The Good: Great lyrics, Interesting instrumentals, Decent vocals
The Bad: A little short, Frontloaded
The Basics: With new memorable tunes that are, sadly, thematically dated, Sheryl Crow bursts back out with Detours and proves her ascendancy was not a fluke!
As part of my continual immersion into music from new-to-me musical artists, I occasionally have the opportunity to pick up an artist whose works I once enjoyed and yet have not explored for some time. Never before has this worked out so well for me as it did this month when I picked a new-to-me artist in Shania Twain - her album Beginnings was reviewed here! - I had no idea how few works Twain had released.
Sheryl Crow appears to be an artist whose star rose and fell quickly, but whose success was enough that her recording company has enough faith in her viability as a musical artist to keep producing new works. It has, however, been years since I have heard a new song by Sheryl Crow on the radio and my understanding of her career since the compilation album of hers I last reviewed was released was that she ventured more in the direction of being a Country music artist. That being the case, I would have less reason to hear her newer works and I went to her latest album, Detours with far fewer expectations or even a sense of enthusiasm than I might otherwise have had when picking it up.
I am quite excited to say, though, that Sheryl Crow's Detours is a surprisingly rich, deeply political album that effectively mixes a pop-rock sound with folk-rock sensibilities of Populist America. Detours, when it is not being repetitive and personally moody, is politically rebellious and musically riotous. This album reassures listeners what mainstream, pop-rock radio, America is missing out on; Sheryl Crow's debut was not a fluke and the more creative control Crow has over her own works the better the results seem to be.
With fourteen songs, clocking out at 52:55, Detours is a strange dated album that safely ruffles the feathers of the status quo in the United States years after it was dangerous to do so in Bush-Era America. Crow sings out against the events following the September 11, 2001 attacks and the war in Iraq at a time when there was no real political risk of doing so, except one supposes to isolate a Country audience. On Detours, Crow does not seem to be working a Country music sound. Instead, she returns to her rock and pop roots while maintaining a sense of Country values for farmers, the environment and romance.
And much of Detours is Crow's musical and political vision. Crow wrote the lyrics for ten of the songs and co-wrote the other four songs (though on some of her songs she co-wrote the music or others wrote the music for her lyrics). She provides the primary vocals for all of the songs and plays instruments on every song but three, including the acoustic guitar, bass, organ, piano, and accordion. She is not given any production credit on the album, but given that her long-time producer Bill Bottrell produced the album and was more involved with the creation of six of the tracks (musically and lyrically) with Crow, one suspects that this was the way Sheryl Crow wanted to sound and wanted the album to sound.
Like other female artists who do not fit easily into genres, Sheryl Crow uses Detours to make social commentary about the direction of the United States. This album came almost three years after Dar Williams made similar commentaries with her album My Better Self, but those looking for music that rebels against the policies of George W. Bush will be happy it came at all. Largely, the album is political with songs railing against the Iraq War ("God Bless This Mess") and irresponsible energy policy ("Gasoline") while attempting to promote an atmosphere of peace and universal brotherhood ("Peace Be Upon Us," "Out Of Our Heads"). For those who are not fond of the political, on the last half of the album, Crow sings more intimately and personally about love ("Love Is All There Is," "Drunk With The Thought Of You") and loss ("Lullaby For Wyatt," "Diamond Ring").
Herein lies one of the real problems with Detours, other than the fact that some of it is remarkably dated in Obama's United States; the album is seriously frontloaded. The mix is brassy and upfront with its politics and rebellious attitude, but the latter half of the album becomes a musical mush that is remarkably average. It was only by listening to the album over a dozen times that I realized the last five songs are nowhere near as strong as the other nine.
Even so, the back portion is not unredeemable or bad, it is just a very different flavor compared to the first half. "Lullaby For Wyatt," though, offers Crow a chance to truly show off her vocal range. While songs like "God Bless This Mess" insinuate that Crow can actually sing soprano (and well!), it utilizes production elements to give the song an old time radio vibe. But on "Lullaby For Wyatt," coos out her lines with a soulful pitch that is memorable. For fans of Dar Williams, it is also familiar, but from Crow this is musical growth and it is nice to hear.
Musically, most of the songs are guitar, bass, and drum tracks with a larger, more anthemic song. Her vocals tend to be produced to the forefront so Crow's lyrics are highlighted. While the album has some slower songs ("Drunk With The Thought Of You," "Diamond Ring"), most of the songs are big and have enough of a bassline to lean to. The only real track designed for dancing seems to be the sunny "Love Is Free," though the chantlike "Peace Be Upon Us" is also somewhat upbeat.
What Detours has going for it best are the lyrics. Crow returns to pop-rock with songs that are probably too far from the mainstream lyrically. In other words, she is smart, she has something to say and she does it well. She comes back with a folk-rock sensibility as far as musical storytelling on songs like "Love Is Free" and "Gasoline." Indeed, "Gasoline" has a wonderful sense of folk-rock rebellion and storytelling with Crow's lines "Way back in the year of 2017 / The sun was growing hotter / And oil was way beyond its peak / When crazy Hector Johnson broke into a refinery / And the black gold started flowing / Just like Boston tea / It was the summer of the riots / And London sat in sweltering heat / And the gangs of Mini Coopers / Took the battle to the streets / But when the creed was handed down / For no more trucks and no more cars / They threw cans of petrol through the windows at Scotland Yard."
Crow is still an able poet, though and Detours has some songs which are truly wonderful for the universal emotions they explore. She captures the sentiments of new love perfectly when she sings "I can't stand all this freedom / I've been there before / And it's such a good bore / You're all I ever needed / If you'd only walk through my door / To assure you I even exist / Do I tell you it's you that I've missed? / Well if love is a cocktail of all that you do, / I get drunk with the thought of you" ("Drunk With The Thought Of You"). Generally, her simple diction and decent imagery works well for her, though songs like "Diamond Ring" are just annoyingly repetitive.
Anyone who likes thoughtful pop-rock will find something to enjoy on Detours. It is enough to make one enthusiastic about listening to more Sheryl Crow! The best track is "Gasoline," the low point is the familiar and unmemorable "Motivation."
For other reviews by vibrant female artists, check out my reviews of:
21 - Adele
Wicked Little High - Bird York
Tear The World Down - We Are The Fallen
7.5/10
For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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