Detours (Sheryl Crow album)

Last updated
Detours
Sheryl Crow - Detours.png
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 5, 2008 (2008-2-5)
Recorded2007
StudioThe Hit Farm in Nashville, Odditorium Recorders in California, Sage and Sound Studios in Hollywood, Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, The Pass Studios in Los Angeles, and 2 Seas Records in Bahrain
Genre
Length53:02 (US, 57:10 (UK)
Label A&M
Producer Bill Bottrell
Sheryl Crow chronology
Wildflower
(2005)
Detours
(2008)
Home for Christmas
(2008)
Singles from Detours
  1. "Shine over Babylon"
    Released: October 31, 2007
  2. "Love Is Free"
    Released: January 2008
  3. "Now That You're Gone"
    Released: April 2008
  4. "Out of Our Heads"
    Released: June 2008
  5. "Detours"
    Released: October 2008
  6. "Motivation"
    Released: November 2008

Detours is the sixth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, released on February 5, 2008. A return to Crow's forte in roots rock, the album also marks her reunion with Bill Bottrell, who produced her 1993 debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club , and briefly worked on her 1996 album, Sheryl Crow .

Contents

The album peaked at number two in the United States, becoming Crow's third consecutive album to do so, and sold over 700,000 copies worldwide up to 2010. [1] It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album on December 4, 2008. [2]

Production

Detours was recorded at Crow's Nashville farm and includes 14 of the 24 songs recorded. The first single from the album, "Shine over Babylon", is a folk-rock anthem. 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. Crow further stated:

"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 website, Crow describes the single as "in every way a desperate cry for understanding. Perhaps it is even a battle song in the face of fear." [3]

In another statement, Crow described the record as "the most honest record I've ever made. It's about being forced to wake up". [4]

The second single culled from the album 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 United 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 the 2008 New Orleans Mardi Gras.

"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", charted at #13 in the US after Crow performed it on the Ellen DeGeneres Show .

Official videos

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 75/100 [5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The A.V. Club B [7]
Blender Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Entertainment Weekly A [9]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [10]
musicOMH Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [11]
PopMatters 8/10 [12]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Slant Magazine Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]
USA Today Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [15]

Detours scored a 75 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [5]

Track listing

All lyrics and music by Sheryl Crow, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."God Bless This Mess"2:09
2."Shine over Babylon" (lyrics: Crow, Bill Bottrell, music: Crow, Bottrell, Brian MacLeod, Eric Schermerhorn)4:03
3."Love Is Free" (lyrics and music: Crow, Bottrell)3:23
4."Peace Be Upon Us" (featuring Ahmed Al Hirmi) (music: Crow, Mike Elizondo, Bottrell, Jeff Trott)4:22
5."Gasoline" (featuring Ben Harper) (music: Crow, Bottrell, Trott)5:07
6."Out of Our Heads" (lyrics: Crow, Bottrell, 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" (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" (music: Crow, Elizondo, Trott)4:01
14."Lullaby for Wyatt"4:09
Total length:53:02
UK bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Rise Up"Crow, Bottrell4:08
16."Here Comes the Sun" (iTunes bonus track) George Harrison 3:00
US iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Doctor My Eyes" Jackson Browne 3:28
16."Here Comes the Sun" (Pre-order only)Harrison3:00
Japanese bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
15."Rise Up" (lyrics and music: Crow, Bottrell)4:08
16."Beautiful Dream"3:36
Japanese Tour Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
15."Rise Up" (lyrics and music: Crow, Bottrell)4:08
16."Beautiful Dream"3:36
17."Shine over Babylon" (Live Acoustic version)4:04
18."Detours" (Live Acoustic version)3:41
19."Drunk with the Thought of You" (Live Acoustic version)2:45
20."Love Is Free" (Live Acoustic version)3:26
Japanese Tour Edition bonus DVD
No.TitleLength
1."God Bless This Mess" (Music video) 
2."Gasoline" (Music video) 
3."Love Is Free" (Music video) 
4."Shine over Babylon" (Music video) 
5."Out of Our Heads" (Music video) 

Personnel

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. [16] As of May 26, 2010, the album had sold 405,000 copies in the US. [17]

Charts

Chart performance for Detours
Chart (2008)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [18] 32
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [19] 79
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [20] 79
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [21] 18
Scottish Albums (OCC) [22] 20
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [23] 14
UK Albums (OCC) [24] 20
US Billboard 200 [25] 2
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [26] 22
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [27] 2
Australia (ARIA) [28] 111
France (SNEP)78
Netherlands (MegaCharts)36
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)27
Italian Albums (FIMI) [29] 66

Year-end charts

Chart (2008)Peak
position
Billboard 200114
Top Alternative Albums22
Top Comprehensive Albums125

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [30] Gold50,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. Lenoir, Nikolas (4 June 2010). "Découvrez le nouveau titre de Sheryl Crow". Charts In France. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  2. "Grammy Nominations - Sheryl Crow". Grammy. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  3. "Shine Over Babylon by Sheryl Crow - Songfacts". Songfacts. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  4. "Sheryl Crow Readies Most Honest Record". E! Online. November 21, 2007. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
  5. 1 2 Detours at Metacritic OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  6. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Sheryl Crow: Detours > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  7. Petrusich, Amanda (12 February 2008). "Sheryl Crow: Detours". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  8. "Detours review". Blender . Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  9. Willman, Chris (February 1, 2008). "Detours". Entertainment Weekly . No. 977. ISSN   1049-0434 . Retrieved February 6, 2023. Online article updated December 20, 2019.
  10. Powers, Ann (February 3, 2008). "Sheryl Crow, lost & found". Los Angeles Times . Tribune Company. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  11. Murphy, John (21 February 2008). "Sheryl Crow - Detours (A&M;)". musicOMH . Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  12. Layman, Will (February 12, 2008). "Sheryl Crow: Detours". PopMatters . Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  13. DeCurtis, Anthony (30 January 2008). "Sheryl Crow: Detours". Rolling Stone . Straight Arrow. ISSN   0035-791X. Archived from the original on 2008-02-03.
  14. Cinquemani, Sal (January 27, 2008). "Sheryl Crow: Detours". Slant Magazine . Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  15. Gundersen, Edna (February 5, 2008). "Sheryl Crow's 'Detours' is a wild, wonderful ride". USA Today . Gannett. ISSN   0734-7456 . Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  16. Hasty, Katie (February 20, 2008). "Johnson Remains No. 1; Winehouse, Hancock Soar". Billboard.com. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  17. Mapes, Jillian (May 26, 2010). "Sheryl Crow: Summer Album Preview 2010". Billboard.com. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  18. "Austriancharts.at – Sheryl Crow – Detours" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  19. "Ultratop.be – Sheryl Crow – Detours" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  20. "Ultratop.be – Sheryl Crow – Detours" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  21. "Offiziellecharts.de – Sheryl Crow – Detours" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  22. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  23. "Swisscharts.com – Sheryl Crow – Detours". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  24. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  25. "Sheryl Crow Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  26. "Sheryl Crow". Oricon . Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  27. "Sheryl Crow Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
  28. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 69.
  29. "Italiancharts.com – Sheryl Crow – Detours". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  30. "Canadian album certifications – Sheryl Crow – Detours". Music Canada . Retrieved 6 February 2019.