Sheryl Crow, C’mon, C’mon

We can’t speak to the current whereabouts of Bubbles the Chimpanzee, but among the rest of Michael Jackson’s former sidekicks, Sheryl Crow (an ex-backup singer for his freaky pop Highness) seems to enjoy the most far-reaching success. The sunny pop-rock of her long—awaited new record may not rewrite the rule book on Top 40 escapism, but at least this fetching singer-songsmith knows her way around a guitar. C’mon, C’mon even delivers the best musical tribute to an actor (“Steve McQueen”) since what’s-her-name did that “David Duchovny” song. Indeed, if Madonna ever manages to curb her tendency toward Jacko-like self-absorption, she’ll do well to follow Crow’s example by letting her own personality come through in her music again. In Sheryl’s case, that means knocking out a thoroughly believable mix of humor and hurt, even spinning a few golden threads in a duet with fellow VH1 mainstay Don Henley (“It’s So Easy”). Go on, girl. Speaking of duets, that’s Liz Phair singing backups on a Jolly Rancher of a single, “Soak Up the Sun,” lending credence to our suspicion that the two may be related.