I’m a big fan of Sheryl Crow the person. Breast cancer survivor and role model – not to mention survivor of relationships with guys like Eric Clapton and Lance Armstrong – she’s growing more beautiful with age. I like her laid-back California attitude and her activism for cancer research and the environment. And I love that’s she’s a former music teacher that made good. I’d date her in a heartbeat! (Who can resist a beautiful woman with a guitar in her hands?)

But her music has never blown me away. In fact, I’ve found her hits vapid and overly produced. But I’ve enjoyed a number of her albums because there’s always been deeper tracks on them that have been real standouts. Unfortunately, that’s not true of her latest, Detours. I bought it a while back when I went into “Crows” frenzy, buying new records by Counting Crows, The Black Crowes, and tossing this one in from Sheryl Crow all in the same day.

I listened anxiously for those songs that rose above the mediocre ones, the ones that would never get radio play, but where you could tell her heart and soul really were. I never heard them. In fact, after one listen through it, I almost gave it away. I mean, it’s not a complete disaster. You’ll like it if you’re a big Sheryl Crow fan (after my third and fourth listen – it was the only disk in my car for a week – I found some redeeming qualities). But this one’s probably not going to bring in any new, serious-minded music fans.

She does sing a little in Arabic. And she does have a strong environmental bent on this one. But the songs are too obvious and all over-produced, with the exception of “God Bless This Mess,” which actually is a poignant, quiet, little song about the post-9/11 world we’re living in. That one resonates a lot better for me than her more grandiose attempts like “Shine Over Babylon,” which has a standard Sheryl Crow hook, but not much else.

I won’t criticize every track. If you like her, you’ll like the album. If you’re on the fence about her music, this one isn’t worth getting. But a song like “Diamond Ring” sums up my conundrum over this record. It’s got a horrid, monotonous melody. But the lyrics are ambiguous enough to get me thinking:

We made love all day
In our little hide away

But I blew up our love nest
By making one little request

Chorus:

Diamond ring
Diamond ring
Don’t mean anything
Diamond ring
Diamond ring
Should not mean a thing

You could say I do
Hide your negative reviews

You love me you say
But you can’t even face the day

[Chorus]

Some say love is blind
I say it’s only in the mind

Diamonds may be sweet
But to me they just bring on cold feet

Someday you’ll be like me
With someone who just wants to be free

[Chorus]

I honestly can’t tell if she’s talking about some guy who jilted her because she wanted to get married or if it’s the opposite: that she’s the one who wants to love and let live, someone who wants to keep her independence and be free. If it’s the latter, call me, Sheryl! I’m sorry I couldn’t “hide my negative review,” but I’ll be honest with you every time.

Counting Crows’ latest, Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings, comes just as its title advertises — a rockus Saturday night followed by easy like Sunday morning. It’s almost like two albums. It opens with guitars unleashed. Four of the first six songs are rockers echoing the best from Recovering the Satellites. Mixed in there is Ryan Adams co-penned “Los Angeles,” which is a good tribute to a mixed up town. “Cowboys” is the standout on the album. This one really sounds like it could have been on Satellites, which despite the brilliance of August and Everything After still seems to firmly hold the position as my favorite CC album.

After “Cowboys” the disk takes a hard left turn into mellow folk rock for most of the rest of it. We’re talking unplugged stuff for a number of these tunes. And they’re not bad. There’s no Shrek moments. They’re just quite the contrast to the guitars blazing through the first 6 tunes, songs that you groove on right away (which I will really want to see live); the second half of the album may take a while to set in. They’re more like “Speedway” or “Omaha” than “Chelsea,” but not monotonous, with some decent melodies. “Washington Square” is probably the standout. “Le Ballet D’or” echoes “Ghost Train” of August.

The pace picks up again on “You Can’t Count on Me,” which is getting radio play (I thought it was putrid when I first heard it, but was probably being overly harsh now that I’ve heard it again). The disc ends with another upbeat groove called “Come Around,” which is not like “Hangin’ Around” or “Round Here,” but is a fitting coda for this mix of rock and folk.

If the mellow portions of this disk don’t fall on their face with further listening, I think this album has a chance to land squarely in the middle of the heap of the Counting Crows catalog: August/Satellites (pick ‘em, both great), Saturday Nights, Desert Life/Hard Candy (I like both of these and continually flip-flop over which one I think is better, but then stop debating due to their inferiority to August and Satellites).

We’ll see. Saturday Nights at least is no worse than the last two albums and its highs are definitely higher. SIX YEARS in the making, could they have done better? Yeah, but if you’re a fan of the earlier CC stuff, you won’t be too disappointed. Duritz is going in the right direction, and losing weight, and getting the right cocktail of antidepressants. Hopefully there wil be a lot more to come.

“Directed by Mike Aho, Illustrated by Michael Sieben

This is the first installation of the ((sounder)) Director’s Collaboration Project a series of 5 videos premiering ever month throughout the spring and summer of 2008. Featured artist/directors are Michael Sieben, Mel Kadel, Todd Bratrud, Travis Millard and Dave Bryant.

All of the artists worked with Mike Aho in a creative collaboration to develop images that either capture or decompose the music through the use of drawings, film, animation and video.”

More ((sounder)) at MySpace.

The Wedding Present -- Ukrainian John Peel Sessions

• Artist: The Wedding Present
• Title: Ukrainian John Peel Sessions
• Year: 1989
• Format: Vinyl 10 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1989 – Got it at our store RIP Records in Norfolk, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

The Wedding Present is a British rock band and this is not a typical record for them. This is their version of Ukrainian folk music. There are couple titles on the record sleeve and Ukrainian John Peel Sessions is not one of them. On the front is УкраїнÑ?ькі ВиÑ?тупи в Івана Піла and on the spine Ukraïnski Vistupi v Johna Peela. This is record is an oddball size, 10 inch, and it comes in a handsome package with a nice booklet. I must admit that it’s a lot better than I remember. Or, maybe my taste in music is better than it was.

Etched in the vinyl margins:
That Side — “Should I worship at the feet…
This Side — …of this God like ferret?” (Traditional)

More about The Wedding Present and Ukrainian John Peel Sessions at Wikipedia.

• Artist: Rodrigo y Gabriela
• Title: Rodrigo y Gabriela
• Year: 2007
• Format: CD
• Rating (1-10): 10
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 2007 – Barnes & Noble in Asheville, NC
• Keeper: Yes

I was in the local Barnes & Noble the other day when I heard a great acoustic version of Metallica’s “Orion.” I headed straight to the music section where a woman in front of me was already asking about it. The clerk grabbed a copy of Rodrigo y Gabriela and I snatched up the last one. I’ve probably played it 20 times in the last few days. I bought it because of “Orion” but my favorites are the originals, especially “Diablo Rojo.”

This was the first I had heard of Rodrigo y Gabriela, but it turns they’ve been on Letterman, Leno, etc. earlier this year. This record came out late last year in the US. They’re from Mexico City, but have been in Europe for a while. They’re already popular there.

I told a friend yesterday that this album was “the greatest thing ever!” I don’t know if he agrees, but I’m sure he too thinks it’s slamming. They have few, if any stylistic rules, and they have some roots in thrash metal. (Gabriela apparently tired of the “testosteronic” vibe of the metal scene.) So how would I describe it? It’s not Flamenco, but it is rhythmic and energetic. It’s not jazz, they play structured songs. Other than “greatest thing ever” and “slamming” I’ll just add that it’s two people playing acoustic guitars and there is a tasty Latin flavor.

There’s a DVD included with some great live performances where the crowds are going nuts and raising the horns. Also included are interviews, a photo gallery, and a great tutorial where they step through the techniques they use so you can play just like them. Ha!