Sheryl Crow says Threads<\/i> is her last album. And maybe it will be, but I had to smile at what a good argument this collection ends up being for not following through with that plan.<\/p>\n
Crow\u2019s reasons for no longer putting out new music are sad but logical. With the advent of a streaming model that enriches corporate executives while paying out pennies to the artists who created the work, there\u2019s no financial incentive for someone like Crow to produce new music. At this stage in her career she doesn\u2019t need \u201cexposure,\u201d thank you very much (as if that\u2019s ever paid the rent).<\/p>\n
For her grand finale in the studio, then, Crow set out to work with as many artists as she could who have influenced her, or supported her, or just shared a moment with her along her path. The resulting list of guest performers on this 17-track collection is staggering, but in the end what makes this album work isn\u2019t the star power, but the way the songs and performances work together to offer a broad overview of the musical life and times of Crow herself, a performer who started out idolizing classic rock artists in the \u201970s, served as background vocalist for a pair of superstars in the \u201980s (Michael Jackson and Don Henley), and then launched a solo career in the \u201990s that saw her explore rock, country, soul, folk and a wide range of collaborations through the years.<\/p>\n
The opening sequence establishes quickly that this album is more than a self-indulgent stunt. First the rock anthem \u201cProve You Wrong\u201d with Stevie Nicks and Maren Morris gives way to the bluesy grind of \u201cLive Wire\u201d with Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples. Then we move into the fiery, sharp-eyed r&b of \u201cTell Me When It\u2019s Over,\u201d one of two co-writes here between Crow and outlaw country artist Chris Stapleton, who lends his inimitable growly vocals. And then Chuck D, Audra Day and Gary Clark Jr. light up the political rap-rock anthem \u201cStory Of Everything,\u201d a hard-hitting Crow original that\u2019s very much of these times.<\/p>\n
From there it\u2019s a like an all-star game of music. Crow\u2019s cover of George Harrison\u2019s \u201cBeware Of Darkness\u201d features the guitarist from the original 1970 studio recording, Mr. Eric Clapton, along with Sting and Brandi Carlile. The classic rock revival continues with \u201cCross Creek Road,\u201d a big, winding, echo-drenched original featuring Lukas Nelson and Neil Young. Jason Isbell joins Crow to cover Bob Dylan\u2019s \u201cEverything Is Broken\u201d in high style, and then you\u2019re into duets with Keith Richards (on the Stones\u2019 \u201cThe Worst\u201d), Willie Nelson (on the memorable Crow original \u201cLonely Alone\u201d) and Kris Kristofferson (on his \u201cBorder Lord\u201d). <\/p>\n
Later on, highlights include a spirited late-night rave-up with Joe Walsh (their original co-write \u201cStill The Good Old Days\u201d), a counterintuitive but startingly successful duet with St. Vincent, and totally intuitive pairings with Emmylou Harris and James Taylor. In every case Crow and producer Steve Jordan play to their guests\u2019 strengths, arranging the songs to maximize the impact of the pairings.<\/p>\n
One of the most moving moments occurs earlier on when Crow duets with the late Johnny Cash on her own \u201cRedemption Day.\u201d A few weeks before his death Cash recorded a demo of the song, a powerful, moving condemnation of war, reimagined and rebuilt by Crow and Jordan around Cash\u2019s haunting, vulnerable vocal. Despite the temporal distance between Cash\u2019s performance and the rest of the track, it feels seamless, like a moment that could have been captured live in the studio the day before yesterday. <\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s the punchline to the entire project. The process of assembling this \u201cgrand finale\u201d feels like it has revitalized Crow, who delivers strong new material and passionate performances throughout. Sealing the deal for this music buyer is Crow\u2019s pull-out-the-stops approach to packaging the CD version of the album, featuring detailed liner notes including lyrics, credits, and short essays penned by Crow describing the origins and backstory of each and every song. It\u2019s exactly the kind of unique, engaging bonus material that adds enough value to convince fans to purchase physical releases.<\/p>\n
If this turns out to be Crow\u2019s last album, then she certainly went out on a high note. And if it doesn\u2019t, part of the reason may be that she\u2019s adapted to her circumstances and chosen the most effective strategy for convincing fans to actually pay for their music: offer them a high-value physical package that they can\u2019t get any other way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":33961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5966],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-45789","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-sheryl-crow","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=45789"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=45789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}