by John Bear
Daily Lobo
Ah, what is there to say about Sheryl Crow.
I can't stand her. She represents everything that is wrong with American pop music. When I hear one of her songs, I suddenly get the overwhelming urge to stick something sharp in my ears and exit the realm of the hearing forever.
But I would be lying if I said that.
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Truth be told, Sheryl's been there for me, whether I noticed or not. She was there, singing "Leaving Las Vegas," when I totally missed the point of the film of the same name. I thought Nicholas Cage's character was the man. Silly me.
And let us not forget "All I Wanna Do," arguably the best worst song of all time. It is the most beautiful piece of nauseating yet catchy bubble gum trash I have ever had the pleasure to hear. I love that cheesy slide guitar.
And the lyrics ring true. All I really want to do is have some fun, and I've got the feeling I'm not the only one.
Sheryl is back with an album that remains true to her soulless, sweet pop mode of operation. Wildflower couldn't be more Sheryl Crow if you cloned her a dozen times and formed an all-Sheryl band. It's almost like a tribute album to Sheryl Crow performed by herself.
She has never really progressed stylistically. There was that brief period when she tried to reinvent herself as one of those '90s angst-ridden grunge puppies who sing sad songs that only sound sad. "If It Makes You Happy," was the most recognizable tune to come out of this brief period. She even went so far as to get a makeover to leave her looking like she just came from a "party" with 30 longshoremen. "Heroin chic" I believe this fashion travesty was called.
But nobody was buying it - at least, not me.
But she abandoned that facade fairly quickly and went back to churning out more sweet nothing. Her latest effort is nothing new: acoustic guitar with the requisite slow electric guitar solo. There's some sentimental piano-playing in there. None of the 11 songs stand out from one another.
In short, Wildflower is Sheryl Crow at her best, if that is, in fact, even a possibility.
