Feels Like Home • Sheryl Crow • Warner Music Nashville • Producers: Sheryl Crow, Justin Niebank Score: 7 out of 10
While her sound has always straddled genres, Sheryl Crow says she’s finally “gone country” with this release. Her confident, skillful vocals are prominent, as is the familiar feel of her song crafting. But she has shifted gears toward what has become the sound of country radio, with chugging rhythms and catchy choruses about cars and drinking, loneliness and heartache. Upbeat songs “Shotgun” and “Best of Times” are full of jangly wordplay, and the tear-jerkers (“Waterproof Mascara,” the lovely “Homesick”) don’t disappoint. Unfortunately, it all comes off as a bit contrived instead of genuinely down-home. – Brett Bush
