Album review: Sheryl Crow, Evolution

With ‘All I Wanna Do’, ‘My Favourite Mistake’, ‘Everyday Is a Winding Road’ etc, Sheryl Crow from Missouri was a major global hitmaker of the ‘90s, a convincing purveyor of accessible pop-rock with tinges of country and folk akin to many others off the same production line. Back then she sounded right for the times, but while still ploughing a mostly similar furrow today she often sounds less vital if equally accessible. She even told us her last album was her last one, but apparently not so.

Evolution is her 12th studio effort and it opens with a fuzzed riff before exposing her regular tough, rugged approach on ‘Alarm Clock’, playing it safe on the melody front while hating her alarm clock for interrupting her dreams. The title track takes a pop at AI, inspired by listening to her radio and marveling at her baby. It raises relevant questions while displaying Crow’s voice in fine fettle. ‘Do It Again’ has Crow searching or salvation, including taking a walk with Jesus. It’s sincere and harmless and oddly unadventurous even if she says “fuck”, while ‘Don’t Walk Away’ is an enticingly smooth ballad about love and loss with herself on piano backed by suitable strings. Thankfully, ‘Broken Record’ has her stepping away from the obvious pop rock formula to bring us something refreshingly less predictable with a more contemporary production driven by Terence Clark’s cool drum shuffle.

Much credit must go to Mike Elizondo for his technical and musical wizardry throughout the album. We suspect further re-vamping might be in order, as more risks would be equally welcome.

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