Sheryl Crow belts out a song at Casino Rama last night. (Dominic Chan, WENN.COM)

RAMA, Ont. - While Sheryl Crow made her mark with a healthy batch of Southern-tinged rock songs, her new album at times makes it seem she’s attempting to become a new member of George Clinton’s Parliament Funkadelic.

RAMA Such was the case during her tour launch Wednesday evening before a close to sold-out Casino Rama crowd in support of 100 Miles From Memphis, a far more groovy, soulful sound than any material found on earlier records like The Globe Sessions and her self-titled effort.

The end result was a few numbers striking gold, a few missing the mark entirely and others still a work in progress in a live setting.

Backed by a 10-piece supporting band dubbed The Thieves – which included acclaimed guitarist Doyle Bramhall II (who co-produced 100 Miles From Memphis) – Crow kicked off the 20-song set with the punchy, brassy Our Love Is Fading. A small object descended from the rafters spelling out LOVE but looked more like Spinal Tap’s disastrous Stonehenge model.

“How is everybody doing in Toronto?” Crow, 48, asked prior to A Change Would Do You Good, the first of a handful of older hits she doled out. Yet like most of the songs, this one underwent some reworking in the vein of classic James Brown funk complete with strobe lighting.

Overall, Crow did 11 of 12 songs off 100 Miles From Memphis during the show, with the reggae-laced Eye To Eye not quite hitting its stride despite the singer trying to get the crowd singing along. “I wanna hear all you gamblers sing tonight!” she said, then adding maybe a few more drinks were required to loosen them up.

It also took a while for some of the tunes to find their stride, only truly coming to life after Bramhall and the quasi-Noah’s Ark crew (two drummers, two horn players, two guitarists and two backing female vocalists) jammed them out. This was especially true of the title track and the politically charged Say What You Want as Crow got her groove on.

But there were others which definitely soared, particularly the gospel-blues-roots blend on the solid Long Road Home and Peaceful Feeling, both songs heads and shoulders above the mellow lead single Summer Day that Crow hoped fans were “hearing in the grocery stores around town.”

Seeming a bit more enthused about the new songs, Crow also ran through signatures like the softer Strong Enough, the bouncy Soak Up The Sun, the finely crafted My Favorite Mistake and If It Makes You Happy that had more people streaming up near the stage for.

Despite having a party atmosphere throughout, Crow brought the tone down during the lovely Norah Jones-ish Stop that had her on piano as she was for the show-closer I Shall Believe. Between those tunes it was a funk-fest of sorts as Crow weaved a bit of Marvin Gaye’s Got To Give It Up into All I Wanna Do before covering The Jackson 5’s I Want You Back. The cover was an obvious nod to the late Michael Jackson who Crow was a backup singer for in the late ‘80s.