Artist:  Sheryl Crow

Title:  100 Miles from Memphis

Label:  A&M

While Crow's decision to step out of her musical comfort zone is a certainly admirable effort, the execution often lacks gravitas.

As any artist worth his/her salt already knows, experimentation is an essential part of the creative process. After all, if Bob Dylan hadn't ever plugged in his guitar or The Beatles hadn't ventured beyond the trademark harmonies of their earlier years, well, a lot of truly great albums like Blonde on Blonde and Revolver would've never been made.

But sometimes, not every musical flight of fancy yields a thoroughly satisfying result. After making seven albums of sunny pop confections, singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow has certainly earned the right to create something a little less commercial. Trouble is, the twelve tracks on 100 Miles from Memphis don't exactly leave a lasting impression—which is something rarely said about songs inspired by the blues.

Hoping to dip her toes into the same musical waters that inspired everyone from Al Green to Elvis, Crow, who grew up a mere 100 miles from Memphis (hence the album's title), abandons her familiar pop showmanship for songs that don't know quite when to quit.

Truth be told, whether you're listening to the horn-laden opening track "Our Love is Fading," the blasé cover of The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" or the soulfully introspective title track (complete with overbearing, distracting backing vocals), each and every song is a plodding jam session that no one with a good sense about these things bothered to edit. And with little variation from track to track (sonically and otherwise), listening to 100 Miles from Memphis is practically the equivalent of Chinese water torture for your ears.

It's not that Crow's voice isn't pleasing enough; it just isn't the right voice for this particular material. While the vivacious instrumental accompaniment definitely fits her objective, her vocals still have all the spiff and polish of her standard-issue pop songs. And without a little grit to really help sell the material, it really just makes you clamor for Crow's consistently good pop gems because she really doesn't sound like she's having much fun singing the blues.

**This review first published on July 26, 2010.