I was so looking forward to this release. After the ballad rich and subdued "Wildflower" release, Sheryl Crow promised a more rocking upbeat follow up. In a way, that is not a lie, as "Detours" is much better paced than the sleepy (although beautiful) "Wildflower." But this new release is no masterpiece like "C'mon C'mon" or her self-titled effort from 1996. On the contrary, I think it is one of her worst and least appealing CDs since the awful "Globe Sessions" CD.The first six songs or so are nothing but blatant political statements, which I have no problem with, but it is hard to get into a song about gas. Like her colleague Don Henley, they are preaching to the choir with tunes like this and there is little offered with regard to a solution. Besides, there are no hooks and she provides little incentive for the listener to want to replay this half of the record.
This record was talked up as a return to roots because it reunited Crow with her producer (Bill Bottrell) from her breakthrough 1993 debut, "Tuesday Night Music Club." While you can clearly hear his influence permeating the tracks, I'm afraid they have failed to recapture the magical chemistry that made those songs work, mostly because this batch of songs is not as strong.
The second half is much better, with songs Crow really sinks her teeth into. They are more personal, and maybe that is why they come out sounding better. And in some of these tracks we hear more of the girl who just wants to have fun, like the "Ob-La-De" influenced track, "Out of Our Heads" or the safe acoustic ditty, "Detours." "Diamond Ring" is a haunting and poignant statement on that final step in the relationship, no doubt influenced by her experience with Lance Armstrong.
iPOD-worthy: 6, 7, 10, 11, 13
Sheryl Crow - official site.
Check out the video for the single, "Love Is Free," which I think is one of the worst, most annoying songs she has ever written.
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