C'mon C'mon

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Title: C'mon C'mon
By: Crow, Sheryl
Released by: A&M
Released on: 2002
Rating (out of 10): 7
Date: 06/12/2002

Spazzing Out With Sheryl Crow

It is useless to argue; those who still can’t see Sheryl Crow as anything more than another mid '90s Lilith Fair leftover will most surely not be dissuaded from this idea by her latest effort, C’mon, C’mon. Those who fail to see that apparently mindless fluff like “A Change Would Do You Good,” “There Goes The Neighborhood” or “If It Makes You Happy” displays a quality of unpretentious wisdom that only an ex-teacher from the Midwest could posses, the ability to be comfortably lame and thus cool; those that have never listened through Tuesday Night Music Club and found the stunning Jazz conception “We Do What We Can,” those who fail to understand that “Redemption Day” is a million times better than 80% of what Lucinda Williams has done and 100% of everything Gillian Welch has done as far as grim Folk goes....well, I can only say it’s your loss.

Those, however, who know the talent and (inconsistent) exuberance shown in Crow’s work will be happy to know that C’mon C’mon is a welcome return to form after the dredging of her last efforts. Not entirely the soul baring effort that one would have expected, nor exactly the breezy Summer album that critics are saying it is, what Sheryl has cooked up here is a highly pleasing stew that is one third smart Pop, one third touching love songs, and one third “look at all my famous friends” posturing. What makes it all gel is the calm that the artist exhumes—there’s a sort of zen to Sheryl Crow, a sense of acceptance of who she is and why she’s there that colors her entire oeuvre. Could you imagine anyone else coming up with a line as obvious (and brilliant) as “it’s not having what you want/it’s wanting what you’ve got”? Or a chorus like “c’mon, c’mon, c’mon/break my heart again/for old times’ sake”?

The Summer vibe that most critics are getting from this record can be blamed mainly on the album’s first two tracks, “Steve McQueen” and the (great, if overplayed) single “Soak Up The Sun.” These are a worthy addition to Crow’s collection of silly mainstream hits, the first one having enough nerve not only to deliver a little socio-political (arf!) semi-rap (“we’ve got Rock stars in the White House/and all our Pop stars look like porn”) but also to namedrop “Freebird.” The second, a collaboration with Liz Phair, is exactly the feelgood beach party hit that it set out to be.

While it would be unfair to say that Crow is out of her time (yes, there are synths on here, even though they sound more bouncy and less coughing than the ones on Sheryl Crow; the news is there’s also strings, which is a good idea, but I’m straying away from the topic at hand...), her musical soul is still in the American heartland of the mid to late '70s, which is to say that, while the Crow universe doesn’t totally ignore forces like Prince or The Clash, there’s also a stack of vinyl in there featuring albums by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Fleetwood Mac and (yes, yes, y’all) The Eagles. This isn’t bad per se, but it does lead to one of the worst moments on the album—“You’re An Original.”

“You’re An Original” really really sucks, not because Lenny Kravitz is playing on it (though that alone should be reason enough), but because it is one of the most mediocre attacks at the Courtney Love wannabes you’re ever likely to hear—“you’re an original, baby/turn around and you’re looking at one hundred more,” she tells the little girls. To say it with my homie Richard Hell—please kill me. The male counterpart to this song, “Lucky Kid,” says everything that “Superstar” said back in ‘96, only with less wit and enthusiasm.

Fortunately, the other guest star collaborations work a lot better: there’s a strong C&W influence on the Stevie Nicks duet “It’s Only Love” (confusing love confessional rescued by aforementioned lovely chorus) and “It’s So Easy,” a cheating song from the “Dark End Of The Street” school of songwriting that features Don Henley. Sometimes the guests are there in spirit, not matter—“Diamond Road” is dedicated to John Lennon, and it totally has that J-Le feel, right down to the dreamy child-like songwriting and tame Psychedelic effects.

Some of you may know that this album is the result of three hard years of labor, including a mental breakdown—some of you might think that this will be reflected in the album itself. Not so. The only moments where this shows up are “Safe & Sound,” a truly epic break-up ballad that features Sheryl giving her greatest vocal performance ever, as the world breaks down and strings wash it away. Closing track “Weather Channel” is truly bleak, with its feverish images of black dogs shouting her name and waitin’ for a storm. You could almost say she has the Blues.

But even when the material isn’t too strong, Sheryl is professional enough to redeem it somehow—“Over You” might be just another pedestrian break-up song, if it weren’t for a kickass riff and these opening lyrics:

“I feel like cherry wine
like Valentine
like a Spring is coming
and everything is all right
I’ve got a love that’s new
I hear you’re happy, too
that’s the way it should be
...but lately I feel like crying”

It’s been said before, and I’ll say it again: albums these days are just too fucking long. If you look at old “greatest albums of all time” lists, you’ll see that few of them are double albums—yet the average CD these days runs as long as that, if not longer. C’mon, C’mon is no exception: it clearly peaks at the middle, and after that things get a bit dull. It’s not that songs like “It’s Only Love” (featuring Gwyneth Paltrow) or “Abilene” are bad they’re just not strong enough to keep you listening. Furthermore, those who buy the UK only special edition will be greeted by two more tracks that come after “Weather Channel,” a foolish move considering what a great ending that one is: “Missing,” another average break-up song, and the moronic “I Want You.”

But still, this is definitively a recovery from the mediocre The Globe Sessions, and it includes more than one good reason to rate Sheryl amongst the best tunesmiths of our age. As I said, it’s a record that is unlikely to bring Crow new fans (what with its '70s AM sound and guest appearances by Don Henley and Kravitz, a trendiness faux pas that I don’t think even Liz Phair can make up for it), but those who already like her will enjoy it. Personally, the coda at the end of “Diamond Road” is reason enough for me to have bought it; but it’s far from being the only one.

© Copyright CultureDose.com 06/12/2002

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