'Wildflower' too flowery, not wild enough

Adventures in music work in one of two ways: pass or fail. Sometimes they pass, like when Bob Dylan went electric or when Green Day made a rock opera. But most of the time they fail, which is the verdict that must be delivered for Sheryl Crow's latest album, Wildflower; a disappointedly ballad-laden effort that is too flowery and simply not wild enough.\nFor her fifth studio release, we're given a collection of quickly forgettable tracks laced with a muffled string section, and Crow's reedy voice scratching to reach impossibly high notes. While I always say never judge an album by its radio single, the radio-friendly song "Good Is Good" is a good starting point for Wildflower. If you've heard the single permeating the airwaves and do not want to shove cotton into your ear canals, you might possibly enjoy the rest of Wildflower. If you're like me and can't change the station quick enough, it's a harbinger for things to come on the album. \nThe main problem with Wildflower is its catatonic state. The liveliest Crow gets is on the quasi-techno track "Live It Up," even though it's about as lively as John Kerry ever was on the campaign trail. The album's only endearing track, "Where Has All the Love Gone," is reminiscent of George Harrison -- and it happens to be the last track. Needless to say, there's little point in listening that far.\nAll of this is of course a shame, because Crow used to be a rocker of high caliber in the 1990s. With her self-titled album and The Globe Sessions, both of which won Grammys for Best Rock Album, she proved she could pen smart lyrics and play a sharp guitar. Once the new millennium came about though, I'm not sure what happened to her. (I think it'd be unfair to lay blame on her beau, Lance Armstrong. But, hey, she does dedicate the record to him in the liner notes.)\nAfter the momentous pop-flop that was Crow's 2002 album C'mon, C'mon -- with the utterly annoying single "Soak Up The Sun" -- you'd think she wouldn't be so eager to cross genres again. From the way she's been singing lately, you almost wouldn't know she's an established queen of women rockers. \nWhen she ventures back into the studio after she's done licking her wounds, here's hoping she remembers her albums are historically better when they rock a little harder.