Detours (Sheryl Crow album)

Untitled

Detours is Sheryl Crow's sixth studio album. The album marks Crow reuniting with Bill Bottrell, who produced Crow's debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club and briefly worked with Crow on her 1996 self-titled album. The album is said to show a return to Crow's forte in roots rock.

Production

Detours was recorded at Crow's Nashville farm and features "14 or 15" of the 24 songs put to tape. The first single is a folk-rock anthem, "Shine Over Babylon". Crow told Billboard in the summer of 2007 that the song "is very environmentally conscious, in the tradition of Bob Dylan." The single ended up being a radio airplay release only and from that "Love Is Free" was confirmed to be the second single from the album, to be released in early 2008

I'm really encouraging artists to write about what's going on, because we seem to be very distracted by some lightweight topics. I think it's time to start writing about the reality of what's around us.

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," says Crow.

The second single is "Love Is Free" which, in Crow's own words, is "inspired by 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 Mardi Gras.

Critical reception

Detours has been praised by music critics and her fans, scoring a 77 on the website Metacritic. Many refer this album to mark Crow's return to prominence, linking the tracks to her original sound as seen on The Globe Sessions.

Track listing

All songs were written by Sheryl Crow, except where noted.

1. "God Bless This Mess" – 2:09
2. "Shine Over Babylon" (Lyrics: Crow, Bill Bottrell; Music: Crow, Bottrell, Brian MacLeod) – 4:03
3. "Love Is Free" (Lyrics and Music: Crow, Bottrell) – 3:23
4. "Peace Be Upon Us" (feat. Ahmed Al Hirmi) (Lyrics: Crow; Music: Crow Mike Elizondo, Bottrell, Jeff Trott) – 4:22
5. "Gasoline" (Lyrics: Crow; Music: Crow, Trott, Bottrell) – 5:07
6. "Out of Our Heads" (Lyrics: Bottrell, Crow; Music: Bottrell) – 4:28
7. "Detours" – 3:29
8. "Now That You're Gone" – 3:51
9. "Drunk with the Thought of You" – 2:39
10. "Diamond Ring" (Lyrics: Crow; Music: Crow, Trott) – 4:10
11. "Motivation" (Lyrics and Music: Crow, Bottrell) – 3:47
12. "Make It Go Away (Radiation Song)" – 3:24
13. "Love Is All There Is" (Lyrics: Crow; Music: Crow, Elizondo, Trott) – 4:01
14. "Lullaby for Wyatt" – 4:09

Bonus tracks

• Japanese release
  • "Rise Up" – 4:08
  • "Beautiful Dream" – 3:35
• iTunes Store
  • "Doctor My Eyes" (Jackson Browne)
  • "Here Comes the Sun" (George Harrison) – 3:00

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 June 28, 2008, the album has sold 333,463 copies in the US.

Region	Date	Label	Catalog	Sales	Rank
Japan	January 30, 2008 (2008-01-30)	Universal	UICA-1044	28,518	22
United States	February 5, 2008 (2008-02-05)	A&M	–	333,463	2
United Kingdom	February 18, 2008 (2008-02-18)	Interscope	–		20
Canada	February 5, 2008 (2008-02-05)	A&M	–		2
Ireland	February 18, 2008 (2008-02-18)	Interscope	–		28