Sheryl Crow - Detours
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CD Details
Artist: Sheryl CrowEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2008-02-05
Music Label: A&M
Soundtracks:
- God Bless This Mess
- Shine Over Babylon
- Love is Free
- Peace Be Upon Us
- Gasoline
- Out Of Our Heads
- Detours
- Now That You're Gone
- Drunk With The Thought Of You
- Diamond Ring
- Motivation
- Make It Go Away (Radiation Song)
- Love Is All There Is
- Lullaby For Wyatt
Music reviews of Detours
Music Review: One Strange Detour
Rating: 2 Stars
I'm not that big of a fan of Sheryl Crow like some people, but her last album (Wildflower) really made an impression on me, so I was looking forward to hearing her next offering.
I'm now very glad that it was of no cost to me to listen.
The way I see it, music is supposed to catch the ear first, the sensibilites later. Crow has given her fans plenty of listening pleasure in the past but with "Detours" my expectations were figuratively deafened from the sheer number of production misfires contained within the album. I ultimately don't think much of it and here's a blow-by-blow of the reasons why.
The album opens with "God Bless This Mess", which runs on a little too long - this is the type of song that should be short and sweet but it goes on for over two minutes, the acoustic guitar annoyingly repetitious with hardly any chord changes and the audio effect of it sounding like an ages-old recording is a bit strange. "Shine Over Babylon" is the real opener here with its rousing chorus that crescendos nicely and it segues quickly into "Love Is Free". It's obvious why this song was chosen as the first single to be released from "Detours" - it's the best song the album has to offer, the most radio-friendly and it echoes of her past hits (think "Soak Up The Sun", "All I Wanna Do"). "Peace Be Upon Us" is the first song that notifies its listener that this isn't your typical Crow album. Though it starts off admirably upbeat, her duet with vocalist Ahmed Al Hirmi is a strange choice - oddly enough, it all works somehow. The song features Arabic lyrics and at one point Crow wails with Al Hirmi like a devout Muslim calling out to Allah. "Gasoline" has some amusing and biting lyrics, touching upon America's dependence on foreign oil with an acerbic wit, but doesn't quite work as a song; Crow does a Johnny Cash-like recitation rather than full-out singing through most of it.
The tempo of "Out Of Our Heads" just doesn't seem to fit the melody - this song should've been a ballad and the result is a composition that confuses and grates the nerves. Actress Rosanna Arquette is a backing vocalist on this track, making it even more of an anomaly. The song "Detours" rolls along and as the title track is the least noticeable of all the 14 songs contained on this album.
Well, that's tracks 1-7 thus far and the second half of the album redeems little of the first. "Now That You're Gone" retreats back to some of the best of Crow's territory with its soulful, easy tempo and "Drunk With The Thought Of You" is another goodie. Starting off promisingly is "Diamond Ring" which lazily winds on a bluesy beat but it's painfully obvious that parts of the song are out of Crow's vocal range because she's really pushing it on the chorus. This is a woman who is primarily an alto and the repetition of the high-octave refrain has her voice horrendously straining and breaking, effectively killing the entire song. "Motivation" doesn't really have motivation (how ironic) - the lyrics are facetious but empty and the accompaniment is spiritless and unoriginal, making it ultimately forgettable.
I understand that "Make It Go Away (Radiation Song)" is a deeply personal song for Crow and was written at a time of despair and uncertainty while she was being treated for breast cancer. Despite this, it still doesn't resonate the way it should and Crow sounds utterly whiny further on into the track. "Love Is All There Is" isn't noteworthy in the least. "Lullaby For Wyatt" is surprisingly sweet without any of the schmaltz one might expect; it's a really beautiful song on an album full of generally trivial and lackluster compositions.
Bottom line: "Detours" arrangements and lyrics are a little off the beaten path at times and regrettably the album suffers for it. Crow is a good lyricist but this isn't her best work (her writing and arrangement on 2005's "Wildflower" rivals this) and from the sounds of it, she has hit a musical detour. Where this album was intended to go, I don't know. Here's hoping her next one arrives at a better destination.
Description of Detours
Sheryl Crow is set to release her sixth studio album, DETOURS. The album marks the return of producer Bill Bottrell, who previously worked with Crow on her breakthrough debut album Tuesday Night Music Club, which earned the singer three Grammy Awards, and sold more than ten million copies worldwide. "This is the most honest record I've ever made. It's about being forced to wake up," says Crow.Sheryl Crow Photos
 |  |  |
More from Sheryl Crow
 Wildflower Tour: Live from New York |  Wildflower |  Wildflower (Deluxe) |
 Globe Sessions |  The Very Best of Sheryl Crow - The Videos |  C'mon America 2003 |
 The Very Best of Sheryl Crow |  C'mon, C'mon |  Live from Central Park |
 The Globe Sessions (Enhanced) |  Sheryl Crow |  Tuesday Night Music Club |
Thematically, Detours may not seem like much of a detour to Sheryl Crow fans. Her politics pour out of these songs the way you might expect them to if you caught wind of her epic cross-country bus trip, with the activist Laurie David, to promote environmental awareness months prior to this release. From the quiet, faraway-sounding opener "God Bless This Mess"--a novel in a song--to the catchy but thought-provoking "Gasoline," it's clear that Crow has more on her mind these days than soaking up the sun or having a little fun, ? la the Tuesday Night Music Club era. Yet there's not a groan-worthy song on this standout rock/pop/folk/blues album. If the themes are heavy (in addition to the political songs, there's an almost painfully tender lullaby for her son Wyatt and one, "Make It Go Away [Radiation Song]," that touches on her breast-cancer experience), the mood is cathartic, determined, hopeful at times and sad at others. "Now That You're Gone" grabs at clarity through the clouds of a devastating love affair and gets it, and "Peace Be Upon Us" picks apart pettiness and arrives at a wide-minded beauty. George Harrison seems present in some of these songs, especially the more personal ones ("Drunk with the Thought of You," "Love Is All There Is"). And that may be the highest compliment that Sheryl Crow, who seems to admire his gentle soul and shares his big heart, could ask for. --Tammy La Gorce
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