Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCIII--Sheryl Crow: Leaving Las Vegas

It's hard to believe it's been twenty-five years since the music store I worked at received a promotional copy of Sheryl Crow's debut album, and I, looking for something new, gave it a listen.  We received exactly one copy of it for sale, and the CD sat in the store for six months before anyone purchased it--at one time I considered pulling it for return but since I really liked the LP, held onto it (prescient move).  Needless to say, Crow has gone on to have quite the career.

Sheryl Crow was born in my one time home of Missouri (meh), was an all state track athlete in high school, graduated with a degree in music from the University of Missouri, and was a music teacher in my actual Missouri home (meh) of Fenton where she also sang commercial jingles before heading westward to chase her dreams.  She sang backup for Michael Jackson on his Bad tour and sang backing vocals for a number of artists before hooking up with a group of musicians who called themselves the Tuesday Night Music Club...and the rest is history.  Over the past twenty-five years Crow has released ten LPs. sold fifty million records, won nine Grammy Awards, and toured throughout the world.  She's had nine top ten albums on the Billboard 200 and three top ten singles.  Interestingly (or not), it would be a toss up as to what has more...either artists she's worked with or organizations she's donated to (the woman is a wonder--everything from cancer research to women's organizations to hunger to politics to...you get the picture).  Crow is a breast cancer survivor and has adopted two boys.

"Leaving Las Vegas" was released in 1994 from Crow's debut album Tuesday Night Music Club and was a moderate hit, reaching #60 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  The song was written by David Baerwald, whom regular readers (both of you) may recall from earlier FNJ featured tune "Welcome to the Boomtown", and his being one half of David + David.

Opening with emaycee fave hand claps and a rock solid bass line, "Leaving Las Vegas" explores the dark underbelly of the American Dream from the confines of our most decadent city.  Baerwald writes a nice character study of a woman looking for redemption and seeing a fresh start away from Vegas as her ticket to a happier life, and Crow delivers the goods with an impassioned performance bolstered by some fine "Whoa-oh-ohs" in the backing vocals..  While I have my doubts the protagonist makers her way out (at least for good), I like the way the song juxtaposes the gambling Vegas is known for and her gamble on leaving as a quick fix for what ails her.  And in the end, while not necessarily every aspect, a lot of life is just one big crapshoot--and "Leaving Las Vegas" is a fine vignette of one person throwing the dice.

Lyric Sheet:  "Such a muddy line between/The things you want/And the things you have to do..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee