Customer Reviews

If It Makes You Happy / Keep on Growing

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

but one thing I am having a hard time understanding is why people who hate her voice bought the CD. It is one thing to buy something not knowing yuo would hate it, but you would have to have heard this song on the radio...it makes no sense to me. Maybe I am a little dense, but...

I really like the Eric Clapton song, and I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Someday is a much better anthem for hurt women then You Outta Know. Sheryl Crow is one of my very favorite artists, and part of her appeal is her unique voice and observant lyrics.

I guess the only people I should warn about not buying this CD is people who don't like Sheryl Crow's voice or the song if it makes you happy...but I thought that went without saying.

Of course I like the single, that is the beauty of buying a single, you know you will like at least half the songs on it. Sheryl Crow is an artist that pushes her emotions through the songs and into your ears. I didn't buy it for "musicality" or to be wowed by tonal ranges or subtle inflection. I bought it because it made me happy.

I'll be blunt. Sheryl Crow is one of my favourite female artists out there today. I understand why others might not like her style (or her voice for that matter) but to each their own... As for this particular song, it really blew me away. The harsh edge she brings to the lyrics, the raw energy she gives into this performance makes this song appear all too real for me. The 'screeching' (as some may call it) is overwhelming at times, but that's what I love about it. It's meant to overpower you... and it made me happy.

Pretty good single with 4 tracks. If it makes you happy, the title track is excellent and the rest is of non lp and a live track that fans will enjoy. I really liked I'm gonna be A Wheel someday and No one Said it would be easy Live. Worth the $

A recent rediscovery of Sheryl Crow's music has made me appreciate it more than I think I ever did. This time last year I was besotted with the woman, but then throughout this year as I explored different artists such as Bjork and Tori Amos, she kind of faded into the background. However, I popped in her self-titled sophomore album the other day and was thrilled to rediscover that the freshness of her music has survived until this very day from way back in the mid-90's. That second album followed the multi-platinum "Tuesday Night Music Club," and contained some of Sheryl's most recognisable hit singles, such as "Home," "A Change Would Do You Good" and "Everyday Is A Winding Road." However, there was one other song, which eclipsed all these and is probably Sheryl's second biggest hit to date after her classic debut "All I Wanna Do."

That song is, indeed, "If It Makes You Happy." Although not a big hit in the charts, the song is somehow embedded into the public consciousness due to mass radio airplay around the globe. It seems everyone knows this song whether they want to or not. The song itself is an upbeat raw rocker with a chugging beat and chunky guitars. Sheryl's vocals are bitter and raw. Some like this, others don't. The song opens with the first verse, where Sheryl sings, "I've been long, a long way from home. Put on a poncho, played for mosquitos, and drank 'til I was thirsty again. We went searching, through thrift store jungles. Found Geronimo's rifle, Marilyn's shampoo and Benny Goodman's corset and pen." Sheryl then sings the bridge to the chorus, "Well OK, I made this up! I promise you I'll never give up." Sheryl then sings the classic chorus, "If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad. If it makes you happy, then why the Hell are you so sad?"

Sheryl then proceeds to sing the second verse, "You get down, real low down. You listen to Coltrane, derail your own train, well who hasn't been there before? I come round, around the hard way. Bring you comics in bed, scrape the mould off the bread, and serve you french toast again." Sheryl then sings the bridge, "Well OK, I still get stoned. I'm not the kind of girl you take home." Sheryl then sings the second chorus, before a typical instrumental kicks in. After this, Sheryl sings, "We've been far, far away from here. Put on a poncho, played for mosquitos, and everywhere in between." Sheryl then sings the third bridge, "Well OK, we get along. So what if right now everything's wrong?" She then sings the chorus again over and over until it finishes.

The only complaint I have of this song is that the first part of the chorus, "If it makes you happy!," is a little loud, especially when on the "Happy" bit! Apart from that though, this song is a modern day classic that I am sure radio stations will be playing for years to come! The video is great too, check it out!

This CD "single" is worth having for Keep On Growin and I'm Gonna Be A Wheel Someday, two excellent covers by Crow. No-One Said It Would Be Easy is also outstanding. The title track is actually the weakest.

Great hook, strong vocal performance and cool lyrics. Of all Sheryl Crow's fine singles "If it Makes You Happy" is simply the coolest. Taken from her 1996 album, which along with "The Globe Sessions" show Crow's most rocking side. This single also contains 3 non-album tracks which make this single a real great buy, even if you already have bought the album.

The cover of Eric Clapton's "Keep On Growing" gives Sheryl and her band another chance to rock. I'll choose Crow's cover anytime to the original.

"I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Someday" is a cover of a Fats Domino song. Quite relaxed performance that does not sound very much like anything else Crow has recorded. Doesn't sound like a Fats Domino track either.

"No One Said it Would Be Easy" is a great 1994 live performance of one of the strongest songs of her first album.

This is a song that seems to show what she is feeling. (hmmmmm?) But still, this is a GREAT song. I love it.

I have read many reviews regarding Cheryl Crows voice and I must diagree with many of them. Admittedly, she does not have the amazing and inspiring voice of Celine Dion nor the glass shattering octave range of Mariah Carey (sp?), but that doesn't mean it doesn't work for her. I think it works well with the tone and flow of the background music. It's sassy, harsh and vibrato-less, but at least when she sings a note, she's dead on the money and stays there until she moves to a different note. I personally liked being jolted out of my seat when the mellow verse transitioned into the hard driving chorus. It's like some hot peppers in my otherwise bland omelette. If it's too wild for you, I am sure you can still find some Barry Manilo or James Taylor CDs.

I have heard many complaints of Bob Dylans'voice, however Cheryl Crow takes the cake for sounds which make you wish for temporary deafness.