Here's Something To Crow About: Sheryl's Greatest Hits

Former schoolteacher and Michael Jackson background singer Sheryl Crow (how's that for a combination, eh?) debuted in 1993 with her debut album "Tuesday Night Music Club" and hasn't looked back since. She's released five albums of a high-quality po/rock that looks back fondly on various classic rock styles while aping none of them. And while many of her studio albums are good albums onto themselves, "The Very Best Of Sheryl Crow" is a concise listen that condenses her catalog into one very enjoyable collection.

Sheryl made her breakthrough in 1993 with sort of a story-song approach. "Leaving Las Vegas" and "All I Wanna Do" are both sort of rambling, free-associative jams featuring Sheryl strumming over drum loops-a musical feat that Alanis Morissette would copy two years later. "Leaving" is as melancholy as "All I Wanna Do" is jubilant. Not only did the loopy, fun "All I Wanna Do" serve as her breakout single, it also cemented her image as talented enough to be "one of the guys" but retaining her feminine charm.

"Strong Enough" was her first ballad hit, and it's smoky, enclosed nature is comparable to some of Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks-centered tunes, although I'm not sure that Stevie would've started a song with "God, I feel like hell tonight". Nevertheless, this quiet ballad is subtly affecting and stands as one of Sheryl's vocal highlights.

By 1996, Sheryl was celebrating the success of her self-titled second album. The loosey-goosey "A Change (Would Do You Good" continued in the rambling style of her debut, but several other songs took on a darker, more aggressive rock approach, like the fiery "If It Makes You Happy". "Everyday Is A Winding Road" wasn't one of my favorites initially, but after hearing Prince massacre it, I've grown to appreciate Sheryl's version that much more.

"My Favorite Mistake" from her third album, "The Globe Sessions" is probably one of the more succinct love/hate songs there is. Over some bluesy guitar licks, Sheryl shrugs off a flame who's obviously not the greatest guy in the world, but says he's her "favorite mistake". For a while, this song conjured up "You're So Vain"-style rumors about the track's subject, rumored to be Sheryl's former flame Eric Clapton. "Anything But Down" is a quieter affair that flirts with country, while "There Goes The Neighborhood" is an uproarious, rambunctious party track which takes a nasty swipe at fellow singer/songwriter Fiona Apple ("The chick paid to look sickly is standing in her panties in the shower").

Sheryl's most recent album, 2002's "C'mon C'mon" featured the bad*ss classic rock-flavored "Steve McQueen", on which Sheryl preens and struts over some Steve Miller-flavored guitar licks. "Soak Up The Sun" was a summery, bouncy pure pop tune, featuring yet another of Sheryl's wotty punchlines ("I don't know digital/I don't know diddly-squat"). The album also features "Picture", Sheryl's duet with Kid Rock. This country-ish, tear 'n' beer stained ballad is one of the highlights of this set. Although Kid Rock isn't exactly a singer, he communicates the loneliness and despair of the song properly, and Sheryl is a sympathetic duet partner.

The album-as most greatest hits albums do-features two new songs. Her cover of Cat Stevens' "The First Cut Is The Deepest" is certainly faithful to the folk/pop spirit of the original. It's included here in a "pop" version and a "country" version, which basically adds a bit of slide gee-tar to the proceedings. "Light In Your Eyes" is another folky track that's really neither here nor there. It's kinda cool because it sort of fits into Sheryl's catalog of hits without screaming out "brand new song!!", but the fact that you don't immediately recognize it as such may have a wee bit to do with the fact that it's BORING!

At any rate, this is a pretty accurate summation of Sheryl Crow's career thus far. She's been one of the most consistent hitmakers of the past decade or so-mainly because she's never felt the need to stray far from her sound to make a quick buck and she's maintained a sort of integrity as a solid singer/songwrtier/producer that's never been anyone's puppet. Of course, this is said despite the fact that she could've switched out some o the album tracks that appear here ("Home, "I Shall Believe") for better ones (the politically-minded "Love Is A Good Thing", or thew aching ballad "Riverwide") At any rate, this compilation shows that Crow has come a long way since sporting big hair and glittery outfits as the King of Pop's background vocalist.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Repeat: "Strong Enough", "Leaving Las Vegas", "My Favorite Mistake", "Picture", "There Goes The Neighborhood"

Skip: "Light In Your Eyes"

Great Music to Play While: Losing your job because you like a good beer buzz early in the morning.