Travels With Matsui
'Soak Up The Sun' Sheryl Crow
What? I've had on my wall since university a poster of Sheryl Crow I bought at a college sale. She's very young, perhaps it was taken at the time of her first album (not the one which was released, the one before), and in her summery dress and she actually looks like Tori Amos. She's up there now looking nothing like the singer who's on her fifth (sixth) album. She's one of the few musicians for whom I would buy anything they release as soon as it appearded (Alanis Morissette, Jewel, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple amongth the others). She's one of the few who's songs I can sing loud and in tune ... this is her first single for some time, from her album 'C'mon, 'c'mon' (loves the greatest thing we've had ... ooh sorry .. that was Blur).
First impressions? Sounds at first like the opening bars of the theme to the film 'WarGames' (Greetings Professor Falcon) before slipping into something a bit more traditional. This synthesises everything she's learnt from Eric Clapton and The Dixie Chicks and produces something much more accessible. Oh and the singer looks fanastic on the cover in that T-shirt. Just perfect for the 'How old d'ya think she is?' quiz...
Moved? Like any great music I suppose, this sounds like I've been listening to it for years (Pulp and REM have that style as well). In fact it sounds like it could slot happily onto 'Tuesday Night Music Club'.
Lasting impressions Once it slots into the album, I'm going to be singing this for years. As always with Sheryl, the chorus is incredibly catchy, although I'm not sure it's getting the radio play (please prove me wrong someone).
Keep, sell, dump? I tend to keep singles anyway so not much of a choice. The non-album tracks are equally resonant, although for some reason they sound a lot like Jewel -- which is odd as Jewel is sound increasingly like Crow. So keep and recommend. Especially since I invested in CDs 1 & 2.

No comments: