A Little More Sun: The Very Best of Sheryl Crow

By Jonathan Berohn

Sheryl Crow is no dummy. With her current run of hit songs like "Soak up the Sun" and "Steve McQueen," this is the perfect time for her to release a greatest hits compilation.

And so.we get "The Very Best of Sheryl Crow." For those of you who only know Sheryl Crow from her latest hits, this album is great way to get exposure to some of her earlier-and also very good-material. "All I Wanna Do," "Every Day Is a Winding Road,' and "If It Makes You Happy" are all definite hits and, more importantly, great songs.

The lesser-known songs, such as "Leaving Las Vegas" and "The Difficult Kind" don't drop off in quality either just because they received less Top 40 airplay. All in all, this album is a great introduction into Crow's catalog of recordings. For diehard Sheryl Crow fans who already own these songs on the original releases, "The Very Best of Sheryl Crow" offers some interesting new tidbits that make this a must-buy for all Crow fans.

The disc offers two new cuts-the hit single "The First Cut Is the Deepest," an old Cat Stevens tune, and "The Light in Your Eyes," a tribute to George Harrison. They are both excellent songs that belong in any Crow collection. We'll forgive the Kid Rock collaboration "Picture," even though it does break my string of not having any Kid Rock in the house.

Ultimately, "The Very Best of Sheryl Crow" is the perfect greatest hits release. It covers all the bases so casual fans can get what they want. It includes some lesser-known songs to expose these fans to more of the music. And it introduces new songs that aren't just add-ons so the marketing people can tout "new songs!"