Detours (Sheryl Crow album)

Production

Detours was recorded at Crow's Nashville farm and includes fourteen of the 24 songs recorded. The first single is a folk-rock anthem, "Shine Over Babylon". Crow told Billboard in summer 2007 that the song "is very environmentally conscious, in the tradition of Bob Dylan". The single ended up being a radio airplay release and reached #42 on the Italy Singles Chart and #4 on the Billboard Adult album alternative chart.

In additional comments on her web site, Crow describes the single as "an every way a desperate cry for understanding. Perhaps it is even a battle song in the face of fear."

The album is said by critics and fans to be a fairly political album. "This is the most honest record I've ever made. It's about being forced to wake up," said Crow.

The second single was "Love Is Free" which, in Crow's own words, was "inspired by [the effect of Hurricane Katrina on] New Orleans. What struck me about it is the stoicism of the New Orleans people, they are very spiritually based. You can see it in their eyes that they aren't going to give up, they are going to rebuild." So far "Love Is Free" has gained much airplay in the States and has already begun to enter the Billboard charts: the U.S. Hot 100 (#77), the Canadian Hot 100 (#53) and the Japanese Hot 100 (#10).

Perhaps coincidentally, while the New Orleans-inspired single was distributed and its allusions were noted by Crow during appearances on American television, the album itself was released on the day of New Orleans Mardi Gras.

The singles "Now that You're Gone" (released only in Europe) and "Out of Our Heads" charted #19 and #17, respectively, on the Ukrainian FDR charts. "Motivation" was released as a radio single only and peaked at #14 on the Billboard Triple A chart in the US. The title track, "Detours", managed to chart at #13 in the US due to Crow's performance of the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Official videos

Critical reception

Detours has been praised by music critics, scoring a 75 on the website Metacritic (generally favorable reviews). Many deem this album as marking Crow's return to prominence, linking the tracks to her original sound as heard on The Globe Sessions.

Track listing

All lyrics and music by Sheryl Crow, except where noted

Release history and chart performance

Detours debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 92,000 copies in its first week and an additional 52,000 copies in its second week. As of May 26, 2010, the album had sold 405,000 copies in the US.