I really tried to like this album. Honest. I even had a few beers before/during my third go at it, and admittedly, that did help a little.

I remember how positively surprised I was by Sheryl's first album - it was wonderful, innovative and clearly distinct from the masses. This new lady on the block had style! She was original! The pretty voice just seemed to complete the package. Tuesday Night Music Club deserved every single bit of praise it got. It was a strong, emotional, brilliant effort that boasted great variety from feel-good folk and deep atmospheric blues to even a few songs with a hint of an alternative touch to them.

But... this is not a review of her debut, but of her third album. In fairly quick succession Sheryl followed her debut with a second and this third album - somehow I think I'd rather have seen her take her time with the follow-ups, and pursue the other musical paths as well, in addition to folk rock. Too many songs on "Globe Sessions" seem like repetition of the songs before. Gone is the experimentation, and the crossing of folk-blues-rock-alternative boundaries. This is just plain folk rock.

As such, the music is quite ok folk rock, and I'm sure there's an audience out there who just love this stuff, but listening to Sheryl's debut and this back to back, I can not feel but deeply disappointed.

Usually in my music reviews, I like to go through the tracks on the album one by one, but on this occasion I'm finding it very hard to find much to say about most of the songs, and I don't see much point in finding a dozen different ways of saying: "a promising, interesting start, then the guitars kick in, the interest wanes, and Sheryl starts singing. Sounds ok... I guess..."

So instead I'll pick out a few songs that manage to rise above the homogenous mass.


My Favourite Mistake

The first song on the album, the first single release also, if I remember correctly. I'd have to say that this, along with "There Goes The Neighbourhood" is the best the album has to offer - a nice opening with Sheryl's "ooh"'s, a nice guitar riff in the background, not bad lyrics.


There Goes The Neighbourhood

The second song, also played a lot on the radio, is my favourite off the album. Like most songs on the album, this one starts out sounding very promising - unlike most of the others, it delivers on that promise. Notably this one features horns as well. Has a nice sax solo too.


Riverwide

The third song. And no, I've not changed my mind about not going trough every song - the good ones just seem to be cluttered to the beginning. This is a slower song and refreshingly distinct from the rest of the album.... has a little Irish flavour in it. The only one that seems to depart a little from the folk rock style. Nice. Not remarkable, but quite nice.


Well, ok, I'll mention Anything But Down as well, as it was a chart hit and everything. It's an ok song, but I never liked this one. I guess it didn't bring me anything but down. Or bored. The quiet spells with the acoustic guitar on the background were a nice touch, but one nice touch in a song doesn't really impress me very much.


Conclusion

Why did this album fail to please my ear?

As I said earlier on in the review, the music was not bad. It's not that I don't like folk rock either. When Sheryl came out with her second album which also had a strong folk feel to it, I did like it - it lacked the versatility of her debut, but I could well understand that this was an album concentrated on a more specific style of music. Hey, who knows, the next one might be seeking a more bluesy sound, or perhaps it would explore more alternative venues? The second album was still new and fresh compared to what she had done before.

The disappointment with the third album was in that I heard little new in it - there was no musical experimentation, no exploration into new territories. It was repetition of what we've already heard - reiteration of an old theme. To me, it sounded monotonous, and too similar to what she's done on her second album. "The Globe Sessions" was something that my ear had already gotten tired of from the get-go. Also, internally, within the album, I saw very little change from one song to another - there were several songs that started out promising something different, but turned out to be more of the same.

You might like this album, who knows? Surely there are enough people that have given the album five star reviews, so there clearly is an audience for this. I'm just not part of that audience, and frankly, could have spent my money better. Horrible as it might sound (as Sheryl Crow is clearly a talented artist), I can not recommend this album.

Oh Sheryl, won't you please give us another "Tuesday Night Music Club"? Pretty please?


Recommended: No