Very Best Of Sheryl Crow, The - Sheryl Crow

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Some decent country tinged pop tracks
Disadvantages:	A bit bland and middle of the road

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

I've always thought of Sheryl Crow as being a very middle of the road artist, kind of like a solo female version of Dire Straits - inoffensive, but not especially appealing. I'd vaguely enjoyed the singles she'd released, but without ever becoming a fan, seeing them as a kind of background music, the kind of pop with a slight country edge that my parents might enjoy, but which never really enticed me to make an album purchase.

This makes me the perfect market for a "Greatest Hits" album. I've often seen "Greatest Hits" albums as a bit of a rip off, usually because they add in a couple of new tracks, or new versions of old song to persuade the dedicated fan of the artist into buying yet another album. This time around, however, I'm the other side of the intended market - the casual fan who may be talked into buying an album by an artist he wouldn't usually and might just be good for repeat business if the material's good enough.

Unlike some "Greatest Hits" collections, Sheryl Crow's doesn't put the songs in any kind of chronological order, starting instead with her biggest hit, "All I Wanna Do". It's the ideal song to set the scene for the album, being a fairly typical pop song with country undertones that bounces along quite inoffensively. It does demonstrate that Sheryl Crow shares a keen observational eye when it comes to lyrics as Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler.

There's an interesting dance style intro to "Soak up the Sun", which suggests it's going to be a little different, but it soon segues into the standard Sheryl Crow style guitar led pop, and it's virtually indistinguishable from the previous track, although the chorus is perhaps a little more sing along.

There's a slightly rockier feel to the opening of "My Favorite Mistake", led by an electric guitar, rather than the ever present acoustic. The general song is much the same as ever, though, a fairly melodic pop number, with more of a straight rock edge than a country-rock one and another decent melodic chorus.

Cat Stevens' "The First Cut is the Deepest" has been covered by so many people over the years I can no longer recall the original. Unfortunately, Sheryl Crow's version makes me wish I could, as it's a really insipid pop ballad, proving that some songs are best left alone. It adds nothing to either the song, or Crow's reputation.

Apart from a strange almost tribal drum beat in the background, "Everyday is a Winding Road" is back to what Sheryl Crow does best. It's a harmless, mid-tempo pop-country song with a chorus that hooks you, but nothing that really demands your attention.

"Leaving Las Vegas" has a much darker feel to it, being down tempo and heavier on the bass, and Crow's vocals are a lot deeper. Unfortunately, this turns the song into a dirge, rather than the dark pop ballad it was probably intended to be. Along with "The First Cut if the Deepest", this is probably my least favourite track on the album.

There's a much more country sound to the guitar that opens "Strong Enough", which continues through the song. It's more of a pop-country ballad than a genuine country song, but it's something that wouldn't have felt too out of place with the Dixie Chicks, or maybe even the Corrs, performing it.

It's very much back to the normal Sheryl Crow sound on "Light in Your Eyes". It's a bouncy, up-tempo pop track with a slight country sounding backing and a catchy chorus. What is slightly unusual for Sheryl Crow is that it's a more upbeat sounding song than many of the others and the first that really gets your foot tapping.

There's more of a rock intro to "If it Makes You Happy" that, much like "Leaving Las Vegas" carries over into the vocal. What this song has that the other lacks, however, is a catchy chorus and a more melodic feel mixed in with the dark tone that makes it sound like a pop-indie track, rather than a dirge, although the general feel of the song is dark enough to make the title feel a touch ironic.

It's back to the ballads with "Run, Baby, Run", but retaining a fairly dark tone. Unusually, there's a prominent piano and the track is for the most part a standard pop ballad, although the song really only sticks out because it's so downbeat. However, with the more melodic chorus, you could imagine this being performed by any of today's solo female pop artists and the vocals do sound a little like Delta Goodrem in parts, although the song as a whole would probably fit in best with Vanessa Carlton's sound.

That "Picture" is a country tinged ballad is not real surprise from Sheryl Crow. What does come as a bit of a shock is that it's a duet with rap-rock star Kid Rock. It was seeing the video to this song on MTV that finally persuaded me to buy the album, even more than Crow's impressive back catalogue. It's a fairly sweet sounding country ballad, but with quite dark lyrics which were the reason the song appeals to me so much. Musically, you could picture Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton singing this one, but they'd certainly have wanted more upbeat lyrics.

Rather than including the single version, the inclusion of "C'Mon, C'Mon" is a previously unreleased version with the Corrs. It fits in well with the sound you might expect from both artists, being a mid-tempo pop heavy song with folk leanings and a catchy chorus. It does seems that the Corrs do little but give the song a slightly more folk sound and harmonies on the chorus and bridge, but are otherwise not particularly noticeable.

It's back to more familiar territory on "A Change Would Do You Good", which is pure Sheryl Crow. It's a fairly jaunty mid-tempo pop song with a catchy hook and an underlying country sound.

"Home" is a bit of a cross between "Picture" and "Leaving Las Vegas", being a slightly more country led down tempo pop song with a mournful sounding vocal. Unfortunately, like the latter, it's another one that seems to drag you down with it.

There's a snippet of conversation leading into "There Goes the Neighborhood" that would probably be considered a skit on a rap album and some very 1980s pop sounding handclaps and drumbeats leading into the song. However, it's quite a rocky sounding song when this is done and sounds like it wouldn't be too out of place on Shania Twain's "Come On Over" album, although it's more to the pop end of her sound.

It's back to the mournful tone with "I Shall Believe", which has the same effect as "Home" in that it seems to drag on, despite not being all that long a track. It's just a simple pop ballad that has nothing to distinguish it from anyone else and could have appeared on any female solo singer's album without anyone really noticing.

The album ends with bonus track "Let's Get Free", which at least ends the album on a more upbeat and more familiar note. It's much like "C'Mon, C'Mon" in sound, although a little slower in tempo. But it's right on Sheryl Crow's standard sound, being another country tinged pop song with a catchy chorus.

While the album as a whole is harmless, it serves mostly to remind me why I'd never bought a Sheryl Crow album before now. The songs themselves are pretty good individually, but an album of 17 of them together playing for around 72 minutes is a bit too much for my tastes.

This is an album that doesn't quite fit anywhere. The choruses are a little too catchy for it to be background listening, as they can sneak your attention away from something else in parts. At the same time, however, there's nothing really bouncy enough for it to be a party album and it's a little too repetitive to be something you could really listen to over and over. Strangely, this makes it perhaps the ideal CD to play in the car, as it's not quite mundane enough that you could fall asleep at the wheel to it, yet not so catchy it'll take your attention away from the road or inspire you to put your foot down.

If you have a passing interest in Sheryl Crow, as I did, this is the best album of hers to buy, as it's got all of the main songs I can think of included. If you're a pop fan, there might be too much of a country edge for this to appeal yet if you're a country fan, probably not enough. If you're into Dire Straits, it may appeal as it's gone that same largely inoffensive sound and it's pop with a country edge, so Shania Twain and Faith Hill fans might enjoy parts.

There's a lot of music here, but really only 3 or 4 different basic songs, repeated several times over. With that in mind, you'd have to be a serious fan to pay £8.99 from play.com or £8.75 from CD-Wow. Someone like me who has enjoyed the singles individually might not be too displeased with a price of £3.99 from the Amazon Marketplace, but anyone with little more than a passing interest should try for copies on eBay, which have been seen from 99p.

My suppositions on Sheryl Crow as an artist are only strengthened by this album and I wish I'd bought it for my Dad, rather than for myself. It passes some time, but there are better ways to spend an hour and a quarter and you'd perhaps be better looking for them instead.