Sheryl Crow readies ‘Most Honest Record’
Marcus Errico

LOS ANGELES—Sheryl Crow has successfully navigated around some serious detours over the past two years, and she has the record to prove it. Interscope has announced that the nine-time Grammy winner’s new album, Detours, is due out Feb. 5
“This is the most honest record I’ve ever made. It’s about being forced to wake up,” Crow, 45, said in a statement. Crow says the album is “very inspired by the last three years of events in my life,” a period that, among other things, saw her engaged to and broken up from Lance Armstrong, wage a successful battle against breast cancer and adopt a child.
This will be her first collection of new material since 2005’s Wildflower and it reteams her with Bill Bottrell, who produced her breakthrough album, Tuesday Night Music Club. “When Bill and I got together again to work on this record,” Crow wrote on her blog, “it was such a cathartic and comforting moment.” In March 2006, just a month after Crow and Armstrong split, the singer was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent successful surgery and made a full recovery.
This past May, Crow announced that she had become a single mom, adopting a baby boy she named Wyatt, after her father. Meanwhile, Crow endured a professional setback when she was forced to scrap the inaugural GirlFrenzy festival. The one-day event, masterminded by Crow, Avril Lavigne and Fiona Apple, was to include an all-female lineup and take place in Irvine, California. No reason was given for the postponement, but organizers said they hoped to reschedule for 2008.
Recorded at Crow’s Nashville farm, Detours will feature “14 or 15” tracks, including the lead single, Shine Over Babylon (currently available on iTunes) and “Lullaby for Wyatt,” dedicated to her son and also showcased in the John Cusack film Grace Is Gone. Other cuts include “Love Is Free,” “Peace Be Upon Us” and “God Bless This Mess.” Crow will debut some of her new material during upcoming TV appearances. She is slated to perform Dec. 6 on CNN’s Heroes and Dec. 21 on CBS’ A Home for the Holidays.