Sheryl Crow Celebrates '100 Miles' Release With 'Live on Letterman' Performance

For the Tuesday release of her Stax-inspired record '100 Miles to Memphis,' Sheryl Crow stayed after her 'Late Show With David Letterman' taping to play a live set for CBS' recently launched 'Live on Letterman' series. A few months ago, Spinner caught MGMT in the same setup, but rarely does Crow play with a full band in such a small atmosphere. (Watch Crow's performance here.)

As expected, Crow's jazzed about her new material and 10-piece backing band that features a small horn section and two additional backing vocalists. She needs something this big, as that classic R&B sound of '100 Miles' certainly drifts away from the more pop-rock oriented arrangements of her recent records.

Opening her 45-minute set with 'Our Love Is Fading,' Crow's voice complimented this sound extremely well. From there, she explored a few old singles, 'A Change Would Do You Good' and 'Every Day Is a Winding Road' from her 1996 eponymous album, the former sounding like it was just recorded with this new batch.

Midway through, Crow pulled out the poppiest song of the new batch, lead single 'Summer Day,' an ode to, well, summer days. She heavily emphasized the track's carefree nature, introducing it as a song that'll make you "forget about the oil spill for four minutes." Other highlights include the Terence Trent D'Arby song 'Sign Your Name' and the Jackson 5 classic 'I Want You Back,' a double homage, not only to her mentor Michael Jackson but to the classic Motown soul sound he cultivated back in the late '60s. Both cover tunes appear on '100 Miles,' with the Jackson 5 song appearing as a bonus track on selected versions.

After a few more TV spots this week, Crow's tour starts Aug. 11 in Rama, Ontario at the Casino Rama Entertainment Centre. From there she hits up theaters and amphitheaters throughout August and September, with high profile gigs slated for Red Rocks in Colorado, Radio City Music Hall and Nashville's historic Ryman Theater.

Watch Sheryl Crow's full 'Live on Letterman' performance here.