Live from Central Park [LIVE]

Sheryl Crow

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 7, 1999)
• Original Release Date: December 7, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Interscope Records
• ASIN: B00003L4DJ
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #52,919 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #34 in	Music > Pop > Live Albums > Singer-Songwriters
  #78 in	Music > Pop > Live Albums > Pop Rock

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This is how a live album should sound--full of irony, crackling energy, and stellar guest pairings. Those who looked askance when Sheryl Crow--never a girl's girl--joined Lilith Fair for 1999 may develop a different perspective after hearing Central Park. After all, Lilith allowed Crow to share mascara wands and bond with Chrissie Hynde, the Dixie Chicks, and Sarah McLachlan, and they all dropped in for her concert at Central Park. Hynde makes "If It Makes You Happy" into the ultimate bad-girl song, and when Stevie Nicks takes over on "Gold Dust Woman," you can almost feel the wind whipping through her witchy hair. But while Dixie Chick Martie Seidel's fiddle gives "Strong Enough" an authentic country feel, Natalie Maines's leaden vocal drags the scathing feminist tract down to a greeting-card level. And a grizzled-sounding Eric Clapton serves up a tired version of the Cream's "White Room." But Crow is in peak form throughout the 14 songs, exposing herself as a rocker in sheep's clothing who's more than up to the task of taking on the Mick Jagger role in an edgy version of the Stones' "Happy," with Keith Richards as her sidekick. --Jaan Uhelszki

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crow Goes the Neighborhood, December 17, 1999

By A Customer

Whoa, is this CD good. With the exception of the Dave Matthews Band, I usually do not enjoy the "live recording". But, much like DMB, Sheryl gives new and wonderful interpretations of established hits like A Change Would Do You Good and Leaving Las Vegas and includes rocking and seemingly impromptu insrumental riffs. In short, it is well worth the price.

As anyone who saw this event when it was televised on FOX can attest to, many Sheryl hits that were performed live are not included on the CD. Songs like her most recent chart-topper, Anything But Down, and other hits like Can't Cry Anymore and Sweet Child O' Mine, were sacrificed in lieu of a Keith Richards duet, Happy, that frankly left me mildly perturbed. Granted, as one of the Central Park "friends", Richards almost had to be included. Yet, the absence of Anything But Down is compensated by the inclusion of If It Don't Hurt which, I'm told, was not even shown on the cable re-broadcast of the concert.

Nonetheless, the cd is remarkable and trancends the limits many other live cd's from established artists adhere to. Highlights include If It Makes You Happy and The Difficult Kind while the Clapton collaboration, White Room, remains a classic.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sherly and friends make a little music, September 22, 2000

By	Emmitte Hall "Emmitte Hall" (Texas) - See all my reviews

It's fun to watch an artist grow and bloom. Sheryl Crow's first CD, "Tuesday Night Music Club," released in 1993 was a nice effort that got her on the radio and the pop charts with some catchy tunes, but offered nothing special. But her second CD, the self-titled "Sheryl Crow" in 1996 showed that Sheryl was a woman and a musician to be reckoned with.

In 1999, Sheryl shared the stage with a diverse group of country and rock musicians, including music legends, Stevie Nicks, Keith Richards and Eric Clapton. "Sheryl Crow and Friends in Central Park," is great concert with, well friends. The music is tight and energetic, every one sounds like they really are having fun jamming together. Crow puts and edge in her live versions of "My Favorite Mistake" and "Leaving Las Vegas." The Dixie Chicks add some smooth vocals and country fiddle to "Strong Enough." Sheryl gets witchy with Stevie Nicks on "Gold Dust Woman." Listen up for some cool guitar licks and Stevie is still simply awesome.

It's good to hear the throaty vocals of Chrissie Hynde again; it's been too long. She joins in on "If It Makes You Happy," and a few other tracks. The party kicks up a notch with the Rolling Stones' standard, "Happy" with Keith Richards adding some blazing guitar. Not too many people can share a stage with Eric Clapton, nor contribute to an old Cream classic like "White Room," but the Clapton-Crow duet does it. Oh, and get ready for some more serious guitar. An all-star jam on Dylan's "Tombstone Blues" closes the show.

Those that attended the concert in Central Park were part of a great show. Outside of the thousands of New York fans screaming between songs, the live CD recording is studio quality. If you like any of these songs, you'll love the live covers. They are faithful to the originals with the added electricity of some famous friends jamming together.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Live Performance by Sheryl Crow, December 7, 1999

By A Customer

I'm typically not a huge fan of live recordings, but this is one of the better quality live albums I have heard. Sheryl's bluesy vocals come across very well on this CD, and the general sound quality of the recording is very good as well. The guest appearances on this CD by such greats as Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Stevie Nicks, Chrissie Hyde, and Sarah McLachlan are not only a great bonus, but also lend even more credibility to Sheryl as a great musical artist, despite the naysayers out there. As a Sheryl Crow fan, I rushed out to buy this on its release day, and now I am really looking forward to the release of Sheryl's DTS DVD "Rocking the Globe" (due out on 1/4/2000) - it should be awesome!