Sheryl Crow Album, Hits Due

First Sheryl Crow has a greatest hits collection and a series of benefit appearances on the schedule, but she has begun testing out songs for the follow-up to last year's C'mon, C'mon. Crow plans to begin recording the as-yet-untitled album early next year.

In the meantime, the sixteen-track Best of Sheryl Crow will be released November 4th. In addition to such hits as "All I Wanna Do," "Favorite Mistake," "If It Makes You Happy," "Winding Road" and "Leaving Las Vegas," the compilation will feature her recently recorded cover of Cat Stevens' "First Cut is the Deepest" and her hit collaboration with Kid Rock on his song "Picture."

Crow will shoot the video for "First Cut" on Thursday and Friday in Nevada's Valley of Fire State Park with Wayne Isham, who also directed her clip for "Steve McQueen."

Crow plans to perform a few more U.S. concerts before year's end, following a string of benefit shows. First up is Farm Aid 2003 this Sunday at the Germain Amphitheater in Columbus, Ohio, where she will perform alongside Neil Young, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Brooks and Dunn, Hootie and the Blowfish, Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois and Vanessa Carlton.

Crow gets charitable again on October 4th in Las Vegas for the Andre Agassi Grand Slam for Children fundraiser, where she will perform with Faith Hill, Billy Joel, Elton John, Dennis Miller and Robin Williams. Then November 9th she'll headline the Texas Stampede rodeo and concert series in Dallas, which benefits the Dallas Children's Medical Center.

She will also show up next year in the cast of De-Lovely, a musical biopic of American songwriting legend Cole Porter. Crow will perform "Begin the Beguine" in the film, which also features Alanis Morissette on "Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Love," Elvis Costello performing "Let's Misbehave" and Robbie Williams singing "It's De-Lovely."

The Best of Sheryl Crow track listing:

All I Wanna Do
Soak Up the Sun
Favorite Mistake
First Cut Is the Deepest
Leaving Las Vegas
Strong Enough
Light in Your Eyes
If It Makes You Happy
Winding Road
Picture
Difficult Kind
Steve McQueen
Change Will Do You Good
Home
There Goes the Neighborhood
I Shall Believe

GIL KAUFMAN
(September 4, 2003)