Sheryl Crow (album)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Sheryl Crow'' is the second
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by American singer and songwriter
Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...
, released on September 24, 1996, by A&M Records. Unlike its predecessor '' Tuesday Night Music Club'', which was written by a casual collective formed by Crow and several other musicians, ''Sheryl Crow'' was entirely produced by Crow, who wrote most of the songs alone or with only one collaborator. Most of the album was recorded at Kingsway Studios in New Orleans, Louisiana. The album covers topics of American life, relationship breakups, and moral and ethical issues, while encompassing a variety of music genres such as
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
,
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
, alternative rock, country, and folk. ''Sheryl Crow'' was a commercial success, being certified triple platinum by both the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
and the BPI. It reached number six on the ''Billboard'' 200 and produced five singles, including the international hit " If It Makes You Happy". The album received very positive reviews from critics, who praised its intricate production and Crow's louder and more assured singing. At the
39th Annual Grammy Awards The 39th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997, at Madison Square Garden, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Babyface was the night's biggest winner, with 3 awards. Celine Dion, Toni B ...
, the album was awarded Best Rock Album and Crow received the
Best Female Rock Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for works (songs or albums) conta ...
award for "If It Makes You Happy". Retrospectively, it is often regarded as Crow's best album.


Background and recording

''Sheryl Crow'' is the follow-up to
Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...
's 1993 album '' Tuesday Night Music Club'', which was written by a group of musicians known as the "Tuesday Music Club". The group existed as a casual collective formed by Crow and musicians Bill Bottrell, David Baerwald, Kevin Gilbert,
Brian MacLeod Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word meanin ...
, David Ricketts, and Dan Schwartz. The album was a commercial success and produced several hit singles, including " All I Wanna Do", " Strong Enough", and "
Leaving Las Vegas ''Leaving Las Vegas'' is a 1995 American drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis, and based on the semi-autobiographical 1990 novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic in Los Angeles who, having ...
". It was certified 7× Platinum in the United States and 2× Platinum in the United Kingdom. Crow was also awarded Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Record of the Year at the
37th Annual Grammy Awards The 37th Annual Grammy Awards were presented on March 1, 1995, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Bruce Springsteen was the night's biggest winner with 4 awards, including Song ...
. Tensions between Crow and other members of the group began to arise following Crow's performance of "Leaving Las Vegas" on the ''
Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...
'' in March 1994. Crow offhandedly agreed with the host when she was asked if the track was autobiographical, even though it was primarily written by Baerwald and based on the book of the same name by his friend John O'Brien. As a result, several members of the Tuesday Music Club group felt betrayed, and O'Brien himself committed suicide three weeks later. Nevertheless, O'Brien's parents insisted that Crow had nothing to do with the tragedy, noting that he "was just mad about it ..But the problems that drove him toward the end were – you know, that's a long, long bloody trip." After ''Tuesday Night Music Club'', Crow wanted to prove her authority as a musician. According to her, "My only objective on this record was to get under people's skin, because I was feeling like I had so much shit to hurl at the tape." Work on the new album began at Toad Hall in
Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...
, the same studio where ''Tuesday Night Music Club'' was recorded, but sessions were then relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana because Crow "was feeling ghosts in that room". Bottrell was designated to produce the record and co-wrote three songs that would appear on the album, but eventually left because he could not sort out his differences with Crow. As a result, Crow took over production duties and wrote most of the songs alone or with only one collaborator. She also played most of the instruments on the album, including bass and guitar work and nearly all the keyboard parts. Most of the album was recorded at Kingsway Studios in New Orleans, although Crow would later return to Los Angeles to complete work at The Sound Factory and Sunset Sound. Audio mastering took place at Gateway Mastering Studios in Portland, Maine.


Music and lyrics

Musically, ''Sheryl Crow'' was described as a combination of
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
,
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
, alternative rock, country, folk, and light hip hop loops. Unlike its predecessor, it also features a more off-balance production and a richer instrumentation, with "lots of fuzz, wurlitzer,
hammond Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia *Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in South ...
, moog. Nothing extreme, perhaps, but almost
psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
when joined to big mainstream melodies", one critic explained. The album covers topics of American life, relationship breakups, and moral and ethical issues, among others. For example, "
Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
" is a folk ballad where Crow recounts the emotional difficulties of a deteriorating relationship, while "Superstar" deals with a woman fantasizing about stardom. The song "
A Change Would Do You Good "A Change Would Do You Good" is the fourth single from American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow's 1996 self-titled album. The song uses a series of non sequitur lyrics to describe what one should change in life. It became Crow's third top-five sing ...
", which features
hand claps A clap is the percussive sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often quickly and repeatedly to express appreciation or approval (see applause), b ...
and organ licks, is about the need to escape a constricted life. The opening track, "Maybe Angels", was described as "a cryptic ode to
UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
s and government conspiracies that plays like an '' X-Files'' theme song." Crow explained that the song is "an extraterrestrial yarn that finds
Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...
joining John Lennon in heaven's winged choir". The track "Redemption Day" is a protest against the US indifference to the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
. It was inspired when Crow visited the country as part of a
USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
trip with Hillary and
Chelsea Clinton Chelsea Victoria Clinton (born February 27, 1980) is an American writer and global health advocate. She is the only child of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton ...
. The song was later covered by
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...
, appearing on his 2010 posthumous record '' American VI: Ain't No Grave''. The track " Hard to Make a Stand" references abortion, while "Love Is a Good Thing" criticizes Walmart's gun sales policy with the lyrics "Watch out sister/Watch out brother/Watch our children as they kill each other/with a gun they bought at the Wal-Mart discount stores." The song caused some controversy, resulting in Walmart banning sales of the album at their stores. The album's lead single, " If It Makes You Happy", underwent several different arrangements before being turned into a rock song. According to musician
Jeff Trott Jeffrey Robert Trott is an American songwriter/producer and multi-instrumentalist who has collaborated with prominent artists across genres in the United States and abroad. Trott has been named BMI ''Songwriter of the Year''. He is known for w ...
, who co-wrote the song along with Crow, "It started off as a twangy,
David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
-esque sort of thing. Then ..we played it like punk rock, really fast, as well as country and
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
y. You know, you get a song and put clothes on it to see what looks good and what doesn't, and usually when you find the right one it's pretty obvious. With that song it was real obvious!" Trott initially wrote the song when he was a member of Pete Droge's backing band, but Crow added a second verse and strengthened the melody. ''Sheryl Crow'' also has contributions by notable musicians. For example, "Sweet Rosalyn" features saxophone by Steve Berlin of
Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, ...
, while " Everyday Is a Winding Road" features harmony vocals by Neil Finn of
Crowded House Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later ban ...
.


Release

''Sheryl Crow'' was released on CD and
cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...
formats on September 24, 1996. The album reached number six on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart and sold 143,000 copies in the first two weeks of release. As of January 2008, the album had sold 2,400,000 units in the US according to
Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...
, and has been certified three-times platinum by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
. In the United Kingdom, ''Sheryl Crow'' reached number five on the UK Albums Chart and was certified three-times platinum by the BPI, signifying sales of over 900,000 units. Unlike the American edition, the British edition of the album contains the bonus track "Free Man". ''Sheryl Crow'' also reached the top ten in Austria, Belgium, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland. In Europe, it was certified platinum by the IFPI. A special edition of the album, entitled ''Sheryl Crow – Signature Tour Edition'', was released in Australia and Japan in 1997. It contains the bonus tracks "Sad Sad World" and an alternate version of "Hard to Make a Stand" as well as a bonus CD with six songs recorded live at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London on November 26, 1996. This 2-CD set was also released as ''Sheryl Crow – Special Edition'' in the United Kingdom in 1997. The song "If It Makes You Happy" was released as the lead single on September 3, 1996, and became an international hit, peaking at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and selling 82,000 units in the first two weeks of release. It was also a success in the United Kingdom, where it reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart. Other countries where the single charted include Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand and Switzerland. A music video was made for the song under the direction of Keir McFarlane. "Everyday Is a Winding Road" was released on November 18, 1996, as the album's second single. The song was also a success, reaching number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. The tracks "Hard to Make a Stand", "A Change Would Do You Good", and "Home" were released as the album's last three singles. "A Change Would Do You Good" was a modest success, peaking at number 16 on the
Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...
and number eight on the UK Singles Chart.


Critical reception

Upon release, ''Sheryl Crow'' received very positive reviews from music critics. Eric Weisbard of ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' praised the album's production, stating that the record "goes much further" than its predecessor and that its "bigger beats and dirtier guitar/keyboard effects orkwell with Crow's literate hippie-chick persona". David Browne of '' Entertainment Weekly'' stated similar pros, commenting: "If there's such a thing as a professional lo-fi album, ''Sheryl Crow'' is it." He also noted Crow's louder and more assured singing, concluding that she "doesn't expose that much of herself ..she's an emotional centrist. But at the very least, she's building a bridge to a lasting career". Writing for '' The Baltimore Sun'',
J. D. Considine J. D. Considine (born 1957) is a music critic who has been writing about music professionally since 1977. Background J. D. Considine's work has been published in numerous newspapers and music magazines, and he has contributed to several books. ...
praised Crow's vocals, especially on "If It Makes You Happy", which he felt was probably the album's best song. Despite the praise, the last third of the album was considered the weakest part and the song "Ordinary Morning" was considered a poor choice for a closer. '' Rolling Stone'' editor David Fricke also criticized the album for being underdeveloped and lacking originality, and unfavorably compared the song "Hard to Make a Stand" to " Tumbling Dice" by the Rolling Stones and " Sweet Jane" by the Velvet Underground. '' The Village Voice''s
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
gave the album a one-star honorable mention grade and quipped that it was indebted to "not just Alanis but Tchad". In February 1997, ''Sheryl Crow'' was ranked at number 26 in ''The Village Voice''s 1996 Pazz & Jop critics' poll. At the
39th Annual Grammy Awards The 39th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997, at Madison Square Garden, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Babyface was the night's biggest winner, with 3 awards. Celine Dion, Toni B ...
, the album was awarded Best Rock Album and Crow received the
Best Female Rock Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for works (songs or albums) conta ...
award for the song "If It Makes You Happy". Retrospectively, AllMusic critic
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
referred to the album as "a postmodern masterpiece of sorts – albeit a mainstream, post-alternative, postmodern masterpiece. It may not be as hip or innovative as, say, the
Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...
' '' Paul's Boutique'', but it is as self-referential, pop culture obsessed, and musically eclectic." Sal Cinquemani of ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' highlighted the album's "quirky, stream-of-conscious lyrics" and elaborate sound collages, stating that "none of row'sother full-length albums have been as consistent, immaculately produced or distinctly modern." In 1999, ''Rolling Stone'' selected ''Sheryl Crow'' as one of the essential albums of the decade. In 2002, the magazine also ranked it at number 44 in its list of Women in Rock: The 50 Essential Albums. In 2003, the album was featured in the Vital Pop: 50 Essential Pop Albums list by ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
''. In 2008, '' Entertainment Weekly'' magazine placed the album at number 39 in their list of Top 100 Best Albums of the past 25 years. In 2020, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked ''Sheryl Crow'' at number 475 in its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.


Track listing


Personnel

Credits are adapted from AllMusic. *
Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...
 – lead vocals, background vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harmonium, keyboards, Moog bass,
Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...
, piano, Wurlitzer, pennyosley, loops,
producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
* Jeri Heiden – art direction, design * Steve Berlin – saxophone * Ron Black – assistant engineer * Tchad Blake – engineer, mixing * R.S. Bryan – wah wah guitar * Steve Donnelly –
dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...
, electric guitar *
Dave Douglas David or Dave Douglas may refer to: Entertainment * David Douglas (director) (born 1953), Canadian cinematographer, director and writer * Dave Douglas (trumpeter) (born 1963), American jazz trumpeter * Dave Douglas (drummer) (born 1979), America ...
 – horn * Davey Faragher –
fuzz bass Fuzz bass is a style of playing the electric bass or modifying its signal that produces a buzzy, distorted, overdriven sound, as the name implies. Overdriving a bass signal significantly changes the timbre, adds higher overtones (harmonics) ...
* Neil Finn – background vocals * Curtis Fowlkes – horn * Mitchell Froom – assistant producer, harmonium, horn arrangements, keyboards, string arrangements * S. "Husky" Höskulds – assistant engineer *
Wally Ingram Wally Ingram is an American drummer and musician. He is most famous as a member of the band, Timbuk 3. In recent years, he has toured with the multi-instrumentalist David Lindley, and released several records with him: * 2000 : ''Twango Bango D ...
 – drums,
djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...
* Cappy Japngie – assistant engineer * Jim Keltner – drums * Blair Lamb – engineer *
Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...
 – mastering *
Brian MacLeod Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word meanin ...
 – drums, loops * James Minchin – photography * John Paterno – assistant engineer * Stephanie Pfriender – photography *
Josh Roseman Josh Roseman (born 5 June 1967) is an American jazz trombonist. His nickname is "Mr. Bone". He studied in Newton North High School. Roseman was born in Boston, and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. Roseman toured Jamaica with The ...
 – horn * Dan Rothchild – bass guitar * Anders Rundblad – bass guitar, acoustic guitar * Bob Salcedo – engineer *
Jane Scarpantoni Jane Scarpantoni (born 1960)https://www.myheritage.com/names/jane_scarpantoni is a classically trained American cello player who has played on a number of alternative rock albums. She was a member of Hoboken, New Jersey's Tiny Lights in the mid-1 ...
 – strings *
Trina Shoemaker Kathryn "Trina" Shoemaker is an American mixer, record producer and sound engineer responsible for producing/engineering and/or mixing records for bands such as Queens of the Stone Age, Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Something for Kate, Nanci Gri ...
 – engineer * Bob Stewart – horn * Steen Sundland – photography * Pete Thomas – drums *
Jeff Trott Jeffrey Robert Trott is an American songwriter/producer and multi-instrumentalist who has collaborated with prominent artists across genres in the United States and abroad. Trott has been named BMI ''Songwriter of the Year''. He is known for w ...
 – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, background vocals, loop * Michael Urbano – drums,
snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...
s, loop * Tad Wadhams – bass guitar * Karen Walker – art direction, design * Stephen Weintraub – executive producer * Pam Werheimer – coordination * Todd Wolfe – dobro, electric guitar


Charts and certifications


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheryl Crow (Album) 1996 albums A&M Records albums Grammy Award for Best Rock Album Sheryl Crow albums