CD Odyssey Disc 911: Sheryl Crow

A long week is finally over and I’m looking forward to soaking up the sun…just like this next artist recommends on the album’s single. That’s known as a segue, folks.

Disc 911 is….C’mon, C’mon

Artist: Sheryl Crow

Year of Release: 2002

What’s up with the Cover? Sheryl Crow plays guitar, looking sexy as hell. Sheryl Crow could do needlepoint and look sexy as hell.

How I Came To Know It: I saw the video for “Soak Up the Sun” and liked the sound of it, so I took a chance on the record.

How It Stacks Up:  Sheryl Crow has eight studio albums but I only have two of them. Of those two, “C’mon, C’mon” is by far the weakest.

Ratings: 2 stars

Sheryl Crow’s 1993 debut, “Tuesday Night Music Club” featured a cool indie-rock vibe that was fresh and interesting, and Crow showed off a set of pipes that were deceptively powerful. Unfortunately, neither of these great qualities are in much supply on “C’mon, C’mon”.

The album starts out pretty strong with “Steve McQueen” which has a rockin’ chorus that evokes a free spirited vibe that its titular character would be proud of. The song isn’t about Steve McQueen so much as he’s a metaphor for the type of movies he used to make. It mostly works, but it is missing some of the growl the topic needs. The worst example is when Crow sings “I ain’t takin’ shit from no one” the line is stripped of any power with the inexplicable decision to put some kind of echo/squawk-box effect on the line. It is supposed to be edgy, but it just feels affected.

The second track is the mildly successful radio single, “Soak Up the Sun” which has a relaxed hippie vibe that suits Crow’s voice well. The hook is pretty fantastic and Crow seems more at home singing about hanging out in an RV than she does pretending to drive a Dodge Charger. This is by far the best song on the album, and despite a lot of unnecessary bells and whistles in the production it works pretty well. Even so, there is lazy songwriting halfway through with risible lines like:

“Every time I turn around

I’m looking up, you’re looking down.”

The song has a fun summer vibe, but by the time this line appears I’m not sure there is much of a narrative to be found as everything is subsumed to the pop hook.

That pop hook focus is most of what is wrong with the rest of the record, which after the first two tracks is largely forgettable. Crow can still sing beautifully but a lot of the power and emotion in her voice is buried in overly polished production decisions. Track Three’s chorus is:

You’re an original baby

Turn around and you’re looking at a hundred more.”

This line seems like a critique of most of the album, which is focused on radio friendly beats and saccharine lyrics which are not bad per se, but very obvious. They didn’t inspire me to keep listening either.

There is definitely an audience for this type of record, and if you like inoffensive pop this is as good as anything else that did a lot better the same year. It isn’t for me, though.

The album is only 13 songs but it is 56 minutes long and it really drags. From track 3 through 12 nothing caught my attention except on those occasions when I thought the fadeout was taking too long.

Fortunately, the final track, “Weather Channel” ends the album on a high note. This song is stripped down to just guitar and Crow’s voice and does fine work capturing what it is like to battle depression. Crow’s voice is evocative, and the folksy guitar playing balances off of it perfectly.

“Weather Channel” is easily the best song on the record, but it comes too late to save the record as a whole. Much as I admire Sheryl Crow’s body of work, I can’t bring myself to keep this particular record in my collection just for two passable pop songs and a good folk track.

Best tracks: Steve McQueen, Soak Up the Sun, Weather Channel