<\/p>\n
They say you can\u2019t go home again\u2014and yet there\u2019s a ridiculous amount of evidence to the contrary, up to and including Sheryl Crow\u2019s newest, the cannily-titled Be Myself<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Crow\u2019s path since 2002\u2019s well-received C\u2019mon C\u2019mon<\/i>\u2014the third record in a row she had made largely in creative partnership with songwriter\/guitarist\/producer Jeff Trott\u2014has often felt like a series of detours, a reality she even acknowledged with an album by the same name. First came the quiet, introspective Wildflower<\/i> (2005), then the wonky, bipolar Detours<\/i> (2008), then the classic-soul immersion 100 Miles From Memphis<\/i> (2010) and finally a somewhat half-hearted stab at country in 2013\u2019s Feels Like Home<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Be Myself<\/i> finds Crow returning home to her quirky lo-fi rock roots, reuniting with Trott and also bringing back their old compadre Tchad Blake from Sheryl Crow<\/i> and Globe Sessions<\/i> days to co-engineer and mix, adding his usual stable of oddball textures, percussion and loops deep in the groove. Thankfully, the set of songs that results is far from nostalgic; if anything, these songs work hard to be of the moment, referencing Twitter and juice bars, selfies and technology addictions.<\/p>\n
The other factor that elevates this reunion above a nostalgia wallow is that Crow incorporates lessons learned in the intervening years\u2014soulful horn accents, chiming acoustic guitars, and abundant moments where she makes it clear she\u2019s just, well, being herself and feeling comfortable inside her own skin. <\/p>\n
Be Myself<\/i> is also sequenced well, with most of the strongest material front-loaded. Opener \u201cAlone In The Dark\u201d offers a warm, friendly reintroduction to the Crow\/Trott\/Blake aesthetic\u2014laid-back, rootsy guitar, wonky percussion and a nice chorus build\u2014while modernizing the subject matter with a lyric about an ex who shared some things on the internet that he shouldn\u2019t have. First single \u201cHalfway There\u201d is a highlight, big, greasy, r&b-inflected guitars under a sing-songy lyric that finds Crow urging her other half to agree to disagree and try to meet her in the middle, leaving it intentionally vague whether their divide is more romantic or political in nature. The tambourine hits, horn accents and little bell-like synth notes give a full, rich treatment to a playful song with a serious message, lit up midway by a searing solo from guest guitar-slinger Gary Clark Jr.<\/p>\n
\u201cLong Way Back\u201d and the subsequent title track can be a bit on-the-nose lyrically at times (\u201cIt\u2019s a long way back home\u201d\u2026 \u201cIf I can\u2019t be someone else \/ I might as well be myself\u201d), but are nonetheless full of Crow charm and fire. \u201cLong Way Back\u201d unfolds as a steady midtempo number about resilience with something crunchy in the rhythm section, guitars asserting themselves, then falling back. \u201cBe Myself\u201d is a frisky number whose lo-fi vibe, multiplicity of guitar tones, dime-store Wurlitzer and sassy hipster lyric hark all the way back to Tuesday Night Music Club<\/i>. The lilting classic-soul bridge and closing-chorus fuzz guitar feel like the twin cherries on top of a song that really does feels like coming home.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoller Skate\u201d feels like more throwback fun at first, a bouncy, playful light funk number with darker undertones about being lonely inside a relationship in the Internet Age: \u201cPut your phone away \/ Let\u2019s roller skate.\u201d \u201cLove Will Save The Day\u201d is an interesting turn, a somber, dreamy, often compelling ballad about rebounding from post-election-trauma (\u201cThis is the same world the lovely world is used to be \/ Hard to believe, when you see what they show you on TV\u2026 Change can come if you make it\u201d).<\/p>\n
The album trails off somewhat in the second half, though there are still moments to enjoy. \u201cStrangers Again\u201d might feel a bit generic, but \u201cRest Of Me\u201d features lively country-inflected twin acoustic guitars and a lilting earworm of a chorus anchored by, of all things, upright piano. \u201cHeartbeat Away\u201d veers to the heavy end of things, a dark blues-rocker full of apocalyptic visions of corruption and moral degeneracy (and a probably unnecessary reference to \u201c\u201dthe man with the red face \/ With his finger on the button\u201d\u2026 it was already clear what the song was about). At the close, \u201cGrow Up\u201d and \u201cWoo Woo\u201d try maybe a little too hard to lighten things up, each featuring rather plodding verses that build to catchy, poppy choruses, though neither feels quite fully formed.<\/p>\n
Be Myself<\/i> doesn\u2019t have the sustained buoyancy or drive of C\u2019mon C\u2019mon<\/i>, but why would it? We\u2019re 15 years down the road and the world is in a darker place (\u201cAnger makes the world go \u2018round \/ That\u2019s the way it is right now\u201d). And there\u2019s definite appeal in hearing songs that feel a little more serious and studied that are nonetheless dressed up in that familiar Crow\/Trott\/Blake vibe. Be Myself<\/i> is Crow, in fact, being herself circa 2017: unsettled but determined, carrying years more experience into a familiar setting that gives these songs a burnished resilience that suits them, and her, very well indeed.<\/p>\n
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