I'm Not Perfect

From bridge-and-tunnel Brooklyn, a far more lively Sheryl Crow album than Sheryl's managed lately. Opener "My Big O (I Can)" is a little-train-that-could, if you catch my drift, with Johanna doing a decent Steven Tyler. The tap-dancey alley-cat rhythm of "I'm Not Perfect" (a Rickie Lee or Norah Jones move?) and George Michael Diddleybeats of "Nothing I Would Change" nicely change the pace. And even the songs with miserable words don't sound miserable, because the production duo YelloPop bop out full-on late '60s bubblegum-soul bass and drum beats — most notably in the number where Johanna falls for the bartender.