[8] The album was a commercial success and produced several hit singles, including "All I Wanna Do", "Strong Enough", and "Leaving Las Vegas".

Crow offhandedly agreed with the host when she was asked if the track was autobiographical, even though it was primarily written by Baerwald and based on the book of the same name by his friend John O'Brien.

[7] As a result, several members of the Tuesday Music Club group felt betrayed, and O'Brien himself committed suicide three weeks later.

"[7] Work on the new album began at Toad Hall in Pasadena, California, the same studio where Tuesday Night Music Club was recorded, but sessions were then relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana because Crow "was feeling ghosts in that room".

[7] Bottrell was designated to produce the record and co-wrote three songs that would appear on the album, but eventually left because he could not sort out his differences with Crow.

[1] Unlike its predecessor, it also features a more off-balance production and a richer instrumentation,[1] with "lots of fuzz, wurlitzer, hammond, moog.

[16] For example, "Home" is a folk ballad where Crow recounts the emotional difficulties of a deteriorating relationship,[17] while "Superstar" deals with a woman fantasizing about stardom.

[18] The opening track, "Maybe Angels", was described as "a cryptic ode to UFOs and government conspiracies that plays like an X-Files theme song.

"[16] Crow explained that the song is "an extraterrestrial yarn that finds Kurt Cobain joining John Lennon in heaven's winged choir".

[7] The song was later covered by Johnny Cash, appearing on his 2010 posthumous record American VI: Ain't No Grave.

[22] According to musician Jeff Trott, who co-wrote the song along with Crow, "It started off as a twangy, David Lynch-esque sort of thing.

"[22] Trott initially wrote the song when he was a member of Pete Droge's backing band, but Crow added a second verse and strengthened the melody.

Eric Weisbard of Spin praised the album's production, stating that the record "goes much further" than its predecessor and that its "bigger beats and dirtier guitar/keyboard effects [work] well with Crow's literate hippie-chick persona".

[15] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly stated similar pros, commenting: "If there's such a thing as a professional lo-fi album, Sheryl Crow is it.

[16] Writing for The Baltimore Sun, J. D. Considine praised Crow's vocals, especially on "If It Makes You Happy", which he felt was probably the album's best song.

[49] In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau quipped that the album was indebted to "not just Alanis but Tchad",[50] later giving it a "one-star honorable mention" grade.

It may not be as hip or innovative as, say, the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique, but it is as self-referential, pop culture obsessed, and musically eclectic.