Album review - Sheryl Crow, C'mon, C'mon

By Cory Allen, MIX 96.5

Sheryl Crow has never been one to lack confidence in her craft. Why should she? She stumbled upon the scene as rock and roll's new darling in 1993, for her award-winning debut, Saturday Night Music Club. Everything she has touched since has turned to Grammy, with two platinum selling and critically-acclaimed follow ups, a live album, and guest appearances with everyone from the Dixie Chicks to Kid Rock.

Four years have come and gone since Crow's The Globe Sessions, an album adored by many critics, but mainly overlooked by consumers and radio. She turned 40, went through what she calls a "labor of love" and has returned with quite possibly her most solid effort to date. Just when the same rock and roll community that welcomed her nearly ten years ago needs her the most.

From her beginning, Crow's songwriting has always caught listeners off guard. Her self-titled sophomore release in 1996 was banned by Wal-Mart because of a line in a song about kids killing each other with guns bought there. The "Billy and Me" story in "All I Wanna Do," the simultaneous heartache and relief of, "My Favorite Mistake," and the carefree maturity of "Everyday is a Winding Road" show her diversity over the years and a persistent feel-good attitude, even at the worst of times. Crow's songs generally emphasize happiness in misery, and dealing with sorrow and hardships with a positive attitude. She aims for the heart and the throat at the same time, and her lyrics give just enough to make one wonder where she's headed next.

C'mon, C'mon is loaded with the crafty metaphors and colorful descriptions that have become a Sheryl Crow trademark, and she shows her enormous growth as a songwriter track by track. From the opening lines of the debut single, the catchy "Soak Up the Sun," Crow seems desperate to belong to and believe in something, but doesn't know what, and doesn't seem to care: "My friend the communist holds meetings in his RV, I can't afford the gas so I'm stuck here watching TV".

Crow flashes her attitude from the album's opening rocker, "Steve McQueen," maybe expressing her frustration with the current condition of politics and music: "We got rockstars in the White House, all our popstars look like porn, all my heroes hit the highway, they don't hang out here no more".

The title track is vintage Sheryl Crow attitude at its best, as she urges a former lover to, "c'mon and break her heart again, for old times sake." Other standouts include the powerful "Safe and Sound" and a sweet duet with Don Henley called "It's So Easy". Henley and Crow mesh well together, reminiscent of Henley's number one hit with Patty Smyth a while back, "Sometimes Love Ain't Enough". Ironically, several songs from C'mon, C'mon have a country feel and prove this Crow could easily fly with Henley's Eagles.

Crow brought a few other friends along for the ride, a who's who roster both in the forefront and behind the music. Lenny Kravitz, Stevie Nicks, Gweneth Paltrow (?), Liz Phair and Emmylou Harris all lend backing vocals, but never rise above the soaring Crow, as she drives the melodies on every song to the point that she sticks to your soul, not just your ears. Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland contributes some arrangements and production on the gritty "Lucky Kid".

C'mon, C'mon is up and down, brilliant and silly, edgy and simple, and of course laced with vintage pop melodies that are sure to place themselves on radio among the teenaged pop princesses for whom she so carefully helped pave the road for. Crow takes her music seriously, but C'mon, C'mon doesn't take itself seriously, a vibe missing since Saturday Night Music Club.

Kid Rock says Crow's appearance on his new album made him want to sing and play better. A listen to C'mon C'mon could do the same for any musician. The words, "produced by Sheryl Crow," will soon appear on albums other than her own, as they did on the new Stevie Nicks release. Some of today's bland female artists could use a good soaking of some of Crow's sun. Even now, all Sheryl Crow wants to do is have some fun, but hopefully she will manage to breathe some life into pop and rock music while she's at it.