She lacks the stage presence of Madonna, guitar chops of John Mayer, or distinctive pipes of Alanis Morissette, but what country-rock-blues chart-topper Sheryl Crow does have is a knack for writing very catchy tunes, often sporting bemused lyrics (kind of a John Cougar Mellencamp's kid sister vibe). For this 2008 PBS-aired Soundstage concert, Crow (alternately on guitar, bass, and piano) is backed by a four-piece band in a small-scale setting (“without the strippers, dancing monkeys, or pyro,” says Crow) for a solid 17-song set bookended by the hits “My Favorite Mistake” and “Steve McQueen.” In between, Crow alternates between popular songs (“Leaving Las Vegas,” “If It Makes You Happy,” “Soak Up the Sun,” “Everyday Is a Winding Road”) and solid choices from throughout her career (“You're an Original,” “I Shall Believe,” “Safe and Sound”), but no new material from her 2008 release Detours. Early on, Crow seems to be going through the motions (limited, at that: “I need a choreographer, like everybody else has,” she admits), but warms up as the concert progresses on songs that range from playful (“I like a good beer buzz early in the morning” from “All I Wanna Do”) to pensive (“my head is full of questions/my house is full of lies/and this is home” from “Home”). The only real missteps here are a pair of covers—Cat Stevens' “First Cut Is the Deepest” (which appeared on Crow's best-of CD) and Elvis Costello's “(What's So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding”—that sorely lack the originals' vocal strengths. Still, this guitar-heavy concert (filmed in high-def with Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo options) is a solid outing overall, and one that will be most welcome to Crow's fans. Recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)
Sheryl Crow Live
(2008) 92 min. DVD: $19.99. Koch Vision (avail. from most distributors). ISBN: 1-4127-3077-0. Volume 23, Issue 5
Sheryl Crow Live
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: