The Hit Farm in Nashville, Odditorium Recorders in California, Sage and Sound Studios in Hollywood, Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, The Pass Studios in Los Angeles, and 2 Seas Records in Bahrain
The album peaked at number two in the United States, becoming Crow's third consecutive album to do so, and sold over 700,000 copies worldwide up to 2010.[1] It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album on December 4, 2008.[2]
Production
Detours was recorded at Crow's Nashville farm and includes 14 of the 24 songs recorded. The first single from the album, "Shine over Babylon", is a folk-rock anthem. Crow told Billboard in summer 2007 that the song "is very environmentally conscious, in the tradition of Bob Dylan". The single ended up being a radio-airplay release and reached #42 on the Italy Singles Chart and #4 on the BillboardAdult album alternative chart. Crow further stated:
"I'm really encouraging artists to write about what's going on, because we seem to be very distracted by some lightweight topics. I think it's time to start writing about the reality of what's around us."
In additional comments on her website, Crow describes the single as "in every way a desperate cry for understanding. Perhaps it is even a battle song in the face of fear."[3]
In another statement, Crow described the record as "the most honest record I've ever made. It's about being forced to wake up".[4]
The second single culled from the album was "Love Is Free", which, in Crow's own words, was "inspired by [the effect of Hurricane Katrina on] New Orleans. What struck me about it is the stoicism of the New Orleans people, they are very spiritually based. You can see it in their eyes that they aren't going to give up, they are going to rebuild."
So far "Love Is Free" has gained much airplay in the United States and has already begun to enter the Billboard charts: the U.S. Hot 100 (#77), the Canadian Hot 100 (#53) and the Japanese Hot 100 (#10).
Perhaps coincidentally, while the New Orleans-inspired single was distributed and its allusions were noted by Crow during appearances on American television, the album itself was released on the day of the 2008 New Orleans Mardi Gras.
"Motivation" was released as a radio-single only and peaked at #14 on the Billboard Triple A chart in the US. The title track, "Detours", charted at #13 in the US after Crow performed it on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Brian MacLeod – percussion, drums, sampling, drum programming
Alex Pavlides – assistant engineer
Julian Peploe – art direction, package design
Mike Rowe – flute sample
Norman Jean Roy – photography
Doug Sax – mastering
Marva Soogrim – vocals
Zeph Sowers – assistant engineer
Jeremy Stacey – piano, drums, timbales, vocals, kalimba
Shari Sutcliffe – contractor
Matt Tait – engineer
Ken Takahashi – assistant engineer
Jeff Trott – acoustic guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar, vocals, choir, chorus, slide guitar
Scooter Weintraub – management
Pam Wertheimer – management
David Allen Young – assistant engineer
Release history and chart performance
Detours debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 92,000 copies in its first week and an additional 52,000 copies in its second week.[16] As of May 26, 2010, the album had sold 405,000 copies in the US.[17]
