7 Best Sheryl Crow songs you need to hear

After nine Grammy Awards, 11 studio efforts and sales of 50 million, Sheryl Crow announced in 2019 that she was retiring as an albums artist.

And over the next four years, she appeared to stick to her word, only heading into the studio for one-off duets with Barry Gibb, Yola and TobyMac.

But much to her fans’ relief, the singer-songwriter announced just ahead of her 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction that she was adding to her discography with a new full-length LP, Evolution. 

To celebrate its March 29 release, here’s a look at seven of Crow’s finest former glories. 

After “Run Baby Run” and “Leaving Las Vegas” failed to crack the Top 40, Crow finally achieved her UK breakthrough in 1994 with an instant country pop classic adapted from a poem producer Bill Bottrell found in a second-hand bookstore. 

From the professionals “washing their cars on their lunch breaks” to the drinker who “likes to peel the labels from his bottles of Bud,” “All I Wanna Do” is a brilliantly observed slice of LA bar-room life full of jaunty steel guitars, toe-tapping beats and carefree melodies.

But like much of Crow’s apparently feel-good fare, this multiple Grammy winner also possessed an intriguing bittersweet underbelly. 

A relatively minor hit this side of the pond (No.33), this Tuesday Night Music Club cut remains Crow’s second biggest (No.5) in her homeland. On this occasion, the Americans got it right. 

Armed with little more than an acoustic guitar, Crow dissects her latest relationship woes on a gorgeous rootsy ballad that sounds designed to be heard around a campfire.

It’s not exactly clear why such a simple, intimate tune required five additional songwriters. But whoever came up with the heartbreakingly desperate line, “Lie to me/I promise, I'll believe,” deserves a bigger cut. 

Following the world-weary blues-rock of “If It Makes You Happy,” Crow returned to breezier territory for the second single from her self-titled career best. 

Inspired by her experiences touring with Crowded House drummer Paul Hester (his bandmate Neil Finn also provides backing vocals), this ode to the YOLO frame of mind boasts a killer opening line (“I hitched a ride with a vending machine repair man”), a brilliantly woozy middle-eight and a percussive rhythm section which recalls The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil.”

Little wonder, then, that three years later it was deemed worthy of a cover by the almighty Prince.

One of Crow’s lesser-known Top 40 hits, the fifth single from her 1996 eponymous LP is also one of her finest.

It’s certainly her most subtle, with the singer-songwriter eschewing her raspy rock and roll tones for the kind of hushed vocal delivery that could almost be described as ASMR. 

A beautifully melancholic folk-pop number, “Home” may be on the quieter side, but inspired by Crow’s split from her second fiancé, it pulls few punches (“I found you standin' there/When I was seventeen/Now I'm thirty-two/And I can't remember what I'd seen in you”).

Luckily for the man who’d caused so much heartbreak, his identity remains unknown. 

Despite its inherently perky nature, “A Change Will Do You Good” is a deceptively caustic number, with Crow taking aim at everyone from her wayward producer Bottrell (“Bottom feeder, insincere”) to the Queen of Pop, Madonna (“You wear your fake fur on the inside”) and even her own lack of musical inspiration (“And I’m callin’ Buddy on the Ouija board”). 

Accompanied by a star-studded Michel Gondry-directed video featuring Ellen DeGeneres, Molly Shannon and Jeff Garlin, this majestic display of shade throwing is matched by some fine guitar slinging and a winning chorus designed to evoke soul legends The Staples Singers. 

Crow also kept everyone guessing with her late Nineties answer to “You’re So Vain,” although ex-boyfriend Eric Clapton has always been the prime suspect for its serial philanderer.

“My Favourite Mistake” isn’t as cutting as her previous kiss-offs, but it’s still brutally honest (“Your friends are sorry for me/They watch you pretend to adore me/But I am no fool to this game”). 

In fact, Crow was so concerned about such soul-baring lyrics that she considered consigning parent album The Globe Sessions to the vaults. Thankfully, she resisted, as its slow-burning lead single remains her crowning glory.  

Crow’s last sizeable UK hit, the lead single from 2002’s C’Mon, C’Mon was written as a pick-me-up anthem, both for the star herself having just undergone surgery and America as a whole in the wake of 9/11. 

That certainly explains its impossibly sunny disposition, with its “best things in life are free” sentiment accompanied by glorious beachside guitars and Beach Boys-esque harmonies.

Multi-millionaire Crow might not exactly convince as a woman with a “crummy job” and “diddly squat” to her famous name. But it’s hard not to get swept up by the song’s happy-go-lucky joys. 

Banner credit: WFUV Public Radio, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, via Flickr