The Sting

During 1987-9 Crow was engaged as a backing singer on Michael Jackson's huge 'Bad' world tour , and worked in a similar capacity for other major artists including George Harrison, Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, Bonnie Raitt and Don Henley; the latter claimed she's one of the best female singers there is right now, period, bar none. Sheryl's own recording career faltered slightly, right at the outset. She secured a recording contract with A&M, but at the last minute her proposed 1992 debut was deemed by the label to not fully represent the woman's talents and the release was cancelled after just a handful of promotional cassettes had been issued - which in turn led to the illegitimate distribution of some highly sought-after bootleg CDs. In retrospect, it is clear that A&M made the right decision. Finally released in August 1993, Sheryl's official debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club was an absolute barnstormer which sold more than six million copies in its first year of release. The album spawned two Billboard Top 5 singles in All I Wanna Do and Strong Enough. Live versions of both songs appear in this concert recording, which draws heavily on this exceptional record. Other highlights are a third single, Run Baby Run (which didn't chart but was a radio hit in several countries), Leaving Las Vegas, and the funky The Na Na Song. The sole cover version is Led Zeppelin's idiosyncratic cod-reggae number D'Yer Maker, a version of which Sheryl later contributed to the Atlantic Records' Zep tribute album Encomium (1995). Completing the set this evening are Love Is A Good Thing (which would finally appear almost two years later on Crow's eponymous sophomore album in 1996) and Volvo Cowgirl 99 (actually a speedier variant of The Na Na Song issued as a the B-side to What I Can Do For You in 1993).