Sheryl Crow & Friends: Live From Central Park CD

From Fox TV Special;Dixie Chic Stevie Nicks,Eric Clapton

Personnel: Sheryl Crow (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, harmonica, bass); Chrissie Hynde, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton (vocals, guitar); Stevie Nicks (vocals, tambourine); Sarah McLachlan (vocals); Peter Stroud (acoustic, electric & slide guitars); Mary Rowell (acoustic guitar, violin); Tim Smith (electric guitar, bass, background vocals); Matt Brubeck (cello, bass); Mike Rowe (keyboards); Jim Bogios (drums, background vocals); Ash Sood (tambourine, percussion); Bill Murray.
The Dixie Chicks: Natalie Maines (vocals); Emily Robinson (slide guitar, banjo, background vocals); Martie Seidel (fiddle, background vocals).
Recorded live in Central Park, New York, New York.
"There Goes The Neighborhood" won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. "The Difficult Kind" was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.
"Strong Enough" was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.
Personnel: Sheryl Crow (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harmonica); Peter Stroud (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar); Mary Rowell (acoustic guitar, violin); Tim Smith (electric guitar, background vocals); Matthew Brubeck (cello); Mike Rowe (keyboards); Jim Bogios (drums).
Most concerts in Central Park are an event, and Sheryl Crow designed hers to be an event with a capital E, performing duets with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Stevie Nicks, Chrissie Hynde, Sarah McLachlan, and the Dixie Chicks and releasing it as Sheryl Crow and Friends: Live in Central Park. The set list boasts all the hits, good selections from The Globe Sessions, and several crowd-pleasing covers. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Most concerts in Central Park are an event, and Sheryl Crow designed hers to be an event with a capital "E," performing duets with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Stevie Nicks, Chrissie Hynde, Sarah McLachlan, and the Dixie Chicks. Such a combination of superstar power and prestigious venue should have generated sparks, and perhaps it did in person, but as the record Sheryl Crow and Friends: Live in Central Park, it falls surprisingly flat. The set list is fine, boasting all the hits, good selections from The Globe Sessions, and several crowd-pleasing covers. Crow's band is professional, and they acquit themselves well throughout the record, even if they do so without much style. Thus, everything seems to be in place for a solid live album -- everything except Crow's performance. Perhaps she had faulty monitors, but for some reason, her vocal performance is all over the place, sometimes changing pitch and phrasing within the same line. She's not the only person to suffer this problem, as Eric Clapton mangles "White Room" and everybody sounds out of place on the sing-along "Tombstone Blues." Of course, this could have been fixed in the studio, and to her credit, Crow chose to preserve the integrity of the performance. Usually, such unvarnished performances are raw and exciting, because they capture the kinetic energy of a concert. But Crow's Central Park show was designed as spectacle, big-budget entertainment, the polar opposite of a sweaty club show. Consequently, such flaws as oversinging and missed notes don't sound like a badge of honor, as they would on a club show -- they sound glaringly out of place. Because of this, Live in Central Park doesn't work as a record, even though it does seem like being in the audience would have been fun. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Sheryl Crow's musical career thus far is not unlike a Cinderella story. From humble beginnings as a ghost writer and as a recording/touring background vocalist for artists from Sting to Michael Jackson, the Kennett, Missouri native now commands the respect of the popular music community. To that end, she enlisted some heavy hitters for her concert held in Central Park.
Sheryl wastes no time capturing the aEntertainment Weekly (1/7/00, p.68) - "...it's a treat to hear Crow, Chrissie Hynde, and the Dixie Chicks trading verses on Dylan's 'Tombstone Blues,' the best cuts belong to [her] when she's all alone with her band....musically muscular..." - Rating: B-
Q (2/00, pp.82-3) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...the limber momentum of the songs, no sentiment, strong emotions, the power of small detail at work in the big setting....Such a groove and such deadly reportage....it really does catch Shery Crow close-up, right now and credibily 'au naturel'."
CMJ (12/27/99, p.27) - "...impresses not only with her own live chops, but also with her talented 'friends'..."
Mojo (Publisher) (2/00, p.91) - "...This lengthy live souvenir has Sheryl in boisterous form, cantering through the familiar hits....[with] some intriguing collaborations....[it] has all the ramshackle enthusiasm of a concert..."