David Baerwald A Fine Mess released this month

A Fine Mess David Baerwald & the New Folk Underground

Released: December 1999 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: adult alternative singer/songwriter

Tracks, Disc 1: Song Title Nothing’s Gonna Bring Me Down Compassion Bozo Weirdo Wacko Creep Love #29 If Ever I Thought My Eyes Are Open The Only World I Know The Crash In My Own Way Why A Prisoner’s Dream Back in Your Arms Again Paddy Chayefsky's Dead It’s Hard to Give a Damn Tracks, Disc 2: Song Title Hellbound Train Smart in a Stupid Way Wondering Playground in the Park The Last Faithful Lover in the World Mary's Well Daydreamer The Water’s Edge A Friend Like Our Dear Stranger In the Wild Wild West Black Mamba Kiss The Bob Dylan Blues The Tougest Whore in Babylon The Church of No Religion

Rating: 3.303 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Thank the Internet for this one. In the late 1990s, a fan named Dan put together the David Baerwald Infosource, a place for DB fans to get together, talk about his work, and hope (seemingly in vain) for new music. As it turned out, the site was discovered by Baerwald’s mother, who passed word along to the man himself, and thus began a fascinatingly open public exchange between an artist and his fans.” JF “It also turned out that Baerwald had been sitting on…two albums of new music. It was nothing he’d intended on releasing…but faced with more (and more intense) interest than he’d expected, he graciously arranged for the release of the double album A Fine Mess.” JF “The full title is David Baerwald and The New Folk Underground (featuring Will Sexton) – A Fine Mess.” DB “There were roughly 500 of these produced. Most of the 500 were stamped with an individual number and signed by David.” DB Baerwald’s previous album had been 1992’s Triage. Much of his work in the seven-year interim had been in contribution to various television and movie soundtracks, as well as contributions to others’ albums. In regards to the latter, his most famous work came on Sheryl Crow’s Tuesday Night Music Club in 1993. That album was the product of a loose collective of musicians who gathered at producer Bill Bottrell’s studio in the fall of ’92 to informally create music. The group would also work on Triage and, over the next few years, albums by Susanna Hoffs, Linda Perry, and Kevin Gilbert. In regards to the latter, he was one of several fatal tragedies Baerwald would be forced to deal with in the ‘90s. Gilbert, a fellow TNMC’er, died in ’96. He was the second of Baerwald’s friends to die in the wake of Tuesday Night Music Club’s popularity. The first victim was John O’Brien, the author of Leaving Las Vegas, the book that was later made into a movie and served as the inspiration for the song of the same name on Sheryl’s album. The two deaths generated much ill will between Crow and Baerwald. He felt like Gilbert and O’Brien were both in depressive states brought on by Crow’s failure to properly credit others for their work. Then, in 1998, Bill Bottrell’s seven-year-old son William died. The trio of tragedies makes A Fine Mess “sound like what it was – a wake.” JF Baerwald says, “‘When William died, I didn’t have that in me to continue what I was doing at the time. I needed to do something absolutely direct and absolutely lacking in trendiness; something that was expressing exactly what it was and nothing else’.” JC “‘In L.A. in 1998, that felt like an extremely rebellious attitude. At Capitol Studios, they had this stamp that they put on rough mix tapes that were given to musicians and producers that was ‘NFU.’ That's what this felt like to me: Not for use. This is my own thing. This was not for money. NFU transmogrified into New Folk Underground’.” JC “Baerwald claims he was listening to artists like Gillian Welch, Wilco, Dock Boggs, the O’Jays, and Curtis Mayfield while recordingNew Folk Underground and that they had a big effect on its sound. He says that he asked himself what these artists had in common.” JC “‘The answer was that they that accepted pain and suffering as a given and found a way of fighting it without being morose,’ says Baerwald succinctly. ‘I felt that I was watching evil triumph, hypocrisy and propaganda ruling the airwaves, and the death of rock & roll, a medium that I felt really strongly about. The death of a lot of people that meant a lot to me in my personal life [was also a factor]’.” JC “‘So whether I was this successful L.A. shithead or not, I was in pain. I didn’t have a way to express it, yet I was attracted to these acts that were so naked about it and unbeaten by it. That became my definition of what folk music is: It’s of the people. Music unbowed, sprung from an acceptance that life is difficult.” JC With its “creaky joints and gloriously ragged edges,” JF the album “lives up to its title wonderfully.” JF With “guest appearances by Jewel, Sheryl Crow, Kevin Gilbert and many others,” DB the album was also filled with “hope; so much hope. Whether this is because Baerwald can see the sun again, or whether it’s simply a method of wrestling with his sadness, is impossible for the listener to say. But the effect is beautiful nonetheless.” JF “Art work for the packaging was created by Jeff Wells. The final packaging, although not exactly as it was initially planned, gave the set that classic DIY appeal that it deserved.” DB “The production, if not completely live, at least sounds like it, and there are liberal helpings of roadhouse piano; at times, it sounds like a lost Stephen Foster album, or like Gershwin on a three-week bender.” DB It is a “tear-stained thing of beauty” DB that “hangs askew, like all of Baerwald’s finest work.” JF “This set has long since sold out, but they occassionally pop up on ebay - with most selling for well over $100. The set originally sold for $20 which included shipping.” DB

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for David Baerwald JC Jim Caligiuri, The Austin Chronicle, “Welcome to the Underground: Here Comes David Baerwald.” (7/19/02). DB DBinfosource.com JF Jefitoblog.com Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 2/15/2008; last updated 8/21/2021.

Kevin Gilbert released Thud, first solo album

Thud Kevin Gilbert

Released: March 21, 1995 Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: adult alternative/progressive rock

Tracks: Click on a song titled for more details. When You Give Your Love to Me [3:20] Goodness Gracious [4:08] Joytown [4:53] Waiting [5:05] Tea for One [5:49] Shadow Self [6:06] The Tears of Audrey [4:47] Shrug (Because of Me and You) [3:54] All Fall Down [5:35] Song for a Dead Friend [5:56] Total Running Time: 49:33 Other Songs from This Era: Kashmir The Players: Kevin Gilbert (vocals, drums) Bill Bottrell (guitar, backing vocals) Brian MacLeod (drums) Dan Schwartz (bass) Robert Ferris (backing vocals) Steve Steinberg (sax) Lyle Workman (guitar) Salvation Army Brass Band: Skip Waring, Toby Holmes, Jay Mueller, & Bruce Friedman

Rating: 4.280 out of 5.00 (average of 19 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

KG’s Background “Kevin Gilbert played and wrote on numerous albums and was a veteran of the L.A. music scene by the time he released his solo debut, Thud.” TD Not only had he “written and produced songs for Madonna and Michael Jackson,” JRA he’d also recorded two albums with the band Giraffe, another with Toy Matinee, and, most famously, was part of the famous collective that spawned Sheryl Crow’s blockbuster debut. Crow signed on as the touring keyboardist for Toy Matinee in ‘91 and she and Gilbert became romantically involved. He brought her to a laid back gathering of musicians known as the Tuesday Night Music Club and the casual sessions turned into material for Crow’s album of the same name. When she became a superstar, Gilbert and other TNMC’ers felt slighted as she took what they deemed was more than her fair share of the credit. “As Crow’s relationship with Gilbert deteriorated…an increasingly bitter Gilbert threw himself deeper into his own album.” JS96 Producer Bill Bottrell, “who used to hear Gilbert thumping away through the common wall” JS96 at Toad Hall, said, “‘it was a long process…He sat over there endless nights.’” JS96 His First Solo Album The result was an “absolutely stellar album” RU that really lives up to the title of being a “solo album” – Gilbert “takes a hand at virtually every instrument at some point on the record. He also engineered and produced the record at his own Pasadena studio.” RU “The music focuses on the use of acoustic guitar, powerful lyrics and accentuated vocal style.” GW “Much like…Toy Matinee…there’s not a weak track on the album, all songs showing evidence of his troubled musical genius.” PX “Each song is expertly written, arranged, played, and produced.” JRI To emphasize the words and vocals, “the production is generally very low-key;” EB Kevin “deliberately chose to stick to simple sounds on Thud.” EB “There’s not a lyric anywhere…that you can’t get from just listening,” CH says KG, because “the voice is really dry and right up front in the mix.” CH “Giraffe and Toy Matinee…both utilized synthesizers and significant production efforts,” EB but these “songs are mostly acoustic rock, with electric guitars thrown in for effect in places.” EB Gilbert says, this is “a lot more true to what I am because it was just me doing it.” CH The Album’s Reception Upon its release, the “masterful but underpromoted effort” JS96 hit the music world with, well, a thud. “Perhaps Gilbert’s distinctive style is hard for the music industry to get a handle on – that is, sell easily to a mass audience.” JRA “But that shouldn’t bother anyone looking for a rock artist who ranges from folk to pop and (occasionally) goes out even farther on the musical ledge.” JRA “Thud showcases Gilbert’s satirical bite, his talents as a producer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist.” PX “This complex yet accessible collection of material demonstrates a remarkable range as well as some incredible musicianship.” RU “Gilbert’s vision sometimes gets too dark for its own good…but the artist (and he is an artist) is so startlingly fresh and worthwhile, you’re willing to indulge the musical detours.” JRA “Thud is an overlooked album that is worthy of not just a first glance, but also of several subsequent glances.” PX This is “prog-pop heaven” JRI – “literate, adult rock that unfortunately serves as a solitary testament to Gilbert’s talent” TD since “Gilbert would die in an accidental suicide” TD a little more than a year later. The Title Of the album’s unfortunately ironic title, KG said Thud “is a lot of things. It’s what the record is, the sound of the other shoe dropping. Thud is the sound that my studio makes at the moment because of all the old weird gear I have in it. I like the word.” CH As KG says in the album’s liner notes, “Thud is the sound one’s head makes as it hits the table.” The Cover The comment makes more sense in the context of the cover art, which is also explained in the liner notes: “That’s the Baron George Hoyningen-Huene having ‘A Vision at Glyphada.’ Photographer Herbert List captured his head hitting the table on the plains of Glyphada, Greece in 1937.” EB The photo undoubtedly captured Gilbert’s frustration with his inability to reach the audience he deserved. His “intelligent, well-crafted pop [offers] an occasional nod to the experimental, reminiscent of his Music Club cohort David Baerwald.” BS His “introspective songs” TD share “the same pop sensibility of Sheryl Crow” TD and “his thoughtful lyrics and clever word-play,” BS along with “the way his pained vocals delivered his clever lyrics” PX on “pessimistic songs about the state of the world that would be mundane in the hands of lesser intellects.” BS Reissue A 20th anniversary, 3-CD edition was released by PopPlusOne.com which includes “3 new studio tracks and 18 previously unreleased demos, instrumentals, and alternate mixes.” PP The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

When You Give Your Love to Me Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert, Bill Bottrell Released: Thud (3/21/1995) Peak: 10 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: The “heartfelt” PJ When You Give Your Love to Me is “one of Kevin’s best efforts.” EB It “is a catchy little ditty” JRA that “starts with acoustic guitar rhythm followed with Kevin’s powerful vocal with strong accents. The music flows seamlessly with acoustic guitar plays important role as rhythm plus drum as beat keeper. But still, vocal is the key driver of song structure and composition.” GW Lyrically, this “finds our man pleading his case for love in a way that’s both winning and funny.” JRA “‘There’ll be global peace and religious tolerance/There’ll be a perfect harmonic convergence, when you give your love to me.’” JRA These “are among the many fringe benefits promised by the singer in exchange for his lover’s affection.” BS The “tongue in cheek” EB lyrics allow “for a somewhat more fulfilling experience than the usual fluff that exists in love songs.” EB

Goodness Gracious Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert Released: Thud (3/21/1995), Kashmir EP (1995) Peak: 14 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: “Goodness Gracious exudes the essence of Gilbert.” JRA The song “is more uptempo but still seems angry” PJ “with its creepy, irrestible melody” JRA and “Kevin’s indignation with a society that has stuck him with the bill for its past excesses:” EB “Goodness gracious, we came in at the end/No sex that isn’t dangerous, no money left to spend/We’re the cleanup crew for parties we were too young to attend.” JRA It is also “spooky in its clairvoyance – its lyrics even more true today than they were at the time of the album’s release. ‘Goodness Gracious/ I’m not listening anymore/ Cause the spooks are in the White House/ and they’ve justified a war/ So wake me when they notify we’re gonna fight some more.’” PX Musically, the song “starts interestingly with a blues-based acoustic guitar” GW but “the incorporation of electric guitar sound at the back is good.” GW “In line with its aggressive tone, this…[is] the most rocking tune of the album, with the possible exception of ‘Shadow Self.’” EB

Joytown Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert, Bill Bottrell, Brian MacLeod, Dan Schwartz Released: Thud (3/21/1995), Kashmir EP (1995) Peak: 8 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: Joytown is a “whimsical song” EB “composed with music loop as basic song structure.” GW “The song moves excellently with Kevin’s singing style…Kevin’s vocal moves ups and downs with the flow of the song…Sax work is incorporated at the end of the track.” GW Lyrically, this offers “musings on contemporary life littered with pop culture icons over a bluesy shuffle.” TD Gilbert adds: “it’s very alternative. It doesn’t have much at all to do with things progressive.” CH In singing of “an idyllic place where all of our fallen heroes live the lives they deserve to lead;” EB “not only do ‘people tear down parking lots so they can build more parks,’ but ‘Lennon never has to sing a Paul McCartney song.’” BS KG described the song as “a product of the Tuesday Music Club.” CH Drummer Brian MacLeod continues, explaining that it was a “thing we did in Bill’s studio…it was just me, Kevin and Dan. In New York I saw these guys playing on trash cans. So I went to a hardware store and bought a bunch of plastic trash cans. I brought them in and said, ‘Kevin check this out!’ So Kevin put a microphone up inside and goes ‘Oh, that sounds amazing!’ …Kevin put up a mic and hit record, and he just recited those lyrics out of his head.” BM Gilbert notes that “the song gestated in my head as a concept for three or four months,” PS1 but it really fell together “one night at TNMC [when] we were sort of jamming and I started rapping on these lyrics spontaneously – all those things spilled out and over an hour I assembled them into couplets that rhymed.” PS1

Waiting Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert Released: Thud (3/21/1995), Kashmir EP (1995) Peak: 16 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: While the “eerie” JRA Waiting “is a pretty catchy song, its tone is still heavy on the darker side of things.” PJ It “excellently dispels the myth of the promise of better days to come.” PX “The fantastic line, ‘I’m waiting for the Mafia to make this song a hit’” EB showcases his clever wordplay and sarcastic humor. “In Gilbert’s vocal delivery you hear his skepticism that the better times he’s waiting for will ever actually arrive.” PX Instead, there seems to be “a certainty of future disappointments that the longer he waits for things the less apt they are to happen.” PX

Tea for One Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert Released: Thud (3/21/1995) Peak: 18 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: The “stirring” JRA “Tea for One is “a memorable late night track for discerning listeners.” PJ It “is a good melodic song” GW “with some killer hooks,” PJ “simple structure and Kevin’s low register notes vocal” GW that really suggests KG “could have filled-up Genesis’ music when Peter Gabriel left the band.” GW This “is one of the sadder songs on the album” EB as it “captures the pain of loneliness and unrequited love with a stark emotional poignance.” PX “Gilbert writes some fantastic lyrics and this song is full of them.” PJ The song tells “the story of a man named Duncan whose infatuation with a woman goes unfulfilled due to his hesitance to make an advance.” EB The song is delivered in a manner “that allows the listener to feel the pain of Duncan…and make an emotional connection with the music that is lacking in more conventional pop songs.” PX The vocals…ring very true, with the perfect aspect of forlorn wailing while still singing words to music.” EB KG also “adds a toy piano to the mix to good effect.” TD

Shadow Self Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert Released: Thud (3/21/1995), Kashmir EP (1995) Peak: 22 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: Shadow Self, the album’s “ambitious centerpiece,” PS1 is “a mini-prog epic about the devil inside us all.” JRI KG says it “was actually supposed to be called ‘Late for Dinner,’ but it got the less subtle title of ‘Shadow Self’ due to a mixup with the publisher.” EB Under any title, it is “an elaborate, almost progressive rock-styled piece” EB with “some symphonic nuance,” GW “a different style compared to the other” GW songs on the album, that features “lots of distortion, filters and different vocal tracks.” EB There’s also “great drumming and inventive bass lines.” GW As KG said: “I went nuts production-wise. I just wanted train wrecks of styles, so like every eight bars it changes styles dramatically…There’s acoustic guitar and then this hip-hoppy bass part and a male choir of vikings singing at the same time. Then there’s out of context things where a really sweet sounding flute is against these very punk drums because I like the clash of style. That’s my favorite track in an adventurous sort of way.” CH From a lyrical standpoint, the song is a warning to prevent the Shadow Self from taking over. The song says that “all of us have…a darker evil version of ourselves, a Shadow Self, [that] we keep at bay, that feeds off of our negativity and grows…the more we give into that negativity.” PX KG described the song as “an essay on the dark side of human nature.” CH “It’s not unlike ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ by The Rolling Stones, except that instead of being spoken by a specific being, the words are those of the evil within each person, trying to gain influence over the person’s actions.” EB

The Tears of Audrey Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert Released: Thud (3/21/1995) Peak: 28 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: “The lovely lament The Tears of Audrey” JRA is “haunting and beautiful,” PJ laying “its heart firmly on its sleeve.” PJ It “is a mellow track with low register notes voice line. The melody is good, the arrangement is simple. It’s like a pop song.” GW It is about “putting up walls to keep love out.” PX Audrey is “a woman who, following the death of her husband, bottles up her feelings and isolates herself from the world.” EB “The listener wants the tears of Audrey to fall, to break down the emotional walls many of us are guilty of putting up.” PX “The tone of the song is actually unusual when contrasted against ‘Tea for One’ and ‘Song for a Dead Friend,’ which both deal with loss, because ‘The Tears of Audrey’ is written from the perspective of a gentle third party.” EB

Shrug (Because of Me and You) Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert, Bill Bottrell, Brian MacLeod, Dan Schwartz Released: Thud (3/21/1995) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. About the Song: “There is absolutely nothing that better demonstrates Kevin’s personal growth over the years than the difference in title between [Shrug (Because of Me and You)] and ‘Because of You’, from Giraffe’s album The Power of Suggestion. The lyrics are almost exactly the same, with a few minor changes in the order of the lyrics and a few turns of phrase that work better in ‘Shrug.’ As far as music goes, ‘Shrug’” EB is “another pop-rock song in slow tempo with firm drum beats and cool guitar fills. Kevin’s vocals combine a balanced high and low points.” GW It “has a much more casual and organic tone to it, as befits its title and Kevin’s change in musical style, whereas ‘Because of You’ has Giraffe’s signature thick synth sound and heavy engineering making it a more driving, aggressive song.” EB

All Fall Down Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert Released: Thud (3/21/1995) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. About the Song: All Fall Down is another reworked Giraffe tune; the original is from The View from Here. It “is a melodic song with good arrangement.” GW “The order of the lyrics here…really highlight Kevin’s increased confidence in his writing. The Giraffe version relied much more strongly on repetition, particularly…of the chorus, which ends up diminishing the power of the lyrics in the verses; inversely, the Thud version allows the lyrics to tell a story and paint a picture with a better (and less frequent) chorus. As far as the music goes, the Thud version goes out on a limb slightly from the rest of the album, incorporating muted brass and more elaborate orchestration, as well as backup singers, which are less evident on the rest of the album. However, it works very effectively in creating a musical tone that represents a wake for the world.” EB

Song for a Dead Friend Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert (see lyrics here) Released: Thud (3/21/1995) Peak: 1 DF Click for codes to charts.

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: The album’s dramatic closer, the “touching” JRA Song for a Dead Friend, is “an acoustic-guitar-based composition with main characteristic on powerful vocal quality of Kevin Gilbert.” GW There is a “Peter Gabriel’s ‘Here Comes the Flood’ nuance” GW in the “melancholy piano [that opens the songs] and just grips your soul.” PJ From a recording standpoint, KG says, “There’s not production on it;” CH indeed, “the only musical accompaniment is a simple piano sequence with some sparse guitar work in the chorus.” EB The words are “so personal as to be almost too painful to hear.” BS KG said, “I wrote [it] about a really good friend of mine who killed himself a couple of years ago.” CH Via the song, “Kevin addresses his friend directly about the suicide and laments his failure to measure up to his friend in terms of friendship.” EB

Kashmir Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Robert Plant, Jimmy Page Released: Kashmir EP (1995) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. About the Song: A promo-EP of Kashmir and four alternate versions of songs on Thud were shipped with some versions of the album. Gilbert originally recorded “Kashmir” for the Led Zeppelin tribute album Encomium but it was dropped from the disc at the last minute. JS You can read more about the original Led Zeppelin version of “Kashmir” here.

Resources/References: TD Tom Demalon, AllMusic.com EB Everything.Blockstackers.com CH Christine Holz, co-editor (11/94 – 1/95). “Toying with Kevin Gilbert.” Music News Network. TheDebster.com PJ Paul Jordan (1/21/06). ProgArchives.com BM Brian MacLeod interviewed by Wayne Perez. Posted at KevinGilbert.com PS1 Performing Songwriter. (Jan/Feb 1996). “Kevin Gilbert.” Online at Bewtiful Freak PX Perplexio (4/26/06). Blog posting. PopPlusOne.com JRA Joe Rassenfoss (3/24/95). Rocky Mountain News. “Kevin Gilbert debuts with a Thud.” Originally found online at ShadowSelf.com JRI Jim Rigberg, Plantmellotron.com RU Roland Users Group. Online at Bewtiful Freak JS Joel Selvin (9/22/96). San Francisco Chronicle. “Dark Secrets.” Online at TheDebster.com BS Brian Simon. 1995). Caffeine. “Kevin Gilbert – Thud.” Online at Bewtiful Freak GW Gatot Widayanto (7/25/05). ProgArchives.com Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/6/2010; last updated 8/27/2025.

Sheryl Crow charted with “All I Wanna Do”

All I Wanna Do Sheryl Crow

Writer(s): Sheryl Crow/Wyn Cooper/Bill Bottrell/David Baerwald/Kevin Gilbert (see lyrics here) Released: April 4, 1994 First Charted: July 23, 1994 Peak: 2 US, 2 CB, 2 GR, 16 RR, 18 AC, 35 AR, 4 MR, 4 UK, 14 CN, 11 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.2 UK, 0.81 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 7.35 video, 151.44 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Sheryl Crow signed to A&M in 1991 after working as a session singer, most notably for Michael Jackson. TB She recorded her debut album with Hugh Padgham, who had produced the Police. His “polished pop sheen” TB wasn’t much better than the major labels who wanted “to turn her into a grown-up Debbie Gibson.” TB Her boyfriend, Kevin Gilbert, introduced her to an informal collective of musicians known as the Tuesday Night Music Club. The group served as session musicians to Crow’s resulting album of the same name. Released in August 1993, it didn’t take off until a year later when “All I Wanna Do,” the fourth single, started garnering attention at radio. “Carefully driven by lilting slide-guitar and handclaps, the single was – somewhat ironically…much more slick and polished than the rest” TB of the album. The song went all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, stuck for six weeks behind Boyz II Men’s “I’ll Make Love to You.” It went to #1 in Australia and Canada and made the top 10 in Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. WK It also won Grammys for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The lyrics were adapted from Wyn Cooper’s 1987 poem “Fun.” Crow said “it encapsulated what was going on in LA, a real extreme feeling of apathy and defeat. It’s masked in this light pop ditty, but it’s about somebody down and out, sitting in a bar watching their life go by.” SF Bill Bottrell, a member of the Tuesday Night Music Club, and the producer for the album discovered the book of poetry, The Country of Here Below, in a used bookstore in Pasadena. The original run was for only 500 copies, but the success of “All I Wanna Do” spawned multiple reprints as well as earning considerable royalties for Cooper. WK Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Sheryl Crow DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Tuesday Night Music Club (the group) SF Songfacts TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 263. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 4/9/2020; last updated 2/3/2023.

Sheryl Crow’s Tuesday Night Music Club released

Tuesday Night Music Club Sheryl Crow

Released: August 3, 1993 Peak: 3 US, 8 UK, 5 CN, 12 AU Sales (in millions): 7.6 US, 0.6 UK, 12.9 world (includes US and UK) Genre: mainstream rock

Tracks: Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Run, Baby, Run [4:53] (9/27/93, 24 UK, 86 CN, 11 DF) Leaving Las Vegas [5:10] (2/12/94, 60 BB, 45 CB 14 GR, 25 RR, 8 MR, 66 UK, 29 CN, 8 DF) Strong Enough [3:10] (11/14/94, 5 BB, 2 BA, 4 CB, 2 GR, 2 RR, 11 AC, 10 MR, 33 UK, 1 CN, 3 AU, 7 DF) Can’t Cry Anymore [3:41] (5/8/95, 36 BB, 30 BA, 26 CB, 6 GR, 10 RR, 22 AC, 38 MR, 33 UK, 3 CN, 41 AU, 19 DF) Solidify [4:08] The Na-Na Song [3:12] (37 DF) No One Said It Would Be Easy [5:29] (11 DF) What I Can Do for You [4:15] (11/11/93, 43 UK, 16 DF) All I Wanna Do [4:32] (7/12/94, 2 BB 2 CB, 2 GR, 1 RR, 1 AC, 35 AR, 4 MR, 4 UK, 1 CN, 1 AU, 2 DF) We Do What We Can [5:38] (13 DF) I Shall Believe [5:34] (13 DF) Writing credits: David Baerwald (1-3, 5-6,8-9), Bill Bottrell (1-7, 9-11), Wyn Cooper (9), Sheryl Crow (1-11), Kevin Gilbert (2-3,5-7,9-10), Kevin Hunter (5), Brian MacLeod (3,5-6), David Ricketts (2-3,5-6), Dan Schwartz (7,10). Total Running Time: 49:42 The Players: Sheryl Crow (vocals, guitar, piano) David Baerwald (guitar) Bill Bottrell (guitar, pedal steel) Kevin Gilbert (keyboards, guitar, drums) David Ricketts (bass) Dan Schwartz (bass, guitar) Brian MacLeod (drums)

Rating: 4.084 out of 5.00 (average of 26 ratings) Quotable: “A peak of mainstream pop-rock” – Rickey Wright, Amazon.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Crow’s Background Sheryl Crow was born in Kennett, Missouri, in 1962. After she graduated from the University of Missouri, she worked as an elementary school music teacher and would sing in bands on weekends. She started singing jingles and eventually moved to Los Angeles to work as a backup singer. After “gigging as a backing vocalist for everyone from Don Henley to Michael Jackson,” AM Crow signed a deal with A&M records to release her own album. The result was “a slick set of contemporary pop, relying heavily on ballads.” AM It “did not reflect the harder edged, roots-rock sound Crow wanted” RD and she convinced A&M not to release the album. AM Then-boyfriend Kevin Gilbert and producer Bill Bottrell tried to salvage it, but eventually aborted it. The Tuesday Night Music Club Collective In 1992, Gilbert introduced her to the Tuesday Night Music Club, a group of “Los Angeles-based songwriters and producers, including David Baerwald, David Ricketts, and Brian McLeod.” AM The loose collective “would get together, drink beer, jam, and write songs” AM at producer Bill Bottrell’s Toad Hall studio. TB Because she was the only member of the collective that had a record deal, she became the focus of the sessions. TB Crow “decided to craft her debut album around the songs and spirit of the collective. It was, for the most part, an inspired idea, since Tuesday Night Music Club has a loose, ramshackle charm that her unreleased debut lacked.” AM “While the songs all feature Crow on lead vocals and were all co-composed by her, the reality is she was part of a collective, yet only she got the record contract and therefore, the bulk of the credit for the resulting effort.” DV “The opening quartet of [songs] are remarkable testaments to their collaboration, proving that roots rock can sound contemporary and have humor” AM while exhibiting “remarkable storytelling skills.” CD That same spirit, however, also resulted in some half-finished songs…Still, even with the weaker moments,” AM “Crow and [Co. usually] strike just the right tone” AZ and “Crow manages to create an identity for herself – a classic rocker at heart but with enough smarts to stay contemporary.” AM The TNMCers’ “playing is typically on the mark, loose and limber…But the group has a weakness for mid-tempo arrangements that don't always do justice to Crow's range; her later efforts branch out more into harder rock and slower, more intense ballads, to good effect.” DV The Reception “With her gruff, edgy delivery and sweet, seductive timbre…Crow evokes comparisons to tough yet tender blues-rockers like Bonnie Raitt. But Sheryl Crow is too talented to be plugged into any one stylistic bag. Tuesday Night Music Club is a striking debut recording, teeming with the kind of musical curiosity all too rare in contemporary pop.” CD “Overall, Tuesday Night Music Club is an occasionally spotty but generally solid debut” DV that is “a peak of mainstream pop-rock.” AZ It “captures the relaxed mood, spontaneous creativity, and drunken good times of those weekly sessions.” RD “That’s the lasting impression Tuesday Night Music Club leaves.” AM The album was a slow burn. Three singles met with little success before “All I Wanna Do,” the fourth single released nearly a year after the album came out, then took off. After that song and “Strong Enough” became top five hits, the album soared into the top-ten on Billboard and became a multi-platinum smash. At the 1995 Grammy Awards, Crow won Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (the latter two for “All I Wanna Do”). The Controversy Crow’s relationship with Gilbert “became acrimonious soon after the album release.” WK She further alienated the collective when, despite nearly a year of working together and even talking about touring together to promote the record, she dumped them. MM Bottrell says they met at a coffee shop on the Sunset Strip so that he could give her the finished master of the album and, “she essentially told me to get lost.” MM Supposedly she was going to save money by using a smaller touring band. MM Crow fanned the flames when, in the wake of the album’s success, she took credit for writing the songs. This led to both Gilbert and Baerwald publicly castigating Crow. WK Bottrell said at one point that she was given the second-larging portion of publishing rights because she had a large debt as a result of her unreleased first album, WK reportedly as much as a half million dollars. MM The Songs Here are thoughts on the individual songs from the album. “Run Baby Run” The album kicks off with “the Beatles overtones of her freedom cry,” CD the “poignant power ballad Run, Baby, Run.” RD By just “the second line of this album [which] references the day Aldous Huxley died – it's obvious this is going to be a musical horse of a different color.” DV Of course, that same line also demonstrates how the album “occasionally reaches too far in attempting Significance.” AZ Nonetheless, the “Retro Hammond organ, slinky blues licks, nicely synchopated piano and Crow's keening vocals propel the steady-building ‘Run, Baby, Run.’ Some soaring slide work on the break and Crow's quirky lyrics embellish the song's classic verse-chorus-verse structure into something special.” DV “Leaving Las Vegas” “Crow has a gift for taking familiar song structures that fit like a comfortable shoe and imbuing them with fresh twists. On the otherwise Joplinesque blues grind Leaving Las Vegas, it’s the way the muted electronic drums and laconic bass line counterpoint the chorus of background vocals surrounding Crow's impassioned lead voice.” DV The song “mixes…metaphors to equate relationships to games of chance, tolling themes of duty and resignation.” CD “All I Wanna Do” Those two songs were both released as singles. The former was a minor UK hit and the latter a top-10 alternative rock hit in the U.S. The album really, broke, however, upon the release of third single All I Wanna Do. While “somewhat lightweight and widely misunderstood,” DV “the deceptively infectious” AM song “put this otherwise rather unassuming album on the map” DV first as a #2 pop hit and then as a Grammy-winner for Record of the Year. The “’Stuck in the Middle with You’ homage” AZ “was slotted number nine in the run order for a reason…it's a relative throwaway of a song – a slacker fantasia set to vibes, percussion, slide guitar and a simple, endlessly repeating bass figure – that was never intended to characterize this album.” DV It “might not be Hall of Fame material, but it was good enough to launch a career.” DV “Strong Enough” After the success of that song, Crow followed up with another top-5 U.S. hit with the balld Strong Enough, “a mostly-acoustic tune that strongly recalls Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac.” DBW The album pulled off one more top-40 hit in the U.S. with Can’t Cry Anymore. The song’s “clanking guitar riff” AZ makes for an irrestible “pulsing rhythm.” DV “Solidify” Elsewhere on the album, Crow “seems to want to channel Sly & the Family Stone” DV with Solidify, “but the style just doesn’t suit Crow at all.” DV “What I Can Do for You” She does better with “the funky threat of What I Can Do for You,” AZ even if “the chirpy background vocals (‘you – you’) grate” DV and “her speak-singing on the verses…doesn’t come off well.” DV “The Na-Na Song” The “surreal” CD “Na-Na Song offers a “pure delirious rush of…chanted free-association lyrics,” DV although it can come across as “an embarrassing stream-of-consciousness ripoff of John Lennon’s ‘Give Peace a Chance.’” DBW “No One Said It Would Be Easy” Crow invests an “emotional charge” DV on the “touching” CD “No One Said It Would Be Easy, “a song about trying to salvage a troubled relationship” DV Backed by a “dreamy lead guitar,” DV “Sheryl Crow brings a post-modern country sensibility to bear.” CD “We Do What We Can” and “I Shall Believe” Next up is “the smoky jazzy of We Do What We Can” TB followed by the “sweet pedal-steel inflected gospel of I Shall Believe,” CD “a strong cut that shows off Crow's burgeoning skills as a composer and singer of moving, contemplative ballads.” DV Notes: The deluxe edition included a second disc of previously unreleased tracks (“Coffee Shop,” “Killer Life,” “Essential Trip of Hereness,” “You Want More”), B-sides (“Reach Around Jerk,” “Volvo Cowgirl 99,” “All by Myself,” “On the Outside,” “D’yer Mak’er”), and a new remix of “I Shall Believe.”

Resources AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine AZ Amazon.com review by Rickey Wright CD CdUniverse.com DV DailyVault.com review by Jason Warburg RD Robert Dimery (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Quintet Publishing Limited: New York, NY. Page 716. MM Medium.com (11/1/2021). “Tuesday Night Smash – Part IV…” by Z-side’s Music Reviews TB Thunder Bay (2005). Albums: The Stories Behind 50 Years of Great Recordings. Thunder Bay Press; San Diego, CA. Page 269. WK Wikipedia DBW David Bertrand Wilson, Wilson & Alroy’s Record Reviews Related DMDB Pages DMDB Encyclopedia Entries DMDB Profile Pages First posted 2/15/2008; last updated 12/10/2024.