Released: March 29
At the time of the release of her last album, ‘Threads’ (2018), Sheryl Crow swore her record-making days were done and dusted.
But after the US star was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame last year, she had a change of heart and this week returns with her 12th long-player ‘Evolution’.
“This music and these lyrics came from sitting in the quiet and writing from a deep soul place. I said I’d never make another record, thought there was no point to it,” she says of the project. “But this music comes from my soul. And I hope whoever hears this record can feel that.”
Opening with the bouncy lead single Alarm Clock, the album plants itself in pop territory with a throwback ditty that speaks to Crow’s freeing approach to making material. “Everything is more song oriented now with streaming, and making an album is a huge endeavor,” she adds of the process.
“I started sending just a couple of demos to Mike [Elizondo, co-writer and producer], but the songs just kept flowing out of me and it was pretty obvious this was going to be an album.”
Do It Again has a breeziness to it that’s reminiscent of her ‘90s gems, while Broken Record is another pop moment that showcases Crow’s knack for penning commercial hits.
Elsewhere on the set, You Can’t Change The Weather is a guitar-led, mid-tempo with lush layered harmony across a chorus that celebrates the highs and lows of life, with piano ballad Don’t Walk Away another showcase of the more delicate side to Crow’s vocals.
Meanwhile, the title song – with a guitar solo from Tom Morello – speaks to the spike in AI usage worldwide and ponders a world where humans are secondary to robots and feelings become obsolete, building to a roaring crescendo that celebrates human kind.
As a body of work, ‘Evolution’ is quintessentially Sheryl Crow and each song holds its own as a worthwhile moment in her repertoire, even if she heads down a well-trodden path at times.
Still, three decades in and going strong – the real thrill is having Crow back making music once again.
