Not long ago, Sheryl Crow said she had released her final album. Threads, arriving in 2019, was made up of duets with the likes of Stevie Nicks, St Vincent, Neil Young and Chuck D. After that, she said, she would continue to perform and release one-off tracks here and there. It was a strange conclusion for an unstoppable career – just that year, Crow had shone on Glastonbury’s Pyramid stage – and one she happily retracted last year when she announced the release of Evolution, her 11th album, just before her induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Produced by Mike Elizondo (Fiona Apple, 50 Cent, Mastodon) and released on 29 March, Evolution is led by the title track, which lays out Crow’s discomfort about the impact of artificial intelligence. “Stephen Hawking worried that AI would replace humans,” Crow said in a statement. “As a mum, I want to leave a better world for my children, a healthier planet – is AI going to be a benevolent partner in these goals or not? It’s unsettling, and this song deals with those anxieties.”
The song also features Rage Against the Machine guitarist – and fellow 2023 Hall of Fame inductee – Tom Morello. You can ask Crow about her new material, how it feels to play songs from her 1993 debut album Tuesday Night Music Club 30 years on, her guest appearances on TV shows from 30 Rock to Cougar Town, past collaborations with the likes of Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn and Sting, life on her Nashville farm, the sexism she endured early in her career, her staunch friendship with Stevie Nicks – or indeed anything else – when she sits for the Guardian’s reader interview next week.
Post your questions in the comments by noon GMT on Tuesday 30 January, and her answers will be published on 23 February.
