Like such classics as Dusty Springfield's Dusty In Memphis, Sheryl Crow takes her inspiration for this entire album from the incomparably rich legacy of Memphis soul. Sheryl Crow is a very talented singer and musician, and her records have continually been received with glowing acclaim from fans. Although her last album, 2008′s Detours, was the first of her career to fail to reach platinum status upon its release (that said, it’s still sold some 700,000 copies worldwide), she is still regarded one of the premier acts within the realm of her style. That said, both rhythm and blues and soul are genres which hardly grant artists the freedom to simply dabble in, and for better or worse, Sheryl Crow is a pop musician trying to do just that here: dabble.
She ventures into a stripped down Al Green influenced style with Memphis native Justin Timberlake to cover Terence Trent d'Arby's hit "Sign Your Name." The single "Summer Day" finds her in a Stax Records pop-soul mood. The song "Roses and Moonlight" utilizes guitar effects and a funky beat that might have found its way into an Isaac Hayes classic of the late 60s or early 70s. The aura of Memphis soul imparts a cohesiveness to 100 Miles From Memphis that makes the whole project musically satisfying.
The Hammond B-3 organ gets a major workout on 100 Miles. Not surprising, given that the instrument was a hallmark of the Memphis soul that Crow references in the album’s title. “Eye to Eye,” a standout track, matches an Al Green-type sound with a reggae beat. “Stop” is Crow’s most affecting ballad in quite some time, and she scores with big-name collaborators like Citizen Cope (on a cover of his “Sideways”) and Memphis native Justin Timberlake (on the album’s most surprising track – an effective cover of Terence Trent D’Arby’s “Sign Your Name”). As a tip of the cap to one of the people who gave her a start in the music industry, she adds a faithful cover of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” to the end of the album. It’s casual, and Sheryl sounds like she had fun doing it – an apt way to close a record that’s one of the loosest (and best) of Crow’s career. (A and M Records 2010)
