Who? Sheryl Crow
What? Detours
When? 2008

There are many ways to like Sheryl Crow’s music - Sheryl has shown many faces, opinions and styles over the years. Oftentimes you can tell from your previous favourites wether you like the newer album or not. Where her earliest albums seemed to have country as a main influence on her pop, she later turned more rock and then went over to a sort of sunny Americana style. Where her older songs were about being short of cash, self-esteme or love, and about ways she found to live with them or live in spite of them or even get rid of them - the latest albums have become more and more political pop. I think it is safe to say that no Sheryl Crow fan likes all of her albums equally, nor will fans ever agree what her best song is because of the many styles and feels. This is always what was so supreme about Sheryl Crow - different levels and different sounds didn’t ever stop her from touching the listener. The strongest thing about her music always being her lyrics.

I can’t lie; I’m a “Difficult Kind”, “If It Makes You Happy”, “Anything But Down”, “C’mon C’mon” and “Run Baby Run” kinda gal. The songs with balls, words you’d never heard before as if Sheryl had invented the words or at least as if she was the first one to address the feelings they indicated. Not the overdone rock-chick, not the lovesick country gal, not the bouncy pop princess - honest, relatable music.

If your favourite songs resemble my list, “Detours” is probably not your favourite album. If Wildflower was in your opinion her best, you will love this album even more.

The songs on the album are very personal to Sheryl, that is obvious. They address the Bush government (and how it sucks), her high profile break up with Lance Armstrong, her battle with breast cancer and the adoption of her son Wyatt. All very moving, big events in Sheryl’s life - the songs can be expected to be equally moving. Right? Think again. The album, unfortunately, sounds more like Sheryl’s personal therapy than anything that can be personalized by a listener. Sheryl Crow seems to have grown somewhat tame over the years! Change is natural and I don’t want to burn her on changing. The problem is, still, that her music is becoming less and less relatable while she grows older and evolves into a stronger self.

She criticizes capitalism - something that is noble and big, and in which she might well be right, but nonetheless you come to think that this is a consequence of luxury. She didn’t mind capitalism when she couldn’t pay her taxes in “Can’t Cry Anymore”. She also criticizes president Bush, something that I don’t find a very appealing move. Dispite the fact that I am anything but a Bush fan, I have rarely sat in my car thinking “Hmm… I wish I could play a song about how the president sucks to pass the time!” It sort of makes you want to say; get over it. And her suddenly enormous focus on politics will not remind you in any way of the The Globe Sessions’ Sheryl Crow.

The second half of the album is more about her personal life, leaving the politics behind. She sings about a diamond ring not meaning anything - obviously referring to her broken engagement to Lance Armstrong. The lyrics to Diamond Ring are less than impressive, to say the least. She moves on to singing about how she dealt with her breast cancer and about adopting her song Wyatt. Perhaps the people who’ve grown at the speed of Sheryl Crow will relate to this album - all the others probably will not. It already became very clear on Wildflower; Sheryl’s sound changes along with her life. Where Wildflower seemed mostly a love declaration to Lance and the world, this album is all about Sheryl getting through hard times and big changes. But not general ones - these particular ones. They aren’t songs you can put on your list for any day, they are not songs you can grow with and can keep relating to. They are, as I said, more like Sheryl’s therapy than like her earlier music which was therapy for the listener.

Enough about the lyrics, let’s talk about the music. For this album she’s gotten back together with the producer of Tuesday Night Music Club. You can very clearly hear this. Tunes and effects and sound feels from that style come back on this album. The sound is smoother than Wildflower’s sound - much smoother and easier to listen to. The music is good.

Overall, Detours is not like her past albums but really not that bad either. It is obvious that Sheryl is an amazing and talented musician and you have to give her credit for doing what she does so naturally. However, this is an album you will want to play while doing something else. There will rarely be times in your life that you will feel like specifically and carefully listening to one of the songs off of Detours. Unless of course you are often at a point in your life where you break up with your fiance, adopt a baby, battle breast cancer and hate the president. You have to give her credit for that. But music-wise it just doesn’t make for classics.