Sheryl Crow's Best Of Shows She's Left Tuesday Nights far Behind

Hard to believe Sheryl Crow's been around for a whole decade. As one of the few artists who erupted from the mid-90's girls with guitars boom, Sheryl has managed to consistently make records that are pop-friendly while maintaining excellent musicianship and great lyricism. The fact that she's hot doesn't hurt, either. This collection compiles Sheryl's biggest hits with some key album tracks and a couple of new songs.

Here's what you ned to know about Sheryl Crow. Born in Missouri. Ran track as a teenager. Sang backup on Michael Jackson's "Bad" tour (if you ever catch any footage, she's the one with the HUGE blond fright wig). She became a prominent backup vocalist, appearing on albums by everyone from Don Henley to Kenny Loggins. Finally got signed to A&M Records as a solo artist. "Tuesday Night Music Club" arrived in 1993, and the rest is history.

What's the most interesting about Sheryl is her evolution from jumbly-worded folk-pop songstress to bad-a$$ rocker chick. Her earliest singles, "Leaving Las Vegas" and "All I Wanna Do" , featured a bunch of stream-of-consciousness random talk singing. Not to say the songs weren't good, but Sheryl was still finding her voice. "All I Wanna Do" rolls along on a chugging, easygoing groove as Sheryl finds herself in some bar with a guy named "William...or Bill or Billy or Mack or Buddy...and he's plain ugly to me!". This song cemented Sheryl's rep as a lady who could mix it up with the dudes, won a Grammy for Record Of The Year, and was literally played every 6 3/4 minutes on VH1 in late '94 and early '95. Also interesting is the fact that 'Leaving Las Vegas" probably provided at least a piece of the template (semi-angry chick lyrics, guitar playing over a drum loop) that Alanis lifted for 'Jagged Little Pill" a year and a half later.

This album basically splits the rockers and ballads down the middle, and theres good and average of each (but never below average). "My Favorite Mistake" is an easy swinging midtempo track with a killer guitar riff, as Sheryl laments the guy she loved the most that turned out to be a huge bunghole. (The song was rumored to be about one-time beau Eric Clapton). To this day, it remains my second favorite Sheryl song (the first is "Riverwide" from the same album but never released as a single). She turns all shouter-rock-chick on the super aggro "If It Makes You Happy", then heads off to beach blanket bingo with the super-poppy, bouncy "Soak Up The Sun", featuring guest vocals from Liz Phair, who apparently swiped a trick or two from Sheryl when making her last album.

Another one of my fave uptempo Sheryl tracks is the funky "There Goes The Neighborhood", which features a mean swipe at Fiona Apple in the second verse. "The chick paid to make sickly/Is standing in her panties in the shower". It also features a mean horn section, with a Maceo-like sax break in the bridge.

As a bballadeer, Sheryl's ballads show a definite turn toward country music, as exemplified by one of the new tracks, a cover of Rod Stewart's "The First Cut Is The Deepest". Sheryl covers it faithfully (actually, if you sub Rod's vocals for hers, it's damn near the exact same arrangement), and then ups the pedal steel quotient and tacks on a country "remix" on at the end. "Strong Enough" is an affirmation of strength and sadness which boasts the greatest opening line in Sheryl Crow history: "God I feel like hell tonight". Humorous anecdote: when this song was popular, I had a friend over to hang. after drinking a Fosters and smoking a joint, when "Strong Enough". After hearing the first line, friend pops up and goes "What the hell is HER problem?". Ten years later, I still think of that whenever I hear this song.

Another highlight is this year's sleeper hit, "Picture', with Kid Rock. This song is the definition of beer-stained, and although Sheryl sings rings around Kid, the two have a definite musical chemistry (and rumored romantic chemistry as well). They're lovers aart from each other, substiituting everything from cocaine to church to ease the pain of the other's absence, when a picture of their loved one brings them back to reality. It's sappy, ain't it? Maybe so, but easily one of this year's best singles.

There's not much in the way of clunkers here. I was never fond of "Everyday Is A Winding Road". I'm still not sold on it, even though I will say that her version is way better than the terrible version prince did a couple of years later. The other new track, "Light In Your Eyes", is pleasant if a bit on the generic side, and Sheryl left out a few key album tracks, most notably the aforementioned "Riverwide".

Sheryl's managed to play the tough-chick card, the sensitive-girl card, the party-girl crowd and the mature-woman card, and she's played them all well. She's also one of the more influential women in rock, as Michelle Branch in particular seems to be molding herself in Sheryl's shadow. She's also managed to last for ten years without going overboard on the T-and-A, which not many femme vocalists can say. Yeah, Sheryl's got albums that re worth listening to, but if you want the hits in one concise package, this "best of" is for you.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Key tracks: "Picture", "My favorite Mistake", "There Goes The Neighborhood"