*** Sheryl Crow

THE GLOBE SESSIONS

(A&M)

With her '94 debut, singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow demonstrated that she knew better than the record-company handlers who'd originally commissioned a slicker product from the former Michael Jackson back-up singer, and she got a Grammy for her trouble. With her second -- Sheryl Crow -- she made it clear she could rock with enough gusto to open for the Stones. Which means Crow's reached that point where she's got nothing much left to prove, except perhaps that she's a career artist.

The Globe Sessions -- named for the studio she built for herself in her new home of Manhattan -- accomplishes this goal without breaking a sweat. The overall feel is so confident and relaxed, you're left with the impression that Crow makes roots-pop music the way your mom makes meat loaf for dinner: it's something she's been doing for so long that it just comes naturally, and, hell, people do have to eat. It's not escalopes de veau à l'estragon, but it's good, solid, satisfying comfort food.

The disc's debut single, "My Favorite Mistake," is the kind of seasoned soul vocal Elvis Costello loves to write, simmering against Stonesy syncopated guitars. "There Goes the Neighborhood" is Don Henley's "New York Minute" with a better singer and less heavy-handed social crit. And "Anything But Down" is the sort of moody, mid-tempo, light-touch rock that Tom Petty does so well when Jeff Lynne isn't around. So, no, Crow didn't invent the recipe, but she personalizes it like a pro.

-- Matt Ashare