Sheryl Crow
C'mon C'mon
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Sheryl Crow’s fourth studio album finds the singer sounding a bit conflicted about the direction of her career. On C’mon, C’mon, Crow both indulges her affection for classic rock and incorporates more modern sounds to appeal to the teeny-bopper record-buying public. She also attempts to balance artistic integrity with the desire to produce hits after 1999’s critically lauded but underselling The Globe Sessions. Of course ultimately it all comes down to whether the songs sound good coming out of the speakers and whether the hooks dig their way into your skull. On those criteria, C’mon, C’mon succeeds admirably.

On opening track “Steve McQueen,” Crow deals with her place in the world. She’s 40 years old at a time when younger, pre-fab Britney-types rule the planet. Amidst the drum loops, samples, and even a pseudo-rap break, Crow sings “We got rock stars in the White House / All our pop stars look like porn / All my heroes hit the highway / They don’t hang out here no more.”

The album’s dualities can also be heard in the mid-album juxtaposition of “Safe and Sound” and the title track. The former is a dense, spacey ballad that incorporates ticky-tack drum loops, Moog synthesizers, and even a string section. The latter is a much more organic-sounding number with a little riff reminiscent of Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May.”

First single “Soak Up the Sun” is the kind of tune you’re likely to be hearing at the beach all summer long. It’s the perfect bit of summer fluff with silly lyrics and the feel of past Crow hits like “All I Wanna Do.” Of course in this era of corporate synergy, the song has already been used in an American Express TV ad, so even if radio doesn’t pounce on this one, the song will still be inescapable. Speaking of ads, Crow’s Gap-ad co-star (and look alike) Liz Phair contributes backing vocals on the song. But it's co-writer (and long-time Crow collaborator) Jeff Trott who gives the song its distinctive lap steel twang. Indeed Trott, whose career has included stints in Wire Train and World Party, is the album’s X-factor. The songs he contributes to are inevitably the strongest ones on the disc.

Trott also co-wrote “You’re An Original,” Crow’s vocal duel with Lenny Kravitz, another of the album’s many special guests. “Deadly in the sack / Grooving to the Clash / On some kind of wasted weekend,” Crow sings on this mid-tempo bump and grinder.

Aging rocker Don Henley turns up on “It’s So Easy,” a generic and contrived ballad that is nearly rescued by some nice musical touches around the edges. Crow did a good job producing this record herself.

The classic rock contingent is also represented by Stevie Nicks, who sings backing vocals on a couple of tracks. Crow produced a few songs on Nicks’ 2001 release Trouble In Shangri-La. That album contained the Crow original “It’s Only Love,” which is also featured here with a guest vocal by actress Gwyneth Paltrow. Got all that. There’ll be a quiz.

Dixie Chick Natalie Maines comes to the party on “Abilene,” one of the album’s best distillations of essential Crow elements. A soulful Crow vocal, pretty harmonies and a 70s California country rock sound are goosed along by Peter Stroud’s slide guitar. And Emmylou Harris appears on the sleepy, spare acoustic set closer “Weather Channel” which seems to allude to Crow’s between albums bout with depression.

Sheryl Crow works hard to make sure everybody loves her on C’mon, C’mon. That she even comes close to succeeding is a remarkable achievement in itself. And a bit more of her honey-voiced pop in the world ain’t a bad thing either.

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