Like scores of rock and pop artists, Sheryl Crow knows that the days when her albums routinely sold several million copies are over.
With the increase in music downloading and file sharing, record sales are down significantly in every genre. So Crow no longer expects to get her songs played on commercial radio, and she has found that satellite radio and National Public Radio are her main outlets for airplay.
"I think pop radio is very driven by beats, by young artists, a lot of dance music, a lot of rap — well not rap, I guess, but R&B," Crow said in a phone in advance of her upcoming show in Boston. "It's just a different time. It's about what sells, and it's much more difficult to get on pop radio."
For her, Crow said, the best strategy is simply to stay true to her earthy brand of pop music and the heartfelt lyrics that populate her songs.
"The best I can do is make records that matter to me, that I think have integrity, and just trust that there will always be a need for singer-songwriters," she said.
Crow certainly follows that mission on "Detours," her latest CD that is widely reported to be the most personal and outspoken record of her career.
"Detours" comes after a challenging three-year period that saw Crow's much-publicized romance with cyclist Lance Armstrong end in early 2006, followed just days later by the news that she had breast cancer and needed to undergo surgery followed by radiation treatment.
On the brighter side, last year Crow, 46, adopted a baby boy, Wyatt. She's relishing her life as a mother, she said.
"I couldn't even begin to know that it was going to be as wonderful as it is," Crow said. "It just makes every day like Christmas. I wake up in the morning and I can't wait for him to wake up, or he wakes me up and I run up and get him. Yeah, it's a wonderful experience."
One factor in her decision to adopt was her breast cancer ordeal.
"It's just one of those things that after the experience of having breast cancer, I felt like this is something I really want and I would be a great mom," she said.
Her treatment was successful and she has been cancer-free for nearly three years. But the diagnosis and treatment period rocked her world. Rather than shutting herself off from the feelings, fears and her pain, though, she decided to face her emotions head on and step back to take stock of her life.
"So that's what I did for those seven weeks, eight weeks, few months," she said. "I really took into consideration how I'd gotten to where I was and what I wanted to do from that moment forward."
Many of her self-discoveries can be found in the lyrics of songs on "Detours," a record that finds her reunited with producer/songwriting collaborator Bill Bottrell for the first time since her triple-Grammy-winning 1993 debut CD, "Tuesday Night Music Club."
Other songs on "Detours" deal with her social and political concerns. "Gasoline" is a futuristic tale of oil and greed. "Peace Be Upon Us" laments the misguided motivations of war. And several songs (including "Motivation" and "God Bless This Mess") touch on the idea that people have become too distracted with their own lives and pursuits to care about the problems of world.
Crow is clearly pleased with how "Detours" turned out and plans to showcase a healthy chunk of the new material in her live shows.
"We will definitely do a lot of familiar stuff, and a fair amount of the new stuff just because it's so timely and it's so far really translating well live," said Crow, who noted she is touring with the largest band she's used in years, complete with a pair of backing vocalists.
As for one other rumored live venture — touring with Fleetwood Mac, perhaps as soon as next spring — Crow said her participation isn't as certain as press accounts suggest.
"I'm not really sure how that rumor got started," Crow said. "I don't know how my quote got attached to me that we were definitely doing it. That's not the case. Nothing's been planned. It's fun to get together and talk about things, but we haven't gone any further than that."
That's not to say she doesn't find the prospect appealing, said Crow, who is good friends with Stevie Nicks.
"I'm a huge fan (of Fleetwood Mac)," she said. "I'm just a massive fan, and I love working with Stevie. And I'll just leave it at that."
If you go
What: Sheryl Crow with James Blunt and Toots and The Maytals
When: 7 p.m., Wednesday, July 30
Where: Bank Of America Pavilion, 290 Northern Ave., Boston
How: Tickets cost $66, $51, $36. Call 617-728-1600 or visit www.livenation.com/venue/getvenue/venueld/496.
