Customer Reviews

100 Miles From Memphis

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

This is not likely the Sheryl Crow that you know, and to be honest, with the first two tracks I was wishing that it was. But by the end of the disc I was wishing that it was twice as long. I'm amazed at how authentic it sounds. It's as if Marvin Gaye himself was sitting behind the board dictating the production. This set has a few covers (which are undeniably great) but this disc is mostly SC-penned tunes--displaying another facet of her brilliant writing (except when she's overtly political--I'm not really into all of that. And there are tinges of this here but I have to make her that allowance since Soul and R&B, which she deftly re-creates, has always had socio-political elements. See MG's "What's Goin' On" for an example). But I was really shocked by her performance. I know that she can write and I know that really good writers can cross genre lines successfully but I wasn't prepared to her her sound so soulful. Think cool-Joss Stone minus vocal acrobatics. I'm now hoping that SC will do a live disc of about 20 such songs. I love her "standard" fare but this is "a happy surprise." And as far as the first two tracks, it's not that they're not good, it's simply that I wasn't ready--or willing--to hear 100 Miles until she delivered her take on Terence Trent D'Arby's "Sign Your Name." Simply incredible and satisfying. The rest... well, if you like the groove of Soul, believe me, Crow has your number.

Bottom line: If you like late-60s-Early 70s Soul and R&B, and you can set aside what you think Sheryl Crow is or can do, then you can love this album (yes, album because it belongs to that era). Other artists may do soul songs but SC DOES soul. Hearing is believing.

She has a lock on it if a special award is handed out for least interesting cover art (listing the tracks on it is a nifty retro look, though), but Sheryl Crow has produced the most interesting, if not the best, music of her career with "100 Miles From Memphis."

For one thing, not a single moody ballad is among the tracks. There are no fist-pumping, politically-themed-rise-to-action anthems, either. Lightheartedness and peace accent even the album most serious moment, the standout "Stop," a plea for safety and normalcy in a reliably imperfect world.

The no-frills cover of the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" epitomizes the album's cool, laid-back vibe. Her vocals are uncannily - and delightfully - similar to Michael Jackson's.

No song among the dozen really stands out. This is not an album that will produce hits. Casual fans will long for something sweeter and catchier. However, others will be drawn in by the celebratory mood, sublimely pitch-perfect backing vocal harmonies and airtight musicianship that make songs like the well-oiled, beautifully arranged "Summer Day" and the airy, colorful title track absolutely and perfectly render Crow's artistic vision a reality.

"Roses and Moonlight" rides an infectious, soulful groove with one of the album's few noticeable choruses. "Say What You Want" has one of the album's simplest lyrics, with Crow putting all pretense aside, resulting in one of the album's cheeriest, most uplifting moments. Even the gloomy subject of matter of "Our Love Is Fading" does not detract from the optimistic atmosphere.

For an album so casual and folksy, its edges remain smooth and professional where it counts.

It is a pleasure to hear Crow cast her worries to the wind and let her confidence as a musician and songwriter lead the way. Her joy, sincerity and inner peace radiate through the songs, often making them sound more remarkable than they may actually be.

"100 Miles From Memphis" manages to acknowledge the unfortunate era in which it was recorded and yet remain willfully light, engaging and fun - a love letter to a time when music was more "live," organic, fresh and unaffected than it is today. It is not Crow's best, but it does demonstrate her great versatility and sense of adventure. She is, simply put, a hell of an artist.

i am a big fan....but like many of her fans I like the more "rock" side of sheryl. songs like "if it makes you happy" and "steve mcqueen" are the ones I like best.

with this album you find very little rock...it's pretty laid back, soulful and peaceful. it does not in any way mean that it's bad. like many artists sheryl is evolving and experimenting.....for me as a fan I like her earlier stuff best but this album is far from bad. i can recognize that the songs are good songs but just not what i prefer most of the time.

so if you buy it expecting it to sound like her older stuff you will not get it....if you buy it with the understanding that she is experimenting a bit and the songs are a bit more laid back then you will have a good chance of enjoying it.

I finally got around to buying this CD. I don't buy CD's very much any more; there are only a few artists whom I like enough to do so. Sheryl is one of them. However, this CD seems like a mis-step on her part. If I want to listen to Memphis or the blues, Sheryl is not the person whom I think of to accomplish this. While I can appreciate that she's got the financial wherewithal to pursue fun projects, she just isn't good at this genre. She is good at making hooky, fun, interesting pop music. That's what I buy a Sheryl Crow record for. This probably won't get very many future listens on my CD player.

On her soulful, hook-laden new album, Sheryl Crow turns the fun factor WAAAY up. I loved Sheryl's last few albums as well. What can I say, Ive been a fan for a long time, but they were musically heavy, sometimes overpolitical, but nonetheless great, but she really loosens up on "100 Miles From Memphis". There's not a bad track on this jamming summer album. Even the one song with political overtones, "Say What You Want" manages to rock out. There is also quite a depth to this seemingly breezy album. Sheryl has always surrounded herself with great musicians and singers, and she really pulls it together nicely here creating a seemless soulful vibe throughout the whole record. Some of the songs like "Peaceful Feeling" sound like summer block parties within themselves. The slower tracks still convey the emotional punch we've come to expect from Sheryl.

"Summer Day" is the best single she's released in years. I find myself hitting the repeat button on this one. This is the kind of song that should be at the top of the charts instead of garbage like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. Adults and younger people that appreciate good music might actually want to listen to radio again if a song like this were #1. I can't say enough about this wonderful record except to say thank you Sheryl for giving us another summer of great music.

My only complaint is that it's not available on vinyl.

A bit confused from the negative reviews, as this album has gotten good reviews from the critics. I was not a fan of her last two albums, but find this album to sound a lot more like her amazing first album, with a little more R&B influence. A very fun, summer sounding album from one of my favorite singers! The feel good 'Summer Day' and the groovy 'Roses and Moonlight' are my favorite tracks :)

I'll keep this short. Sheryl brings it with a CD full of soulful jams. I especially am digging "Roses and Midnight", it reminds of me something the Pointer Sisters would have done when they were doing their funky, experimental stuff on the Blue Thumb label. Her version of "I Want You Back", well it just makes me smile. Somethings you shouldn't mess with and she didn't change this up a bit. Did she improve upon the original? No, but that wasn't the point, it's an homage. Love the single "Summer Day" and the title track is another good one. Love it!

Who would've thought Sheryl Crow would be the one to put Jack Johnson in his place and prove a laid-back, summery album can actually have some ingenuity and variation from track to track? Pulling from a variety of influences, Sheryl Crow does just that with her seventh studio album. Opening with "Our Love Is Fading," Crow shows off her soulful side. Filled with horns and backup singers, "Our Love Is Fading" hits the ground running before settling into the peaceful groove that follows.

With the aid of Keith Richards on guitar, "Eye to Eye" introduces hints of reggae as the tempo slows down. Although the pace of the album makes a drastic change after "Our Love Is Fading," the horns heard on both tracks maintain a recognizable timbre that keeps the flow of the record smooth. This then allows the relaxed beats of "Sign Your Name," featuring Justin Timberlake on backup vocals, and the lead single "Summer Day" to follow without feeling out of place.

The smooth, soulfulness of 100 Miles from Memphis can be credited, in part, to the production work of Doyle Bramhall II (Eric Clapton and B.B. King) and Justin Stanley (Nikka Costa). Their collective minds give Crow's seventh record the same fun feeling heard on some of her earliest singles such as "All I Wanna Do."

Having grown up in a small town 100 miles from Memphis, Sheryl Crow hints, quite blatantly, at a return to her roots with the title of her newest album. By doing so, she has created an enjoyable album that shows off the true potential of her voice. For fans of her earlier work, this album has been a long time coming. For the more casual listener, 100 Miles From Memphis might just make the unbearable heat this summer has brought us a bit more tolerable.

Similar Artists: Stevie Nicks, Anna Wilson
Track Suggestion: "Sign Your Name"

Sheryl Crow's new CD is filled with breezy Soul sounds that hearken back to the seventies. Lead-off single the horn/organ-drenched "Summer day" is catchy groovy soul with lovely harmonies and sunny chorus ("I just want to let it shine"), is a perfect example.

The album is much lighter and happier than her last CD "Detours". The horn-peppered "Our love is fading" and "Peaceful feeling" are bouncy with a Motown-style beat and Crow sounding like a young Michael Jackson. "Eye to eye" is rolicking Reggae with darting horns and features Keith Richards on guitar. "Stop" is a vulnerable Soul ballad. The title track "100 miles from Memphis" is my favourite, a beautiful midtempo groove remniscent of her hit "All I wanna do". "Roses and moonlight" is a bass-heavy smouldering mid-tempo groove.

She tackles some covers; a plodding upbeat reworking of Terence Trent D'arby's "Sign your name" with Justin Timberlake on harmonies channeling the sound of Al Green, Citizen Cope's "Sideways" (with a soulful drawl for the chorus), and a note for note copy of the Jackson 5's "I want you back" on which she again channels the young Michael Jackson. The song is a tribute to Michael whom she once toured with as a backing vocalist.

Crow has put aside politics and weightier issues on this album, and the result is nostalgic fun.

I own another Sheryl Crow CD and absolutely love it, so I bought this one. I really wish I hadn't. Its boring, with the exception to her tribute song for Michael Jackson. It left me blah.