Single Review: ‘Callin’ When I’m Lonely’ – Sheryl Crow
11 years ago Liv Carter Comments Off on Single Review: ‘Callin’ When I’m Lonely’ – Sheryl Crow
- Warner Music Nashville
Songwriters: Rodney Clawson, Brent Anderson
Country music: The place where flagging musicians (and sometimes non- musicians) go to elongate their careers. Sheryl Crow is the latest in a line of folks doing just that which includes Jessica Simpson, Jewel, and Lionel Ritchie, among others. The difference between Sheryl Crow and the others, though, is that her music always had a little hint of country in it. Not a ton, but enough that you could almost label her music up to a certain point, country.
Musically, the arrangement is pretty Spartan, but it works well. The rhythm section puts together a great bedrock for the electric guitars and Crow’s voice; and in making the arrangement more stripped down, it winds up sounding bigger.
The song itself isn’t bad. The verses give you just enough info to keep things moving, but there are things about the song that remind you of other songs. I won’t name any names, but I could think of a few songs, both country songs and Sheryl Crow songs, that this song brought to mind. She sings it competently and if you didn’t know it was her, you’d think maybe it was some up and coming new artist. It completely fits in with everything else that’s on country radio right now, doesn’t stick out at all.
So maybe that’s why ‘Callin’ Me When I’m Lonely’ is disappointing to me. Because instead of doing her own thing, Sheryl Crow is just fitting in. Instead of using the clout she has, instead of writing songs herself, she’d rather call up the usual suspects and have them put something together for her that sounds like everything else. Something we’ve heard before, something anyone could have sung just as well, if not better than Sheryl Crow. Blame country radio and its ageism or blame Sheryl for buying into the baby boomer myth that you can stay young forever, but this is all just commerce. While ‘Callin’ Me When I’m Lonely’ isn’t a bad song, Sheryl’s own ‘My Favorite Mistake’ is a much better and more honest take on a similar subject.
Liv Carter
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
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