Sheryl Crow (album)

Sheryl Crow is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Sheryl Crow, 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 two collaborators. Recorded largely 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, blues, alternative rock, country, and folk.

Sheryl Crow was a commercial success, receiving triple platinum certification by both the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the British Phonographic Industry (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 acclaim from critics, who praised its intricate production and Crow's louder and more assured performance. At the 39th Annual Grammy Awards, the album won Best Rock Album and Crow won Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for the aforementioned single. Retrospectively, it is often regarded as Crow's best album.

Background and recording

Sheryl Crow is the follow-up to Sheryl Crow's 1993 album Tuesday Night Music Club, which was written by a group of musicians known as the "Tuesday Music Club".<ref name="RS article"/> The group existed as a casual collective formed by Crow and musicians Bill Bottrell, David Baerwald, Kevin Gilbert, Brian MacLeod, David Ricketts, and Dan Schwartz.<ref name="AllMusic bio"/> The album was a commercial success and produced several hit singles, including "All I Wanna Do", "Strong Enough", and "Leaving Las Vegas".<ref name="AllMusic bio"/> It was certified 7× Platinum in the United States and 2× Platinum in the United Kingdom.<ref name="Cert US"/><ref name="Cert UK"/> Crow was also awarded Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Record of the Year at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards.<ref name="1994 Grammy Awards"/>

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 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.<ref name="RS article"/> As a result, several members of the Tuesday Music Club group felt betrayed, and O'Brien himself committed suicide three weeks later.<ref name="RS article"/> 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."<ref name="RS article"/>

After Tuesday Night Music Club, Crow wanted to prove her authority as a musician.<ref name="AllMusic bio"/> 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."<ref name="RS article"/> Work on the new album began at Toad Hall in Pasadena, California, 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".<ref name="RS article"/> 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.<ref name="AllMusic bio"/><ref name="RS article"/> As a result, Crow took over production duties and wrote most of the songs alone or with only one collaborator.<ref name="Bangor Daily News"/> She also played most of the instruments on the album, including bass and guitar work and nearly all the keyboard parts.<ref name="Sarasota Herald-Tribune"/> 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.<ref name="CD booklet"/><ref name="RS article"/> Audio mastering took place at Gateway Mastering Studios in Portland, Maine.<ref name="CD booklet"/>

Music and lyrics

Musically, Sheryl Crow was described as a combination of rock, blues, alternative rock, country, folk, and light hip hop loops.<ref name="AllMusic review"/> Unlike its predecessor, it also features a more off-balance production and a richer instrumentation,<ref name="AllMusic review"/> with "lots of fuzz, wurlitzer, hammond, moog. Nothing extreme, perhaps, but almost psychedelic when joined to big mainstream melodies", one critic explained.<ref name="Spin review"/> The album covers topics of American life, relationship breakups, and moral and ethical issues, among others.<ref name="EW review"/> For example, "Home" is a folk ballad where Crow recounts the emotional difficulties of a deteriorating relationship,<ref name="Slant review"/> while "Superstar" deals with a woman fantasizing about stardom.<ref name="Herald Journal"/> The song "A Change Would Do You Good", which features hand claps and organ licks,<ref name="RS article"/> is about the need to escape a constricted life.<ref name="Herald Journal"/>

The opening track, "Maybe Angels", was described as "a cryptic ode to UFOs and government conspiracies that plays like an X-Files theme song."<ref name="EW review"/> Crow explained that the song is "an extraterrestrial yarn that finds Kurt Cobain joining John Lennon in heaven's winged choir".<ref name="NME 1996-10-05"/> The track "Redemption Day" is a protest against the US indifference to the Bosnian War.<ref name="Herald Journal"/> It was inspired when Crow visited the country as part of a USO trip with Hillary and Chelsea Clinton.<ref name="RS article"/> The song was later covered by Johnny Cash, appearing on his 2010 posthumous record American VI: Ain't No Grave.<ref name="Redemption Day cover"/> The track "Hard to Make a Stand" references abortion,<ref name="Slant review"/> 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."<ref name="Walmart"/> The song caused some controversy, resulting in Walmart banning sales of the album at their stores.<ref name="Walmart"/>

The album's lead single, "If It Makes You Happy", underwent several different arrangements before being turned into a rock song.<ref name="SOS"/> According to musician Jeff Trott, who co-wrote the song along with Crow, "It started off as a twangy, David Lynch-esque sort of thing. Then [...] we played it like punk rock, really fast, as well as country and funky. 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!"<ref name="SOS"/> 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.<ref name="SOS"/> Sheryl Crow also has contributions by notable musicians. For example, "Sweet Rosalyn" features saxophone by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, while "Everyday Is a Winding Road" features harmony vocals by Neil Finn of Crowded House.<ref name="Herald Journal"/>

Release

Sheryl Crow was released on CD and cassette formats on September 24, 1996.<ref name="AllMusic review"/> The album reached number six on the US Billboard 200 chart and sold 143,000 copies in the first two weeks of release.<ref name="Charts US"/><ref name="RS article"/> As of January 2008, the album had sold 2,400,000 units in the US according to Nielsen SoundScan, and has been certified three-times platinum by the RIAA.<ref name="Sales 2008"/><ref name="Cert US"/> 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.<ref name="Charts UK"/><ref name="Cert UK"/> Unlike the American edition, the British edition of the album contains the bonus track "Free Man".<ref name="AllMusic UK edition"/> Sheryl Crow also reached the top ten in Austria, Belgium, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland.<ref name="Charts Austria"/><ref name="Charts Belgium Flanders"/><ref name="Charts New Zealand"/><ref name="Charts Sweden"/><ref name="Charts Switzerland"/> In Europe, it was certified platinum by the IFPI.<ref name="Cert Europe"/> 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.<ref name="CD Signature Australia"/><ref name="CD Signature Japan"/> This 2-CD set was also released as Sheryl Crow – Special Edition in the United Kingdom in 1997.<ref name="CD Special UK"/>

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.<ref name="Charts US"/><ref name="RS article"/> It was also a success in the United Kingdom, where it reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart.<ref name="Singles Charts UK"/> Other countries where the single charted include Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand and Switzerland.<ref name="Single 1 Charts Australia"/><ref name="Single 1 Charts Canada"/><ref name="Single 1 Charts France"/><ref name="Single 1 Charts New Zealand"/><ref name="Single 1 Charts Switzerland"/> A music video was made for the song under the direction of Keir McFarlane.<ref name="music video 1"/> "Everyday Is a Winding Road" was released on November 18, 1996, as the album's second single.<ref name="eiswrrel">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The song was also a success, reaching number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.<ref name="Charts US"/><ref name="Singles Charts UK"/> The tracks "Hard to Make a Stand", "A Change Would Do You Good", and "Home" were released as the album's last three singles.<ref name="Singles Charts UK"/> "A Change Would Do You Good" was a modest success, peaking at number 16 on the Mainstream Top 40 and number eight on the UK Singles Chart.<ref name="Charts US"/><ref name="Singles Charts UK"/>

Critical reception

Upon release, Sheryl Crow received acclaim from critics. Eric Weisbard of Spin 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 [work] well with Crow's literate hippie-chick persona".<ref name="Spin review"/> 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."<ref name="EW review"/> 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".<ref name="EW review"/> Writing for The Baltimore Sun, J. D. Considine praised Crow's vocals, especially on "If It Makes You Happy", which he felt was probably the album's best song.<ref name="Sarasota Herald-Tribune"/>

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.<ref name="Herald Journal"/><ref name="EW review"/> 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.<ref name="RS review"/> In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau quipped that the album was indebted to "not just Alanis but Tchad",<ref name="VV review"/> later giving it a "one-star honorable mention" grade.<ref name="Christgau review"/> In February 1997, Sheryl Crow was ranked at number 26 in The Village VoiceTemplate:'s 1996 Pazz & Jop critics' poll.<ref name="Pazz & Jop"/> At the 39th Annual Grammy Awards, the album was awarded Best Rock Album and Crow received the Best Female Rock Vocal Performance award for the song "If It Makes You Happy".<ref name="1996 Grammy Awards"/>

Retrospectively, AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine 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' Paul's Boutique, but it is as self-referential, pop culture obsessed, and musically eclectic."<ref name="AllMusic review"/> Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine highlighted the album's "quirky, stream-of-conscious lyrics" and elaborate sound collages, stating that "none of [Crow's] other full-length albums have been as consistent, immaculately produced or distinctly modern."<ref name="Slant review"/> In 1999, Rolling Stone selected Sheryl Crow as one of the essential albums of the decade.<ref name="RS 1999-05-13"/> In 2002, the magazine also ranked it at number 44 in its list of Women in Rock: The 50 Essential Albums.<ref name="RS 2002-31-10"/> In 2003, the album was featured in the Vital Pop: 50 Essential Pop Albums list by Slant Magazine.<ref name="Slant vital"/> In 2008, Entertainment Weekly magazine placed the album at number 39 in their list of Top 100 Best Albums of the past 25 years.<ref name="EW 25 years"/> In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked Sheryl Crow at number 475 in its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.<ref name="RS 500"/>

Personnel

Credits are adapted from AllMusic.<ref name="AllMusic credits"/>

• Sheryl Crow – lead vocals, background vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harmonium, keyboards, Moog bass, Hammond organ, piano, Wurlitzer, pennyosley, loops, producer
• 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, electric guitar
• Dave Douglas – horn
• Davey Faragher – fuzz bass
• Neil Finn – background vocals
• Curtis Fowlkes – horn
• Mitchell Froom – assistant producer, harmonium, horn arrangements, keyboards, string arrangements
• S. "Husky" Höskulds – assistant engineer
• Wally Ingram – drums, djembe
• Cappy Japngie – assistant engineer
• Jim Keltner – drums
• Blair Lamb – engineer
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Brian MacLeod – drums, loops

• James Minchin – photography
• John Paterno – assistant engineer
• Stephanie Pfriender – photography
• Josh Roseman – horn
• Dan Rothchild – bass guitar
• Anders Rundblad – bass guitar, acoustic guitar
• Bob Salcedo – engineer
• Jane Scarpantoni – strings
• Trina Shoemaker – engineer
• Bob Stewart – horn
• Steen Sundland – photography
• Pete Thomas – drums
• Jeff Trott – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, background vocals, loop
• Michael Urbano – drums, snare drums, loop
• Tad Wadhams – bass guitar
• Karen Walker – art direction, design
• Stephen Weintraub – executive producer
• Pam Werheimer – coordination
• Todd Wolfe – dobro, electric guitar

Charts

Weekly charts

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Chart (1996–1997)	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	24
European Albums (Eurotipsheet)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	6

Year-end charts

Chart (1996)	Position
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	52
UK Albums (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	28
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	152

Chart (1997)	Position
UK Albums (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	15
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	34

External links

• Template:Discogs master