Sheryl Crow: C'Mon America 2003

Recorded live at Fraze Pavillion in Kettering, Ohio on July 10 and 11, 2003, this DVD recording, edited in rock video style, with cutaways, split screens, biographic detail and high production values, is a solid addition to anyone's rock music collection.

Sheryl is certainly an all-American girl, from her choice of star-spangled costumes to her country-influenced style of rock. From the opening Steve McQueen, with its heavy guitar and upbeat rocky riff, you can see that she loves her American fanbase and wants to show it a good time.

My Favourite Mistake is less successful than her opening tracks, but C'mon, C'mon is anthemic, lifting the crowd, whom she is clearly glad to talk to. She is playing to a loyal audience here, but shows a good deal of humour and improvisation in her performance. When struggling out of a tight leather jacket, she comments, "You can see how difficult it is to get me out of my clothes." In her clothes, however, she looks the real deal. Sexy and sassy, without being sleazy.

Her powerful voice shines through on a superior cover of The First Cut Is The Deepest and the excellent Strong Enough. She also wastes no time in espousing her political views, by way of quotes from the likes of Einstein, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr, projected onto screens. These accompany Redemption Day, while with Safe And Sound, she uses images of famine, protest and war to make clear her stance on America's worldwide duty to the poorer nations of the world.

It's good to see that the protest song is alive and well, but Sheryl offers much more than that, with ballads like Weather Channel and Soak Up The Sun being interspersed with hard rock numbers, such as A Change Will Do You Good and Everyday Is A Winding Road. There are five encore tracks here, which shows, in no uncertain terms, how she delivers to her fans.

Eager to give those at home a little more than just a straightforward concert, there are a couple of inserted interview and fly-on-the-wall segments, one near the beginning, in which Sheryl explains why she likes to tour, and a second near the end, when you see her chatting with the other members of the band - keen to rock on forever.

Like the bourbon she often sings about, this woman has a kick and a beautifully smooth finish.

Tracklist: Steve McQueen, There Goes The Neighbourhood, Riverwide, My Favourite Mistake, C'Mon C'Mon, The First Cut Is The Deepest, Strong Enough, Redemption Day, If It Makes You Happy, A Change Would Do You Good, Home, Weather Channel, Leaving Las Vegas, All I Wanna Do, Soak Up The Sun, Everyday Is A Winding Road, You're An Original, Let's Get Free, I Shall Believe, Safe And Sound, Rock And Roll.