Sheryl Crow's tenth studio "Be Myself" was released on April 21, 2017.
Crow was a hitmaker in the 1990s. Her 1993 debut album "Tuesday Night Music Club" sold over five million copies worldwide. Her eponymous follow-up album in 1996, and the much acclaimed "The Globe Sessions" in 1998 (not to mention writing and performing the theme song to the James Bond film "Tomorrow Never Dies" in 1997) further cemented her status as a star of alternative rock in an era that wholeheartedly embraced the genre. Crow's 2002 album "C'Mon, C'Mon" saw her infusing a greater pop sensibility into her songwriting and sound, and the album sold over two million copies, producing the hit single "Soak Up the Sun." A greatest hits compilation in 2003 also achieved platinum status in several markets.
In 2005, the album "Wildflower" was released, and while it was a commercial success, selling around a million copies, and going platinum, many of her fans (myself included) began to feel that she had moved from rock into pop. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, as the two genres intertwine quite frequently, it's just that the more mature and slickly produced "Good is Good" doesn't have the emotional resonance of "If It Makes You Happy" or "My Favorite Mistake." What was absent was the grittiness of the sound on her first three, maybe four albums, with it, some questioned whether Sheryl Crow had lost some of her authenticity.
I don't think this was the case at all, and if every album an artist released had the same sound, it's unlikely audiences would stick with them, it's a positive sign when an artist allows themselves to absorb more and more influences. It was said at the time of the release of 2008's "Detours" that Crow had returned to her earlier sound, and that she had to do this to reconnect with her fans. Maybe, maybe not. It's a fine album, but it sold half as much as "Wildflower" (which sold half as much as her previous album). In 2010 "100 Miles from Memphis" was a mostly soul inspired record - something different, but certainly not the reason older fans would buy a Sheryl Crow album. Following the lukewarm sales of the 2010 release, Crow decided that the best place in the music world for her to occupy would be in country, so she signed with Warner Bros. in Memphis, and released "Feels Like Home" in 2013.
The reasoning may have been sound for a former rock star about to turn 50, but in retrospect, it wasn't the best move. It alienated older fans who couldn't believe that the woman who won a Grammy for her cover of "Sweet Child O'Mine" was now a country star - and apparently the country music world thought the same thing, because they basically rejected her as "not really country" in spite of her talented songwriting. In late 2016, she contacted Jeff Trott and Tchad Blake, who worked closely with Crow on her second and third albums (released in 1996 and 1998 respectively) to work on some new material that would become "Be Myself".
To anyone who was disappointed with Crow's move to country in 2013, "Be Myself" is a welcome return. Does it go all the way back to her 90s sound? No, but we can't expect it to, and any review that complains too bitterly that this still isn't Sheryl Crow-rock the way it used to be must have reviewer who wants the impossible. It's not the 90s anymore, Sheryl Crow has been influenced by her own forays into pop and country, and soul, and that's perfectly fine. She's also 55 years old, and a mother, and all of these thing are on the album.
The first single chosen for release was "Halfway There," a political song about the need for both sides to listen to each other. (One of my favorite lines on the album: "And I know your God is listening/And I know mine must be too/And if God is Love and Love is God/Then why do we argue?) I wouldn't have chosen this as the single, but it is very catchy, with a old school rock hook and an insidious beat. As the single I would have chosen, "Heartbeat Away" which has story-like lyrics written before Donald Trump became President of the United States - something which may surprise you once you hear the lyrics - and is the hardest rocker on the album with it's slightly fuzzed guitars and pounding snare drum (perhaps in the vain of "Maybe Angels" or "Ordinary Woman" in terms of sound). Crow's rock vocal on this song is right up there with the best the she's ever done, and it's nice to know she hasn't lost any of her vocal chops.
Sheryl shows her age in songs like "Roller Skate" about wanting her lover to not be distracted by his phone, and "Woo Woo" which is a tongue in cheek song about our obsession with big butts. What is to be appreciated in Crow's music here, though, is the authenticity she still brings to it. Her humor is also evident on the lighthearted "Grow Up." And these songs, especially, "Roller Skate" have sing-alongable choruses that rank among the best she's ever written. The song "Strangers Again" is reminiscent of "My Favorite Mistake" but with an older, more mature acceptance of the nature of love and relationships. The same can be said of the country-inspired sound and lyrics of "Rest of Me", with it's driving acoustic guitars. It is the best song on the album, in my opinion, which may seem funny as I'm a huge fan of her rock.
Crow ventures into rock ballad territory with "Love Will Save the Day" and "Long Way Back" while "Alone in the Dark" is an infectious medium tempo swinger that opens the album. The title track "Be Myself" is great, except for the fact that it repeats its hook/chorus a few too many times. But that very line: "If I can't be someone else, I might as well be myself" defines the nature of the whole album, and I think, Crow's reason for making it after her experience in the country music world.
All in all, 3.5 stars out of 4 only because I think some of the ballads go on too long, and I feel there should be a 12th song. I love the front black and white album cover, and while the color close up on the back cover is a fine picture, I don't care for the contrast. I would have preferred that be black and white as well. It's not the 90s, but it's the closest it's been in a while, and it's nice to see Sheryl Crow be Sheryl Crow.