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The charts have been Sheryl Crow free for the last couple of years. I remember back in the day, she had this uncanny knack for putting out folk-rock tunes that crossed over into the mainstream and became massive hits.

Then she went and butchered Sweet Child O’ Mine for an Adam Sandler movie soundtrack of all things, and things seemed to nose-dive from there. Maybe her brand of music had just fallen out of favour with fickle pop-purchasers. I don’t know.

Anyway, with news of her new album, Detours, Sheryl’s also got a new single out called Love Is Free. If you didn’t know it, the song is about the resilience and strength of the people of New Orleans. I won’t pass comment, because the single took some lumps from Drowned In Sound for the overdose of social conscience.

I won’t crucify Sheryl for trying to inject a message into her songs - wouldn’t we complain if it was filled with vapid sentimentality?

Love Is Free harks back to the looser jams of the Tuesday Night Music Club era, but perhaps not just as rootsy as in those days. And despite the political overtones, Crow manages to produce an upbeat song that manages to avoid sounding preachy (something I was worried about).

Overall though, it’s not her strongest material ever, and I can’t help but wonder if she’s still got some way to go before reclaiming the mojo of her glory days.

Love Is Free is the latest single from Sheryl Crow’s Detours album. The single is released on 11 February 2008.