There are very few remaining artists who can really showcase true talent and acclaim while still making an impact on the charts. Shery Crow is one of these very few. Since her 1993 breakthrough debut album "Tuesday Night Music Club," she has proven time and time again that women can really make it big in this business. She is a critics-darling with ordinary looks and an average voice, but strap a guitar on her, and she'll prove why she's lasted for ten years in this tough and competitive world of music.

"The Very Best Of" is the most essential collection package you will come across all year, with ten years' worth of awesome lyrics, catchy melodies and superb production. It has wisely not been called Greatest Hits, because anyone will tell you that the songs in Sheryl's career have been a little hit-and-miss. However, when Sheryl has a hit on her hands, she knows it and so does the world. How many times has your local radio station played a Sheryl Crow song to death in the mid-Nineties? It happened over and over for years, and when looking back, it's not hard to understand why.

Her debut album provided Sheryl with the mammoth classic "All I Wanna Do," which starts off this compilation. Perhaps Sheryl's best-known song, this is a country/rock anthem that is quite literally one of the all-time great songs. Another three songs from that particularly vivid debut album follow, in the form of "Leaving Las Vegas," "Strong Enough," and "I Shall Believe." The first two were big hits, while the latter is more of a crowd-pleaser that always gets fans going at her live shows. No less than four singles from Sheryl's self-titled sophomore masterpiece from the fall 1996 dominate the album. These four singles are truly the best of Sheryl, and are worth alone the price of this album! The first song from that second album is "Everyday Is A Winding Road," which was one of the most heavily-spinned songs of that awesome decade, while "If It Makes You Happy" is one of the greatest and heaviest rock anthems I've ever heard. "A Change Would Do You Good" was another huge hit, and with a guitar melody that borders on insanely-catchy, it's not hard to see why! "Home" rounds off the collection of hits from the self-titled album, and it's a beautiful country ballad where even Sheryl's vocals seem whispered.

We get only three songs from Sheryl's third album "The Globe Sessions," which is a bit of a disappointment because the songs from that album were all utterly awesome. "My Favourite Mistake" is the lead single, and it's just a stripped-down rock song, with rough and raw vocals and a beautiful chorus that warms the heart. "The Difficult Kind" is Sheryl's most criminally-underrated song ever. This is a masterpiece in ever sense of the word - listen and be amazed. "There Goes The Neighborhood" is one of Sheryl's most up-tempo tracks ever. The jazz-force is high on this classy and zesty number where Sheryl lets it all hang out. We get two songs from Sheryl's latest studio album "C'mon, C'mon," which is a bit of a blessing in disguise as that wasn't her best album. "Soak Up The Sun" was the summer tune of 2002, and had everyone grooving, while "Steve McQueen" is a firm fan favourite.

This brings us to the latest new material that features on here. Firstly we have a cover of the Cat Stevens classic "The First Cut Is The Deepest." This version has flopped in the UK, barely scraping the Top 40, but it's very underrated in my eyes. "Light In My Eyes" is another new song just for this album, and it really is Grammy-worthy. This takes Sheryl right back to her roots, with a catchy melody and brilliant lyrics. "Let's Get Free" closes the album, but it's a bit of a poor song which I feel should have been left off the album. "Picture" is Sheryl's mammoth duet with Kid Rock from last year, and it's also included on here.

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10

Sheryl Crow's "The Very Best Of" is my tip for the best 'greatest hits' package of 2003. Fans and casual listeners have been waiting ages for this, and it's finally arrive in such a grand way. All of Sheryl's biggest hits from the past ten years (and then some!) are included for your listening pleasure. Once you finish listening to this, you'll not only feel compelled to buy all of Sheryl's amazing studio albums if you don't already own them, but you'll feel certain that this rock Goddess has a long and shining career ahead of her. With a new studio album due in 2005, the only way is up for Sheryl Crow! She hasn't faltered yet. Her albums just gets better and better, and I feel certain that Sheryl will maintain this in the remainder of her career.

Here is the tracklist:
1)All i wanna do-from Tuesday night music club
2)Soak up the sun-from C'mon C'mon
3)My favorite mistake-from The globe sessions
4)The first cut is the deepest-previously unreleased
5)Everyday is a winding road-from Sheryl Crow
6)Leaving Las Vegas-from Tuesday night music club
7)Strong enough-from Tuesday night music club
8)Light in your eyes-previously unreleased
9)If it makes you happy-from Sheryl Crow
10)The difficult kind-from The globe sessions

11)Picture(with Kid Rock)-from Kid rock's Cocky
12)Steve McQueen-from C'Mon C'Mon
13)A change would do you good-from Sheryl Crow
14)Home-from Sheryl Crow
15)There goes the neighborhood-from the Globe sessions
16)I shall believe-from Tuesday night music club
17)The first cut is the deepest-Country version-previously unreleased

So I was only 8 years old when Sheryl released "All I Wanna Do" from the Tuesday Night Music Club album. I remember the summer of 1993 well, and that song is one of those which sparks memories of where you were and what you were doing. A lot of radio play, maybe? Or the video? I don't know. But Sheryl's music and sound is definitely signature. This Very Best Of collection brings some of her hits together with some relatively lesser known songs. Conveniently included is information about each song's achievements and placing on the charts. If you want the hits, get this album.

However, I love reviewing Greatest Hits and Best Of collections because they are never complete (except for maybe this new Eagles collection they have out). "Can't Cry Anymore" and "Anything But Down" are missing, replaced by "The Difficult Kind" and "There Goes the Neighborhood." I'd prefer the former two over the latter two. "Picture" should stay with Kid Rock's music, but it would have been cool to see "You're an Original" on here instead (and C'mon C'mon). Wouldn't mind including her version of "D'yer Maker" as well. Thus concludes my random thoughts on this album. Thank you.

Let me preface this with the following. There are few things that irritate me more than a biased, overzealous, gushing review based simply on a fans adoration for an artist. I find myself in dangerously close proximity to writing something that will come off as such, since it seems that all I can do is gush over this release. Bear with me.

Few artists receive a fair balance of critical acclaim and commerical success, especially within such a short amount of time, but since her 1994 breakthrough with the hit single "All I Wanna Do", Sheryl Crow has continued to surprise and delight listeners with each new release. 'The Very Best Of' is both a reminder of what has been and a preview of what's to come.

Released in 1993, her debut album 'Tuesday Night Music Club' got off to a slow start, and it wasn't until the following summer that Sheryl began assaulting stores, radio and MTV with a steady stream of singles that were at both catchy and smart. The majority of these songs (and then some) are found on 'The Very Best Of Sheryl Crow'.

From 1993's 'Tuesday Night Music Club':
The most impressive thing about these (and all of the other tracks found on this collection) is how fresh they still sound. The only warps in time the songs present are based on the listeners own memories, and not the production itself. Few Greatest Hits packages can pull off the same feat.

"Leaving Las Vegas", "All I Wanna Do" and "Strong Enough" have all become signature songs, and were huge hits with both heavy radio and video rotation all throughout 1994 and 1995, while "I Shall Believe" was a live favorite with an equally powerful studio version. It's inclusion here is treat for both fans who have listened to it 10,000+ times, and for casuals who may have never heard it before.

From 1996's 'Sheryl Crow':
This essential release provided a heavy dose of hit singles in the form of "If It Makes You Happy", "Everyday Is A Winding Road", and "A Change Would Do You Good". "Home" was a minor hit that seems to be mentioned most often when people are pressed to select a favorite Sheryl Crow song. All releases from this era have equally brilliant videos.

From 1998's 'The Globe Sessions':
The moody "My Favorite Mistake" continued Sheryl's hit parade, while "There Goes The Neighborhood" and "The Difficult Kind" are two of the best songs recorded during 'The Globe Sessions'.

From 2002's 'C'mon, C'mon':
Is there anyone who hasn't heard "Soak Up The Sun"? Now a signature song, "SUTS" revisits the sunny side of Sheryl, and more importantly became the official backdrop of summer 2002. "Steve McQueen" is another one of those great songs that sticks with you long after you first hear it.

Also found on 'The Very Best Of' are 4 previously unavailable tracks. First up is "Picture", a duet with Kid Rock, and her most recent hit...you couldn't turn on the radio this summer without hearing it.

"Light In Your Eyes" and (count 'em) two versions of the new single "The First Cut Is The Deepest" round out the CD, and give us something to look foward to in 2004 when Ms. Crow releases her next proper studio album.

One of the Top 20 must-have CD's of all time.

Despite a slightly disappointing effort on Sheryl Crow's 2002 release C'mon C'mon, I was still eager to snap up her first greatest hits package, The Very Best Of Sheryl Crow. If there were any one song that made me move more quickly to buy the CD, it was the now-classic "Picture" with Kid Rock. I could finally listen to the song whenever I wanted without having to go buy a Kid Rock CD.

Since I already own everything by Crow except for Tuesday Night Music Club, I have already heard many of the songs before. No matter. This record makes it easy for me to have many of my favorite Sheryl songs without having to go though the trouble of burning a CD. In addition, her cover of the Cat Stevens classic "The First Cut Is The Deepest" and her new song "Light In Your Eyes" also added to the value of actually buying a CD.

Let's get away from discussing "The First Cut Is The Deepest" for a moment. "Light In Your Eyes" is a better song for Crow because it was one that she wrote, and it adds something to the sunnier side of her songwriting catalog, which has been sorely lacking when compared to the mostly darker edge that has tinged many of her more recent lyrics.

This collection isn't perfect. Did we really need TWO versions of "The First Cut Is The Deepest" with the "country version" not sounding very different from the other version? Where was "Anything But Down"? Where was one of her collaborations with idol and close friend Stevie Nicks? Where was "Am I Getting Through" Parts 1 & 2? Even her cover of "Sweet Child O' Mine" would have been a welcome addition to this collection. But there was more that Crow got right than otherwise, and this is definitely a worthwile addition to your music collection.