Detours

Sheryl Crow

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 5, 2008)
• Original Release Date: February 5, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: A&M
• ASIN: B0010IOAKW
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (141 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,164 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Thematically, Detours may not seem like much of a detour to Sheryl Crow fans. Her politics pour out of these songs the way you might expect them to if you caught wind of her epic cross-country bus trip, with the activist Laurie David, to promote environmental awareness months prior to this release. From the quiet, faraway-sounding opener "God Bless This Mess"--a novel in a song--to the catchy but thought-provoking "Gasoline," it's clear that Crow has more on her mind these days than soaking up the sun or having a little fun, à la the Tuesday Night Music Club era. Yet there's not a groan-worthy song on this standout rock/pop/folk/blues album. If the themes are heavy (in addition to the political songs, there's an almost painfully tender lullaby for her son Wyatt and one, "Make It Go Away [Radiation Song]," that touches on her breast-cancer experience), the mood is cathartic, determined, hopeful at times and sad at others. "Now That You're Gone" grabs at clarity through the clouds of a devastating love affair and gets it, and "Peace Be Upon Us" picks apart pettiness and arrives at a wide-minded beauty. George Harrison seems present in some of these songs, especially the more personal ones ("Drunk with the Thought of You," "Love Is All There Is"). And that may be the highest compliment that Sheryl Crow, who seems to admire his gentle soul and shares his big heart, could ask for. --Tammy La Gorce

Product Description
Sheryl Crow is set to release her sixth studio album, DETOURS. The album marks the return of producer Bill Bottrell, who previously worked with Crow on her breakthrough debut album Tuesday Night Music Club, which earned the singer three Grammy Awards, and sold more than ten million copies worldwide. "This is the most honest record I've ever made. It's about being forced to wake up," says Crow.

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See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Crow Takes Sidetrips On the Road of Life, February 5, 2008

By	Rudy Palma "The Writing Fiend" (NJ) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

If 2002's sun-drenched "Come On, Come On" found a nail-biting Sheryl Crow unsure of her position as pop tunesmith or serious singer/songwriter, 2005's "Wildflower" - her "art" record as she dubbed it - certified she could straddle the line without compromise.

She continues that progression with the aptly-titled "Detours," sifting through a myriad of topics like her breast cancer battle, broken engagement to Lance Armstrong and adoption of a baby boy. She may have been sidetracked, but she embraces the rhythm of life, an artist true to form.

Crow reunites with Bill Bottrell, producer of her 1993 debut "Tuesday Night Music Club," and the results are compelling and thoroughly listenable. Lo-fi opener "God Bless This Mess" is wall-to-wall Crow, reiterating the song's title line despite hazy post 9/11 life, while the jaunty radio-ready rock of the futuristic blue-collar anthem "Gasoline" and bouncy single "Love Is Free" keep the pace.

She bares her soul on "Make It Go Away (Radiation Song)" and delivers a high-octane rocker in the politically conscious "Shine Over Babylon," but the revelatory title track and cheery, swashbuckling "Out of Our Heads" keep the colors from running too dark.

In spite of life's hardships she finds comfort in "Peace Be Upon Us" and the gorgeous "Love Is All There Is" without a trace of sap left on her fingers, while perfect closer "Lullaby For Wyatt" finds Crow fully aware of the trials of motherhood as she tenderly croons "you're mine...for a time."

Crow is a rare flower of a talent in an entertainment industry full of weeds and flash-in-the-pans, but she is not fragile. Transforming the personal into the universal, she has the rare power to make listeners consider not just themselves but the ambiguous world they live in and keep things entertaining and fresh all the while.

34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Always Tuesday Night Somewhere, February 9, 2008

By	J. Chasin (NYC, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In late 1993 I went to see the BoDeans at New York's Irving Plaza. The opening act was a singer-songwriter I'd never heard of before, a tall skinny pretty brunette who wore a denim shirt and played rhythm guitar in front of a loose, easy band. I enjoyed Sheryl Crow's opening set so much that night that I went out the next day and bought her record that had just come out, Tuesday Night Music Club (to place this in context, "All I Wanna Do" was all over the radio the following summer.)

She was great, an artist fully formed, and Tuesday Night Music Club is one of those records that manages to capture magic like lightning in a bottle. As much as I like her, it remains her best record.

The Music Club scattered, Sheryl has gone on to have an impressive run of hits (especially in this day and age, when old fashioned Stones/Clapton/Neil Young, 70s-inspired rock'n'roll has fallen so far from fashion. But here, she reunites with Music Clubber Bill Bottrell, who produced, mixed, and engineered, and shares writing credits on 5 of the songs. But let's not get crazy parsing out who does what; Detours has the loose, easy vibe that TNMC had, the feel of music made without any sweat, just flowing naturally. I don't know if there are any hits here and I don't really care. Start to finish, it is her best, most cohesive, easiest-to-listen-to record since the first one.

One thing worth noting is that it sounds great. I liked her last one, Wild Flowers, but the production was a little off for my ears, a little muddled. This sounds clear and bright.

I'm going to guess that some people will criticize the lyrics on some songs; "Gasoline," for example, gets a little political. But not to worry; just do what I do, and don't pay too much attention to the lyrics. Just feel the music, hear the songs, let it seep in and win you over. This one is just spot on.

25 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing~~~, February 7, 2008

By	tak1 - See all my reviews

I have to say that I was a bit hesitant to buy Sheryl Crow's new record at first because I just wasn't feeling her last 2 records to be honest. Too sunshiney for me. But before those, I've always enjoyed her music on and off.
I saw Detours for the sale price of $8 and thought the titles of the songs looked interesting. So I bought it. Plus I heard she's been having some major issues in her life lately and I basically had the impression that she'd talk about all that in her new record. She did and I'm glad for that. I'm glad she dove deep! This is a personal political record and those can be tricky. They can either succeed or fail miserably. I believe Sheryl has succeeded with Detours.
It's a mixture of her old self a la Tuesday Night Music Club with a newer self in a way with a more intimate touch.
Highlights of the record for me are: God bless this mess, shine over babylon, Gasoline, make it go away (radiation song), and Diamond ring.

Worth checking out! She's the female Bob Dylan of our times.