Sheryl Crow's "Detours": The Singer on Key Tracks From Her New Album

"Love Is Free": Crow lived in New Orleans' French Quarter while recording her second disc. This jubilant, upbeat single reminds her of the Big Easy street bands, and it serves as her tribute to the city. "What I love about the people of New Orleans is their incredible stoicism, and how they manage to find strength through the most difficult times," she says. "This song is about not forgetting who these people are." [Listen]

"Out of Our Heads": "If we could only get out of our heads and into our hearts," Crow sings in this loose, reggae-ish number, partially inspired by a speech she heard by the Dalai Lama. "I feel like this album leans toward the folk-music tradition," she says. "I think of Bob Marley as a folk musician, in that his lyrics are socially conscious, hopeful and inspiring. The song is a reminder that even when things get dire, now is not the time to sleep." [Listen]

"Diamond Ring" On this cathartic rocker, Crow bemoans the demise of her relationship with Lance Armstrong (and two previously failed engagements) and channels the vocal grit of Melissa Etheridge, belting, "Diamond ring/Fucks up everything." "The diamond ring seems to symbolize so much," she says, "but at the end of the day it doesn't create any type of foundation." [Listen]

"Motivation": Crow takes the current class of dysfunctional Hollywood starlets and trust-fund babies to task on this track. "When I wrote it, I was feeling the deluge of news about Britney, Lindsay, Paris and the Olsens," she says. "Right there is just a wealth of inspiration." Best line? "Daddy pays for the wedding with a fistful of dollars/Cost him as much as the state of Guatemala." [Listen]