Sheryl Crow: The Type of Artist "Best Ofs" and "Greatest Hits" Were Made For

At this point, the "greatest hits" or "best of" package has been so done to death that many of them don't sell nearly as well as they used to. What record labels seem to never fail to realize is that some bands are just better when heard in the context of a record, rather than picking 12 songs as being their "best" and pushing it off onto the general public as some sort of "definitive" collection of the artist's work. To entice die hards who already own everything, they many times add a "new" track or two, as if that's supposed to make up for the $15 they expect us to shell out for the same product, one or two new songs be damned. Everytime I'm in a record store and I see a copy of the Black Crowes greatest hits album, I just shake my head in disbelief that that is being passed off as the band's best work. I can only imagine what Sony will soon enough call "essential" Pearl Jam (anyone who thinks PJ isn't going to be part of that series is seriously delusional).

But sometimes, a label will get a "best of" right. Sometimes, an artist appeals to such a wide range of people that the "best of" collection can make perfect sense. The most recent example of this is this release, The Very Best of Sheryl Crow.

Now before the Sheryl Crow diehards have my head for that remark, let me explain. I don't know enough about Crow's actual albums to judge any of them individually, and with all due respect, I don't have a lot of interest in finding out about her. In addition, Crow is an artist who has gotten intense radio and video airplay for close to a decade now, dating back to All I Wanna Do, the lead track on this album, in 1994. Her albums have all gone at least platinum (and outside of The Globe Sessions, they've all gone multi-platinum). And Crow is somewhat of a throwback, a singer-songwriter who seems to absolutely idolize both Dylan and the Rolling Stones equally, while adding modern twists and production styles to old rock and pop and even folk formulas.

She comes across as the lead singer of a bar band too many times to count, but normally, her songwriting is at least a notch or two above most other adult top 40 stars. The aforementioned All I Wanna Do is a pure singles bar song, while her out of left field hit duet with Kid Rock, Picture, is as beer soaked as a song can get. I'm not wild about the song, but it's general musical atmosphere is hard to beat.

Soak Up the Sun and Steve McQueen were both inescapable on the radio two years ago, and if nothing else, they provided a nice contrasting backdrop of fun and sun, reminding all of us that sometimes a good little pop song can be one of the greatest pleasures in life, especially in a post 9/11 world. Soak Up the Sun is a good example of the production methods Crow has used to modernize her roots rock background. Steve McQueen is an entirely different story: it has the swagger and bite to match it's big chorus.

Crow's ability to write a solid ballad is also well documented in this collection. Strong Enough has a simple guitar chord progression, and an impassioned vocal performance from Crow that is as emotional as it is poignant. Home, a song from her self titled album that actually got some airplay in some spots of the country, is as stripped down as the album gets. Once again, the focus of the song is on Crow's voice, and it doesn't disappoint. The Difficult Kind for some reason reminds me of an R.E.M. track, maybe because of the somewhat jangly sound on the guitar.

The real meat comes from the other radio hits though. If It Makes You Happy has an edge to it that is especially refreshing given the nature of Crow's studio performances. Everyday Is a Winding Road is one of the more infectious pop songs of the 90s, featuring impeccable production and a hook to die for. My Favorite Mistake has an unmistakenably Bonnie Raitt feel to it, which might explain its critical kudos. And Leaving Las Vegas is the type of song that just aches to have people singing along as loudly as possible on its chorus.

As usual with "best ofs," there are a pair of new tracks here. The First Cut is the Deepest, originally done by Cat Stevens and later covered by Rod Stewart, isn't a bad song as long as its just kind of a background noise at work type of thing, but closer inspection reveals its faults. It also appears at the end of the album in a "country" version, which is quite a joke, as the arrangement doesn't vary much at all. The other new song is Light In Your Eyes, a song with a rather country feel at first, before moving more into a jangly guitar song. It's not bad, but it's not nearly as memorable or solid as most of the stuff on this disc.

Casual fans will want to pick this up (many already have, it's been in the top 5, 10 and 20 albums for months now), as it contains all the stuff you've heard on the radio, plus a couple of album tracks to flesh it out. Thankfully, there is no sign of Crow's cover of Sweet Child O Mine, which is perhaps the best reason to call this a "best of" instead of a "greatest hits (there is a difference people)." Diehards are probably better off not buying this, and maybe seeking out the First Cut is the Deepest single.

It's good to see that once in a while a record label can get a "best of" right. Now, if we could kill off the "live album" and just do "official bootlegs" for everyone...