A simpler Time

This is another one of those albums I'm surprised hasn't been reviewed more.

I must say, if you bought this album for breezy pop hits like "All I wanna do", you were probably gravely disappointed.

Sheryl Crow's first official album sounds like a misadjusted fun-loving young girl who spent most of her childhood listening to the Allman brothers, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and Hank Williams.Oh,and misadjusted is a good thing.

I'm not gonna even bother getting into the hits like "Strong Enough" and "All I wanna do". If you haven't heard these songs and formed an opinion on your own, you're obviously new to this world, and I hope your stay in the womb was an enjoyable one.

The major theme in this album is leaving. There's "Run, Baby, Run", about a daughter frustrated with her hippie parents, "Leaving Las Vegas", "Can't Cry Anymore", and "Solidify". Perhaps Sheryl doesn't need a man. Maybe she just needs a really reliable car.

But the highlight on this album: "The Na-Na Song". Think "Subtarranean Homesick Blues" meets "Hey Jude" and you've got this song. It takes a pointed look at society's obsession with the celebrity with lines like "Very perfect rhythm Nazi's in a pagan rhythm nation"(yeah, take that Janet!) and "Mary wanna be Madonna but the price is too high." Sheer poetry.


The quiet moments on this album have an almost Hank William-esque country sound to them. With "No one Said It Would be Easy" and "Strong Enough" there's no mistaking this woman for a part of the British invasion.

The ironic"What I can do for you" sees a potential client through the eyes of a sexual harrasser with a predatory tone accompanied by stalking percussion and smirking guitar.

But that is nothing compared to the nostalgic "We do what we can", in which Crow fondly recalls her father's big band house sessions that could be heard in her childhood room. Her father, Wendell Crow, plays trumpett on this piece, and no doubt is cursing himself for not taking up the more popular guitar. He could've been big.

Time has been to Sheryl Crow's music, what it has been to once small towns. It has seen layers of music added like shopping malls, and has polished itself into being worthy enough to get on the map. "Tuesday Night Music Club" is reminiscent of a simpler time, and if you want to go buy an ice cream soda, this is the album to do so in.