed from Crow’s sun-kissed debut Tuesday Night Music Club, of which this shares a similar spirit, if not sensibility. Tuesday Night Music Club is loose and open where this is focused and sustained, maintaining its charming, relaxed groove from beginning to end. There’s an ease to this record that’s not often heard on Sheryl Crow’s albums and its light touch is thoroughly appealing. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 21 Title: Icon 2 Released: 2011-01-04 Tracks: 24 Duration: 1:42:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 All I Want to Do (04:34) 2 Soak Up the Sun (04:52) 3 If It Makes You Happy (05:21) 4 A Change Will Do You Good (03:51) 5 My Favorite Mistake (04:08) 6 Strong Enough (03:11) 7 Everyday Is a Winding Road (04:18) 8 Steve McQueen (03:27) 9 Leaving Las Vegas (05:12) 10 Always on Your Side (04:15) 11 Cant Cry Anymore (03:43) 12 The First Cut Is the Deepest (03:44) 1 Sweet Rosalyn (03:59) 2 Now That Youre Gone (03:53) 3 Run Baby Run (04:55) 4 CMon CMon (04:45) 5 There Goes the Neighborhood (05:04) 6 Home (04:53) 7 Anything but Down (04:21) 8 Good Is Good (04:20) 9 Love Is Free (03:25) 10 Hard to Make a Stand (03:09) 11 Summer Day (04:32) 12 Riverwide (04:06) |
| Icon 2 : Allmusic album Review : Sheryl Crows sense of melody, flow, and pop dynamics have served her well since her huge splash with her debut album Tuesday Night Music Club in 1993, and her bright rock swagger makes her seem a bit like a California version of Chrissie Hynde: both know how to sound personal and universal in a three-minute single on the radio. This two-disc set collects the most commercial and essential sides from Crows career, and it includes the hits "Leaving Las Vegas," "All I Wanna Do," "If It Makes You Happy," "Everyday Is a Winding Road," "A Change Would Do You Good," and "Soak Up the Sun," among other key tracks. Put together like this, all in a row, it reveals a pretty impressive pop legacy. | ||
 | Album: 15 of 21 Title: Icon Released: 2011-01-04 Tracks: 12 Duration: 50:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 All I Want to Do (04:34) 2 Soak Up the Sun (04:52) 3 If It Makes You Happy (05:21) 4 A Change Will Do You Good (03:51) 5 My Favorite Mistake (04:08) 6 Strong Enough (03:11) 7 Everyday Is a Winding Road (04:18) 8 Steve McQueen (03:27) 9 Leaving Las Vegas (05:12) 10 Always on Your Side (04:15) 11 Cant Cry Anymore (03:43) 12 The First Cut Is the Deepest (03:44) |
| Icon : Allmusic album Review : The single-disc version of the Sheryl Crow entry in Universal Musics discount-priced Icon series of compilations is a 12-track best-of containing all of Crows Top 40 hits, 1994-2003, plus a couple of minor chart entries (the breakthrough song "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Steve McQueen"). (A couple of other minor chart entries, "Anything but Down" and "Good Is Good" are missing.) Chronological order is eschewed in favor of listenability, as the set begins with Crows first big hit, "All I Wanna Do," from 1994, followed by the Top 20 "Soak Up the Sun" from 2002, and then the Top Ten "If It Makes You Happy" from 1996, etc. In any order, these songs make a case for Crow as one of the better mainstream rockers to emerge in the ‘90s and still be productive and popular well into the ‘00s. | ||
 | Album: 16 of 21 Title: The Live Room Sessions Released: 2013 Tracks: 4 Duration: 18:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 We Oughta Be Drinkin (03:53) 2 Best of Times (04:55) 3 Happy (05:22) 1 Easy (04:11) |
 | Album: 17 of 21 Title: Everyday Is a Winding Road: The Collection Released: 2013-02-18 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:18:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 If It Makes You Happy (05:24) 2 All I Wanna Do (04:32) 3 A Change Would Do You Good (03:49) 4 Everyday Is a Winding Road (04:17) 5 Soak Up the Sun (04:51) 6 Steve McQueen (03:25) 7 Can’t Cry Anymore (03:41) 8 Anything but Down (04:17) 9 My Favourite Mistake (04:07) 10 Strong Enough (03:10) 11 There Goes the Neighbourhood (05:03) 12 Try Not to Remember (04:38) 13 Run, Baby, Run (04:53) 14 I Shall Believe (05:33) 15 Home (04:51) 16 Riverwide (04:07) 17 Always on Your Side (04:12) 18 The First Cut Is the Deepest (03:47) |
 | Album: 18 of 21 Title: 2013-05-20: The Battle for Love and Happiness Continues: Big Light Studio, Nashville, TN, USA Released: 2013-05-28 Tracks: 5 Duration: 17:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Easy (04:01) 2 Homecoming Queen (03:23) 3 Calling Me When Im Lonely (03:31) 4 Give It to Me (03:50) 5 Strong Enough (03:10) |
 | Album: 19 of 21 Title: Feels Like Home Released: 2013-09-10 Tracks: 14 Duration: 51:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Shotgun (03:14) 2 Easy (04:11) 3 Give It to Me (03:57) 4 We Oughta Be Drinkin (03:52) 5 Callin Me When Im Lonely (03:25) 6 Waterproof Mascara (03:32) 7 Crazy Aint Original (03:17) 8 Nobodys Business (03:34) 9 Homesick (04:05) 10 Homecoming Queen (03:24) 11 Best of Times (03:19) 12 Stay at Home Mother (04:11) 13 This Is You (That Was Then) (03:49) 14 Youre Asking the Wrong Person (03:32) |
| Feels Like Home : Allmusic album Review : Unlike, say, Bon Jovi, it is no great leap for Sheryl Crow to plunge into contemporary country on Feels Like Home. Tuesday Night Music Club, her 1993 debut, couldve been called country-rock if it had been released in another era, and shes never shied away from roots music, either giving it a crisp, classy spin or taking a full stylistic detour, as she did on 2010s 100 Miles from Memphis. In some ways, that soul excursion felt like a greater departure for Crow than this 2013 album, as beneath the down-home accouterments of aggressive Telecasters, self-consciously country lyrics, the affected down-home twang in her voice, and the occasional fiddle, Feels Like Home feels like standard-issue Crow, the kind of record that couldve been delivered after The Globe Sessions. Indeed, the opener "Shotgun" feels like an inversion of CMon Cmons opener "Steve McQueen," "We Oughta Be Drinkin" is a slower kissing cousin of "All I Wanna Do," "Easy" rolls along lazily but co-opts some of the clever cultural nods of Sheryl Crow, while "Nobodys Business" and "Best of Times" are cheerful roots-pop tunes thatd feel welcome on any of her albums. Crow runs into trouble when she tries to get a little too country, either by ratcheting up Music City melodrama to a ridiculous scale -- "Give It to Me" is brought down by its escalating synthesized strings, "Waterproof Mascara" by her own vocal histrionics -- or by writing relatable blue-collar vignettes so brimming with clichés they verge on the condescending. All the talk of tight times, downmarket beer, and gossip is targeted at a country audience, but when Crow sings of being poor or white trash, she has none of the authenticity of Kacey Musgraves; she has the air of a tourist -- from her phrasing and her polished accompaniment, its all too clear that once she stops singing, she will go back to much cozier surroundings. Of course, part of the appeal of Feels Like Home is its show biz panache, how Crow cheerfully adapts to her surroundings and gives the people what she believes they want. That her instincts are often right speaks to her skills; that she veers into accidental condescension suggests this country move may be motivated by finding a new audience, not satisfying her existing one. | ||
 | Album: 20 of 21 Title: The Sting Released: 2015-08-14 Tracks: 10 Duration: 53:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Cant Cry Any More (05:16) 2 Love Is a Good Thing (05:52) 3 Leaving Las Vegas (06:18) 4 Run, Baby, Run (05:47) 5 The Na-Na Song (07:30) 6 DYer Maker (04:50) 7 Strong Enough (03:57) 8 Volvo Cowgirl 99 (01:58) 9 I Shall Believe (06:47) 10 All I Wanna Do (04:59) |
 | Album: 21 of 21 Title: Be Myself Released: 2017-04-21 Tracks: 11 Duration: 45:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Alone in the Dark (03:40) 2 Halfway There (03:58) 3 Long Way Back (05:08) 4 Be Myself (04:22) 5 Roller Skate (03:17) 6 Love Will Save the Day (04:58) 7 Strangers Again (03:50) 8 Rest of Me (03:51) 9 Heartbeat Away (05:36) 10 Grow Up (03:26) 11 Woo Woo (03:15) |
| Be Myself : Allmusic album Review : Sheryl Crows country makeover Feels Like Home didnt click commercially in 2013, so she decided to radically shift directions for this 2017 successor, Be Myself. The title alone is a tacit admission that shes returning to her roots, reuniting with producers Jeff Trott and Tchad Blake, the pair who helmed 1996s Sheryl Crow and 1998s The Globe Sessions. Crow last worked with Trott on 2002s Cmon, Cmon, and Be Myself deliberately mirrors that albums sunny vibe while also nodding at specific songs from Crows past. "Roller Skate" grooves to a beat that echoes "All I Want to Do" and "Strangers Again" struts like "If It Makes You Happy" -- sly winks that acknowledge Crow is happy to embrace her past. Perhaps this retro move would seem desperate if Crow didnt seem so enthusiastic reviving this collaboration. With Trott and Blake in tow, shes happy to embrace her eccentricity in addition to her fondness for big pop hooks -- a combination that fuels Be Myself as surely as it did Sheryl Crow or The Globe Sessions. Compared to those two 90s records, this 2017 album isnt quite as daring -- a revival is by definition a safe bet, plus Crows long since reined in her purple prose -- but one of the charms of Be Myself is what lies along the fringe. Most of the records 11 songs are graced by provocative sounds lurking at the margins of the mix -- something that sounds like a music box on "Halfway There," a saloon piano on "Rest of Me," all the compressed guitars as percussion -- that help elevate this set of strong, sophisticated pop into something special. | ||