No. 56: Sheryl Crow, “Shine Over Babylon”

anono | December 15, 2008 1:00 am

My drummer once said, “Two Les Pauls, locked tight through a Marshall stack, makes my dick hard.” For me, it’s a tight vocal harmony. And so, generally speaking, at least two or three tunes from any of Sheryl Crow’s six albums cannot miss.

This spring’s Detours included some truly lousy cuts, and Ms. Crow seldom avoids clichéd lyric writing. But “Shine Over Babylon,” like 2002’s “C’mon C’Mon” and 1994’s “Strong Enough,” is a cavernous epiphany, complete with a rapturous, soaring aria for a chorus and coat-of-paint-tight harmonies. If Mariah Carey can be recognized as extraordinarily consistent R&B craftswoman, then her neo-classic-rock equivalent should not be summarily dismissed as a Hollywood hack.

Sheryl Crow [official site] “Shine Over Babylon” video [YouTube] 80 ’08 (and Heartbreak)