AS THE CROW FLIES...
By DAN AQUILANTE
SHERYL CROW is a rocker who's paid her dues. She's played in college bar bands, earned a degree in classical music, has been a backup singer for many of rock's most elite acts and has earned six Grammy Awards for her own solo work. Her most recent was for "The Globe Sessions," which nabbed the Best Rock Album honor at this year's awards ceremony. Crow, who is currently touring to support that disc, plays the Beacon Theater tomorrow, Sunday and Monday. She spoke to The Post earlier this week. Here's what's on her mind.
Q: As a songwriter, you know your work better than anyone. Are there any recurring themes?
A: On this album, there's a lot of self-examination into why relationships don't work out. Even on the second record, a lot of the song characters are in self-scrutiny - looking at why things have gone the way they have gone. I do think that even though most of my lyrics are kind of cynical, and they sometimes make the assumption that things aren't going to work out, most of the characters assume that things go the way they are meant to go. I look at things that way, although I try to be little more upbeat.
Q: When fans listen to your music, is it Sheryl Crow or a Sheryl Crow character they're hearing?
A: I honestly think they are hearing me sing about me. I've been accused, over the first couple of albums, of masking and hiding behind characters. But I do like to write narratively, a lot of the content is metaphorical. Like on the second album, there's the character who's a stripper.
After being so analyzed in the press and then hung out to dry, I felt like that stripper. Like I was constantly having to take my clothes off for the world to examine me.
Q: You've been a backup singer for lots of big-name acts, including Michael Jackson and
Don Henley. You are now the star of your own tours. Is being on the road more fun with or
without the responsibility of being in charge?

A: I like being the band leader. I know my music better than anybody does, and I am proficient on many instruments. So it's an extension of the whole picture. It's not just being a songwriter, its also being a musician, a producer. It's also just plain fun. I have a lot of people that I work with in musical settings who understand how I work, and I understand how they work, so there's a freedom there to do what we are best at.
Q: A couple of years ago, you said in a Rolling Stone article that the most unfortunate thing about success is that you have to work out your problems in public. Do you still feel that way?
A: Not really. I think I've entered a different phase in my career. I'm not really the new kid anymore, and there aren't a lot of skeptical eyes on me. I think that most people feel that I'm going to be pretty consistent in putting out quality work. I've also entered a period of my career where I only tour when I want to and work on projects that I want to work on.
Q: Considering what happened at Columbine HS, do you think that the point you made in the song "Love Is a Good Thing," about Wal-Mart selling guns, will finally get through to corporate America?
A: I think it goes much deeper than that. Sure, it has to do with corporate America, but it also has a lot to do with parenting, it has a lot to do with people's perception of how much government is too much government. I was talking to my mom on the phone, and she was saying how Charlton Heston was in a town nearby, lobbying for the NRA's stand that people should be able to buy guns without waiting five days. They would have any gun law that has already passed in Missouri undone. But it's even much deeper than the NRA. There's the entertainment industry, music and video games. It also has to do with parenting - it
has to do with this day and age we're in, and our freedoms. I think one of the problems is that the Constitution was written for a lot less people than there are now in America.
Q: Are you a political person?
A: Yeah.
Q: Is there too much government or not enough?
A: I think what's going on in government right now is tied into what's going on everywhere, as far as celebrity-ism. People want good leaders, but they shouldn't expect moral leaders, who are supposed to be perfect.
Q: You are a multi-Grammy winner and, in fact, won the Best New Artist award when you started your solo career. How have these kudos affected you?
A: Here's a quick story about being the Best New Artist. The day after the awards, Don Henley sent me a fax with all the names of those who've won it, and highlighted all the artists who have never been heard from again. About three-fourths of the names on the page were cursed by the award. At the bottom he wrote "good luck." For me, the Grammys have been nice recognition for what I feel is my effort to contribute positively to the universe. You can't put too much weight on it. Thinking it will set you up for life is a mistake. The award is just a moment in time when people pause to acknowledge good work.
Q: Do you have any favorite songs from "The Globe Sessions" that you play in concert?
A: We've been playing a lot of those songs in this tour because they are effortless. Playing "My Favorite Mistake" is like playing an old soul song, it just goes down easy. Every time I play it, there are lines that I just can't wait to sing.
Q: How much of the show is devoted to "Globe"?
A: Quite a lot of it. We do 21 songs; at least eight or nine are new tunes. It is a different show for us, because as we play we have a lot of great film being shown on a screen behind us.
Q: You're originally from a small town. Is there any small-town girl left in you?
A: The older I get, the more small-town I become. I guess that you cling to your roots and
upbringing as time goes on. I also feel more shock than when I was a kid. I used to think there was nothing that could shock me, and now I get shocked every day.
Q: What shocks you?
A: Just listen to the radio or you turn on your TV.