The song features Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello on guitar
Sheryl Crow has released a new single, “Evolution.” The song is the title track off the musician’s forthcoming 11th studio LP, out March 29 via The Valory Music Group, and grapples with the future impact of artificial intelligence on humanity and the planet.
“Stephen Hawking worried that A.I. would replace humans,” Crow said in a statement. “As a mom, I want to leave a better world for my children, a healthier planet — is A.I. going to be a benevolent partner in these goals or not? It’s unsettling, and this song deals with those anxieties.”
Crow recorded the song with Mike Elizondo, who produced the album. It features a memorable guitar solo from Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello.
“I wrote the song with just me on guitar and vocals, sent it to Mike Elizondo and said, this is bigger than me, can you take a crack at it?” Crow explained. “To me, Tom’s playing comes from some other planet. It’s a cool bit of kismet that we were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the same year, and his solo on ‘Evolution’ just ejects you into space.”
Crow previously teased her album with an upbeat single, “Alarm Clock,” which was co-written by Crow with Elizondo and Emily Weisband. The single’s music video arrived earlier this month. The album announcement in November came as a surprise since Crow publicly said she would not release another full-length album after her 2018 effort Threads.
“Everything is more song oriented now with streaming, and making an album is a huge endeavor,” Crow explained in a statement. “I started sending just a couple of demos to Mike, but the songs just kept flowing out of me and it was pretty obvious this was going to be an album.”
The musician was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame late last year. During the ceremony, Crow performed her 1996 hit “If It Makes You Happy” with Olivia Rodrigo and was joined by Stevie Knicks for “Strong Enough.”
