Rocker Sheryl Crow goes all Arabic on us in her latest album, Detours. In the song, Peace Be Upon Us, Crow wails "Assalamualaikum" along with guest vocalist Ahmed Al Hirmi. And she replies with "Waalaikumusalam". For those not familiar with Crow's voice, you could say it shrills to the high notes and oozes seductively in the lower register. So when she does the whole muazin (person who calls for prayers) thing, it's obvious why Crow wanted to go all Arab-esque on us - the style suits her high octave voice. It is the darndest surprising thing she has done. Of course history furnishes us with examples of western musicians who have injected foreign musical styles into their music. The Beatles did it with Indian sitars and all, Paul Simon did it with his Graceland album. Hell, even Sting included some "Saharan sultry grooves" to his 'Desert Rose' song back in 1999.To be fair, many people do it to get musical inspiration. Crow's take on this musical influence is refreshing. Peace be Upon Us is about being grateful for the things you have. Thanks to Crow, the Assalamualaikum phrase becomes totally catchy. Not since Raihan has the greeting been so catchy, man. It is not the most outstanding of tracks on the album. The lead-off single 'Shine Over Babylon' is classic Crow, along with observant lyrics about the current state of world. 'God Bless This Mess' is refreshingly honest. It's just Crow's voice and acoustic guitar singing about a war and a soldier brother who "came back from a far way place", and who is now disenchanted. The song is presented in an ancient radio kind of sound. It sounds distant and nostalgic. Then there's the confessional 'Diamond Ring' which many critics believe is about her former beau and cycling champ, Lance Armstrong. The song is as close as you get to Crow's personal life. Her voice is like a love-torn witch wailing in the middle of the night (but I mean it in a good way).And the album closes with a ditty about Crow's adopted baby, Wyatt. Aptly titled 'Lullaby for Wyatt', it may the the least interesting of all the
songs on the album. But repeated listens may prove me wrong. Overall, Crow doesn't break new ground with Detours. Except for the Arab-esque Peace Be Upon Us, Crow is merely rediscovering her orginal stylings of her debut disc, Tuesday Night Music Club. Crow used to write songs for Don Henley and was a backup singer for Michael Jackson, shot to fame with Tuesday Night Music Club back in 1994. That
album produced the Grammy Award winning 'All I Wanna Do'. On Detours, Crow teams up again with Tuesday Night's producer Bill Botrell. It may mean that Crow has come full circle and is once again a melodic rocker whom she was once known for. But then, ah she's a;ways been , melodic,lah. But damn hell, Peace be Upon Us and God Bless This Mess reminds me of All I Wanna Do. That's what everyone does after going through cancer and heartbreak- we go back to our roots. Don't worry about feeling weird picking up the album in shops, the CD cover and inlay is made of environmentally friendly material- everything is made of recysled paper except for the CD. Top notch, right?