Be Myself is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow. The album was released on April 21, 2017, by Wylie Songs and Warner Bros. Records.[2][3] Produced by Crow and Jeff Trott, who also worked with Crow on her self-titled 1996 album and 1998's The Globe Sessions, it features a return to a more rock-driven sound following Crow's 2013 country album, Feels Like Home.[4]

Be Myself
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 21, 2017
Recorded2016–2017
StudioOld Green Barn (Nashville, TN)
GenreRock
Length45:20
LabelWylie Songs, Warner Bros.
ProducerSheryl Crow, Jeff Trott
Sheryl Crow chronology
Feels Like Home
(2013)
Be Myself
(2017)
Threads
(2019)
Singles from Be Myself
  1. "Halfway There"
    Released: March 3, 2017[1]

Release

edit

Singles

edit

The album's lead single, "Halfway There", was released on March 3, 2017.[1]

Critical reception

edit
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic69/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [4]
American Songwriter     [6]
Blurt     [7]
Exclaim!6/10[8]
The Guardian     [9]
Mojo     [10]
PopMatters          [11]
Rolling Stone     [12]
Slant Magazine     [13]

Be Myself received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 69 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews" based on 10 reviews.[5]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album four out of five stars and calls it "set of strong, sophisticated pop."[4] Writing for Rolling Stone and rating the album three out of five stars, Rob Sheffield calls it "excellent" and "a full-blown return to her fierce rock-queen glory."[12]

Dave Simpson from The Guardian gave 3 out of 5 stars and stated "After a short-lived dabble in country music, Be Myself reunites Sheryl Crow with 1990s collaborators Jeff Trott and Tchad Blake and returns to the sassy, carefree, stripped down folk-pop-rock that brought her massive success in that era"[14]

Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Be Myself might lack the quirks that made Sheryl Crow so distinctive (it opened with a song about aliens, after all), but the album proves that some alliances can outlast even the latest planet-shrinking technology".[15]

Track listing

edit

All songs written by Sheryl Crow and Jeff Trott, except where noted.[4]

No.TitleLength
1."Alone in the Dark"3:40
2."Halfway There"3:59
3."Long Way Back"5:07
4."Be Myself"4:22
5."Roller Skate"3:19
6."Love Will Save the Day"4:58
7."Strangers Again"3:51
8."Rest of Me"3:52
9."Heartbeat Away"5:35
10."Grow Up"3:27
11."Woo Woo" (Crow, Toby Gad, Trott)3:14
Total length:45:20
Target and Japanese bonus tracks[16][17]
No.TitleLength
12."Disappearing World"4:17
13."The World You Make"4:25
14."Long Way Back" (Acoustic version)4:47
Total length:58:49

Personnel

edit

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[18]

Charts

edit
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] 97
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 104
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] 51
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22] 59
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 97
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[24] 67
New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RMNZ)[25] 8
Scottish Albums (OCC)[26] 35
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[27] 68
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 43
UK Albums (OCC)[29] 47
US Billboard 200[30] 22
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[31] 3

Release history

edit
List of regions, release dates, formats, label and references
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Worldwide April 21, 2017
  • CD
  • LP
  • digital download
Warner Bros. [32]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Sheryl Crow: Halfway There: Music". ASIN B06XB3YGWW. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  2. ^ "Be Myself by Sheryl Crow on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. 2017-04-21. Archived from the original on 2017-04-22. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
  3. ^ Chris Willman (2017-03-04). "Sheryl Crow Reemphasizes the Rock in Club Preview of New Album". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2017-04-22. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
  4. ^ a b c d Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Be Myself – Sheryl Crow". AllMusic. All Media Network. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Reviews for Be Myself by Sheryl Crow". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  6. ^ Horowitz, Hal (April 17, 2017). "Sheryl Crow: Be Myself". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  7. ^ Taylor, Tiffini (April 21, 2017). "Sheryl Crow – Be Myself review". Blurt. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  8. ^ Greene, Sarah (April 19, 2017). "Sheryl Crow – Be Myself". Exclaim!. Ian Danzig. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  9. ^ Simpson, Dave (April 20, 2017). "Sheryl Crow: Be Myself review – a punchy return to form". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 22, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  10. ^ "Review: Be Myself by Sheryl Crow". Mojo. London: 87. June 2017.
  11. ^ Driver, Richard (April 24, 2017). "Sheryl Crow: Be Myself". PopMatters. Archived from the original on April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  12. ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (April 20, 2017). "Review: Sheryl Crow's 'Be Myself' Is Her Toughest, Best in a Decade". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  13. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (April 20, 2017). "Sheryl Crow – Be Myself review". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  14. ^ Simpson, Dave (2017-04-20). "Sheryl Crow: Be Myself review – a punchy return to form". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2020-07-30. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
  15. ^ Cinquemani, Sal. "Review: Sheryl Crow, Be Myself". Archived from the original on 2019-03-26. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
  16. ^ "Sheryl Crow – Be Myself (Target Exclusive)". Target. Archived from the original on 2017-04-23. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
  17. ^ "Be Myself Sheryl Crow CD Album". CDJapan. Japan. Archived from the original on 2017-04-23. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  18. ^ "Be Myself – Sheryl Crow – Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic. All Media Network. Archived from the original on April 23, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  19. ^ "ARIA Chart Watch #418". auspOp. April 29, 2017. Archived from the original on February 3, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sheryl Crow – Be Myself" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sheryl Crow – Be Myself" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  22. ^ "Sheryl Crow Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  23. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sheryl Crow – Be Myself" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  24. ^ "シェリル・クロウのランキング" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  25. ^ "NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. June 12, 2017. Archived from the original on September 17, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  26. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  27. ^ "Top 100 Albumes — Semana 17: del 21.04.2017 al 27.04.2017" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  28. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Sheryl Crow – Be Myself". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  29. ^ "Sheryl Crow | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  30. ^ "Sheryl Crow Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  31. ^ "Sheryl Crow Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  32. ^ "Sheryl Crow: Be Myself: Music". ASIN B06XDFJNKN. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.