Sheryl Crow has established herself as one of the most iconic artists in music since her breakthrough in 1993 with debut album ‘Tuesday Night Music Club’. Since then she’s been a regular on the charts with an incredible 11 studio albums under her belt and countless hits including ‘All I Wanna Do’, ‘If It Makes You Happy’, ‘Soak Up The Sun’. Following the release of her latest album ‘Threads’ in 2019, Crow shared her intention to stop releasing albums, focusing instead on putting out music as and when she feels it’s right to do so. While there may not be a new album in the offing any time soon, Crow is giving back to her fans by telling her story in new documentary ‘Sheryl’.
Directed by Amy Scott, ‘Sheryl’ takes a warts-and-all look at Crow’s career, with a specific focus on her earlier years, starting out as Michael Jackson’s backing singer in the late 80s through to her breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent fight in 2006. Crow speaks directly to camera from multiple locations over the course of the documentary as she shares the stories behind her success and the ordeals she went through. There’s a fair amount of stuff in the documentary that she’s never talked about before and fans will find even more reasons to adore her once they see it.
Particularly interesting is her recollections from around the time she was transitioning from being Michael Jackson’s backing singer to trying to get her own record deal. Crow details the sexual harassment she alleges she faced at the hands of Jackson’s manager at the time, and shares her frustration at the advice she was given at the time, basically being told to be grateful for what she has and not to rock the boat. The theme of discrimination based on gender recurs throughout the documentary, with Crow often told that her being a woman will put limitations on her career and what she can achieve.
Scott focuses in on a controversy around Crow misspeaking about her song ‘Leaving Las Vegas’, which threatened to end her career just as it was beginning. During an appearance on David Letterman, Crow panicked and said the song was autobiographical when asked about the story behind it, and that didn’t sit well with her co-writers. The situation was exacerbated when John O’Brien, the author behind the novel the song was based on and a good friend of one of the song’s co-writers, committed suicide and the media incorrectly linked Crow to O’Brien’s death.
That incident is one of many that Crow has faced over her lengthy career to date, but the thing that really shines through in ‘Sheryl’ is just how determined Crow is. You can tell from her stories of starting out that she had a single vision and she went for it. When she’s come up against adversity – whether that be media backlash, depression or the industry’s attitude towards women – she’s found a way to overcome it and continue to do what she loves. There are candid moments from Crow’s friends, including actress Laura Dern and fellow singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile, that perfectly capture what a force of nature and a true ground breaker Crow is.
Perhaps the only area that the documentary falls down is that it omits so much of Crow’s career. We jump from 2004’s ‘C’mon C’mon’ album through to 2019’s ‘Threads’ and there’s little, if any mention, of what came between. It could purely be due to time constraints or perhaps the meatier stories just didn’t occur during that period, but it felt a shame to gloss over the work Crow produced during that time. I would have loved to hear her thoughts on being marketed as a Country artist during the release of 2013’s ‘Feels Like Home’ or working with Justin Timberlake and exploring a more soulful direction during 2010’s ‘100 Miles From Memphis’.
Still, ‘Sheryl’ is a must-watch for fans and admirers, or those who are just in awe of what Crow has achieved so far in her career. I’ve been a fan since the beginning and I learned things about Crow by watching this, and it also reinforced to me that she’s remained one of the most down-to-earth and genuine artists despite the incredible success she’s experienced.
Cast: Sheryl Crow, Laura Dern, Brandi Carlile Director: Amy Scott Certificate: 15 Duration: 94 mins Released by: Altitude Release date: 24th October 2022 Buy ‘Sheryl’ now
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