Customer Reviews

Detours

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

After a few lackluster efforts, Sheryl Crow has released a CD you can sink your teeth into. Starting with her just playing her acoustic on the opening "God Bless This Mess" gets your attention. She is teamed up with one of the producers of the smash "Tuesday Night Music Club" and it shows. Only problem is, one of the songs is a rip-off of "All I Wanna Do." Overall, this is a great CD and I had forgotten how much I enjoy a good Sheryl Crow CD

Sheryl Crow has remained a prominent artist in the music community for more than a decade. While starting off as a back up singer, she branched off on her own and has had great success. With "Detours" there is nothing to leave you empty or disappointed. She in a way returns to her original roots and it has a similar sound to her debut Tuesday Night Club, which isn't too much of a surprise, since it's her first time reuniting with producer Bill Bottrell.

This album features songs that have Crows' folky-bluesy fun rock vibe dancing around groovy guitar melodies, sweet vocals and insightful lyrics. Some lyrics you can tell were written about her break-up with boyfriend Lance Armstrong being very personal on heart-breaks like "Diamond Ring". Others are political with jabs at the Bush administration, like "God Bless This Mess". This album is all the musical greatness, honesty and sweetness you'd expect from the fun-lovin' singer.

I'm a big Sheryl Crow fan. Always have been. But this album disappointed me. At first I rated it 3 stars, (mostly BECAUSE I am such a fan of hers) but as I listened to it again, realized that no, I really did not like it. The song "Detours" was, I thought, the best song off this album, but it's really the only one, and don't get me wrong, it is NOT by any means, a favorite Sheryl song. I'm listening to the album right now to see if there was something I missed, but no, nothing stands out to me. The song "Out of Our Heads" and "Peace Be Upon Us" are almost cheesy, (and come to think of it, as it's playing I realized so is "God Bless This Mess".) Other songs have a similar sound and feel as classic Sheryl, but they fall terribly short of her previous greatness. Another realization is that for a lot of the songs the chorus just repeats the same line over and over.

As a Sheryl Crow fan, when she came into town to promote this album, I jumped on the chance to see her live, just hoping she would play a lot of "oldies". And to my pleasure she did. And thankfully, pretty much the only song she played off this album, that I can remember, was "Detours".

I have pre-ordered her new album which releases July 20, 2010, which I am hoping is a lot better than this one. I'm not ready to give up on her. You can't necessarily expect every album to be spectacular.

I'm not that big of a fan of Sheryl Crow like some people, but her last album (Wildflower) really made an impression on me, so I was looking forward to hearing her next offering.

I'm now very glad that it was of no cost to me to listen.

The way I see it, music is supposed to catch the ear first, the sensibilites later. Crow has given her fans plenty of listening pleasure in the past but with "Detours" my expectations were figuratively deafened from the sheer number of production misfires contained within the album. I ultimately don't think much of it and here's a blow-by-blow of the reasons why.

The album opens with "God Bless This Mess", which runs on a little too long - this is the type of song that should be short and sweet but it goes on for over two minutes, the acoustic guitar annoyingly repetitious with hardly any chord changes and the audio effect of it sounding like an ages-old recording is a bit strange. "Shine Over Babylon" is the real opener here with its rousing chorus that crescendos nicely and it segues quickly into "Love Is Free". It's obvious why this song was chosen as the first single to be released from "Detours" - it's the best song the album has to offer, the most radio-friendly and it echoes of her past hits (think "Soak Up The Sun", "All I Wanna Do"). "Peace Be Upon Us" is the first song that notifies its listener that this isn't your typical Crow album. Though it starts off admirably upbeat, her duet with vocalist Ahmed Al Hirmi is a strange choice - oddly enough, it all works somehow. The song features Arabic lyrics and at one point Crow wails with Al Hirmi like a devout Muslim calling out to Allah. "Gasoline" has some amusing and biting lyrics, touching upon America's dependence on foreign oil with an acerbic wit, but doesn't quite work as a song; Crow does a Johnny Cash-like recitation rather than full-out singing through most of it.

The tempo of "Out Of Our Heads" just doesn't seem to fit the melody - this song should've been a ballad and the result is a composition that confuses and grates the nerves. Actress Rosanna Arquette is a backing vocalist on this track, making it even more of an anomaly. The song "Detours" rolls along and as the title track is the least noticeable of all the 14 songs contained on this album.

Well, that's tracks 1-7 thus far and the second half of the album redeems little of the first. "Now That You're Gone" retreats back to some of the best of Crow's territory with its soulful, easy tempo and "Drunk With The Thought Of You" is another goodie. Starting off promisingly is "Diamond Ring" which lazily winds on a bluesy beat but it's painfully obvious that parts of the song are out of Crow's vocal range because she's really pushing it on the chorus. This is a woman who is primarily an alto and the repetition of the high-octave refrain has her voice horrendously straining and breaking, effectively killing the entire song. "Motivation" doesn't really have motivation (how ironic) - the lyrics are facetious but empty and the accompaniment is spiritless and unoriginal, making it ultimately forgettable.

I understand that "Make It Go Away (Radiation Song)" is a deeply personal song for Crow and was written at a time of despair and uncertainty while she was being treated for breast cancer. Despite this, it still doesn't resonate the way it should and Crow sounds utterly whiny further on into the track. "Love Is All There Is" isn't noteworthy in the least. "Lullaby For Wyatt" is surprisingly sweet without any of the schmaltz one might expect; it's a really beautiful song on an album full of generally trivial and lackluster compositions.

Bottom line: "Detours" arrangements and lyrics are a little off the beaten path at times and regrettably the album suffers for it. Crow is a good lyricist but this isn't her best work (her writing and arrangement on 2005's "Wildflower" rivals this) and from the sounds of it, she has hit a musical detour. Where this album was intended to go, I don't know. Here's hoping her next one arrives at a better destination.

Now, whether that works for you as a listener or not depends on whether you want just happy songs or you don't agree with Sheryl's political or religious orientation. In "Shine over Babylon," she has her own prediction, "I sing these songs with a little thanks."

This listener is saying thanks. I think Sheryl's working to take a place next to Joan Baez with those strong folksinging fems who don't shut up and do sing:

"God Bless this Mess" was what my Mom used to say about the house. Well, Sheryl took a lot bigger view:

I heard about the day that two skyscrapers came down
Firemen and policemen people came from all around
The smoke covered the city and the body count did rise
The president spoke words of comfort with teardrops in his eyes
The, he led us as a nation into a war all based on lies

"Make it Go Away-The Radiation Song" takes about her experience with breast cancer and the dilemma I wondered about myself when I faced cancer:

Sometimes I wonder
Which hurts the worse
The thought of dying
Or reliving every hurt

No, this CD isn't all pretty, but it's well done and it's straight from Sheryl's heart. Like Baez, she also did a lullabye and the coda to this CD, "Lullabye for Wyatt" is every mother's wish for their child:

How do I keep you from losing your way
Hope you will find love like I did someday
But love is letting go
And this I'll know
Is you were mine
For a time

Well done, Sheryl.

Another wonder collection of songs from Sheryl Crow. I know some people say her albums all sound alike, and I can see their point a little bit, but if you LIKE the way they sound, what's the problem? (BTW, I don't really think they all sound alike.) Great music.

I'm a huge fan and have been from the first CD! It seems like she keeps coming out with something fresh and new. I love her messages. Her lyrics on love and world politics are right on and usually my favorites. I don't always like everyone of her songs but there are always a good number of them that I get "stuck on." It's great to have a pop icon that I can relate to since most of them I can't. My favorite song on this CD is "Peace Be Upon Us." Incorporating Arabic lyrics and vocals was genus! My 6 year old son keeps making me hit the "replay" button when we listen to it in the car.

Singer-song writer, cancer survivor, humanitarian and peace activist; Rock on Sheryl Crow!