Something to Crow about
By Jane Ganahl
OF THE EXAMINER STAFF
Tuesday, April 13, 1999
©1999 San Francisco Examiner
URL:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/hotnews/stories/13/Scrow.dtl&type=music
A once lightweight singer digs in and earns some respect
I HAVE to hand it to Sheryl Crow.
After her first mega-hit, "All I Wanna Do (Is Have Some Fun)" hit the airwaves five
years ago to beat us senseless with its utter catchiness, I was ready to dismiss her.
She seemed to have just two things going for her: the ability to write monster hooks,
and sexy-girl-next-door looks. Negatives? A reed-thin, if lovely, voice, a jarringly
schizophrenic variety of styles - and completely silly lyrics that soon became scorned
by too-hip alt-rock DJ's. ("Oh, really, Sheryl? Is "every day a winding road?' That's
so deep!")
My own verdict? LIGHTWEIGHT. I figured she was either destined for a short career or -
perhaps worse - a huge, glossy career that would eventually find her in the diva
dustbin alongside Mariah and Whitney and Celine, cat-fighting for the spotlight on
those awful VH-1 specials, settling for complete musical irrelevance.
But something happened to change that course, sometime while she was recording "The
Globe Sessions" - not a great album (despite its winning a Grammy that said so), but
certainly a vast improvement. Her music got tauter, a bit edgier, and she seems to
have taken singing lessons to make better use of her modest vocal gifts. She cut her
sex-kitten hair in favor of a more serious look; dumped the leather minis and put on
hard jeans; took up causes (she's now on the board of Rock the Vote), and got some
respect.
She was even asked to perform recently at the prestigious benefit for Johnny Cash -
alongside country goddesses Emmylou Harris and Mary Chapin Carpenter - that also
starred Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Once dismissed, Crow's proving she's got the
chops, the staying power we assumed she lacked.
That doesn't mean her Monday night show at Oakland's Paramount Theater (she plays
again Tuesday) was the equivalent of an arm-wrestling takedown. But it did have some
great moments, and Crow turned in a solid star turn.
Before she even began, it seemed highly possible that Crow's opening act, the
Minneapolis power-pop trio Semisonic, could blow her off the stage. Always engaging to
the point of inciting riots, Semisonic began playing to near-empty house (damn those 8
p.m. start times!) but by the end of their hefty 50-minute set, had the swelling crowd
on its feet.
Frontman Dan Wilson, bass player John Munson and drummer Jacob Slichter - all gifted
musicians - play with the ferocity of a garage band, but with a joy and sense of humor
those groups lack. Their songs are acutely melodic, and loaded with creative metaphors
befitting the brainy Ivy Leaguers they are ("Shaking my mind like an Etch-A-Sketch
erasing").
Especially good were the euphoric "Singing in my Sleep," the sweet/sexy "D.N.D.," and
the screwball rocker "F.N.T." The bespectacled Wilson seems representative of the new
model of the Hot American Male - more brainy than brawny, sexual yet sensitive. The
girlish squeals in the audience every time Wilson moved a hip joint proved this
theory.
It was hard to imagine Crow topping Semisonic's take-no-prisoners set. But she did, at
least by sheer numbers - seven musicians on stage vs. three. And she more than matched
their infectious good mood. Relaxed to the point of being joyful, Crow exhorted the
crowd early on to "get up and shake your asses, because that's what I'll be doing!"
And she rocked. Tamely sometimes, with more abandon at others. Proving her splendid
musicianship, Crow led the large band like a grinning maestro, switching from bass to
acoustic to electric guitars, even strapping on a harmonica. Her voice was mostly
spot-on - potent and mostly staying clear of her annoying, little-girl coo.
During the 90-minute set, "My Favorite Mistake" was classic Crow, an undeniable guitar
hook swathed with funky rhythms, and she dug into it deeply, singing for every
dump-ee: "Did you see me walking by? Did it ever make you cry?" (OK, so her lyrics
haven't improved much, especially - strangely - on her biggest hits.)
"Leaving Las Vegas," from "Tuesday Night Music Club," was moody and good, as was the
sassy "A Change." Crow played pretty much all her hits, in fact - including "All I
Wanna Do," with a charming set of home movies displayed on screens behind her; and "If
It Makes You Happy," which proved she still has vocal limitations, fading out at high
volume in the upper registers.
But the delirious, sell-out crowd didn't notice - she gave them what they came to
hear: hits and glitz. (A pet peeve moment: can we please declare a moratorium on
elaborate, annoying light shows for folk-rock bands?)
Anyway, I was more impressed with Crow's non-hits. Those included "The Difficult Kind"
- one of the better offerings from "Globe Sessions." And "Riverwide" - a
Celtic-influenced, mystical tune with violin - is so lovely and different that it
leads me to believe there are more interesting things to come from Crow.
Fortunately or otherwise, Crow would still sell millions of albums by cranking out the
formula that's made her famous. But let's hope she continues to stretch, and prove
she's worth the ever-building respect.
