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The aiwaves may be opening to sampledriven,synth-laden music but "thrownback"artist like the back crowes,lenny kravits and sheryl crow are still enjoying commerial succes with the more direct and time honored sound of guitar,bass and drums. And at a time when many acts are looking back to the sound and styling of the mid -70s David bowie and brian eno, the idea that some musicians still draw anspiration from the rolling stones , john lennon or joni mitchell is refreshing.
On
friday night in front of an audience packed with twenty something
and industy figures , Sheryl crow made an cinvincing case for
music steeped in classic rock& Roll and het 90 minute set
made for a 
tlling game of "pin the
tail on the influences".Dressed in brown pants and
cream-colored cutt of , Crow hit the stage to the eagels-style
glide of "if it makes you happy"establishing the
night's unapologetically retro tome with the first strum of het
acoustic guitar.
Reacing back for the spirit of 1967 Crow instead occasionally rekindled the spirit of '76. From the infetterd mirror-ball disco pangs of "superstar"to the "me and julio down the schoolyard" beat of to "everyday is a winding road" signs of '70s Rock kept popping up. And when Crow asked the crowd "do you like country?"while introducing "home"she seemed to mean country as channeld trough such '70s icons as jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt.
The songs themselves were hit-and-miss. "Sweet Rosalyn"lost some of it's bounce and grind live and Crow's band looked and sounded uncomfortable trying to imitate the studio sheen of a few songs from her first album. On the other hand crow's voice soared during a dark "Leaving las Vegas"and her band brought guitar fireworks to the upbeat rocker "Change"
The high point of the evening came during the encore , when crow was joined onstage by a flurry of guest stars who share her influences. Jakob Dylan of the opening act Wallflowers first emerged from the wings to duet with crow on a smoldering "Ticket to ride".
The concert ended with the guest trading vocals on the classic band song "The weight". As each member of the crow's musical entourage took a verse , the group drew a lear line from Memphis Sun Studio to The Sunset Studios of Los Angeles, Proving that the adage "That everything old is new again"Is not necessarily a bad thing.
From rolling stone
Rosenland Ballroom New York , Feb 21 1997
