Conference mr1pst::music

    My wife is a new fan, and I like what I've heard.  We saw Michelle
    Shocked on Austin City Limits (followed by Guy Clark BTW, fine show!).
    I picked up a tape of "Short Sharp Shocked", which we like.

    I'd be interested in any comments more knowledgeable fans might have
    about the relative merits of her albums...  - Jay

I like Short Sharp Shocked the best of Michelle's
3 albums so far.  The Texas Campfire Tapes is just
Michelle and her guitar playing before a Walkman
recorder at Kerrville, and it's a fine album as well.
Captain Swing adds a big-band swing arrangement to
the songs.  It's a decent album, but I liked the live
show much better.

I've seen her in concert twice and both times were
great.  The first time was just her and her guitar
at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston, a hall
with maybe 1,500 seats?  I've never seen an solo
guitarist totally take over an audience in a place
that large before - an absolutely incredible show.
With the Captain Swing tour she had a large band
with her, and people were dancing in the aisles
for most of the show.  Totally different from the
previous tour, but just as enjoyable.  Unfortunately
I missed her tour this year, playing her Arkansas
Traveler material from her upcoming album.  All
reports are that this was another fantastic show,
and it looks to be a great album when released
sometime this year.

    
    
     re. last one
    
    
     I've got a tape of that Berklee show lying around somewhere.
    I'll have to try and find it.
    
    
     -Steve S.

At her show at Sander's Theater around Thanksgiving, she said her
new album, Arkansas somthinornother, would be out in March.
She and her band got a studio loaded into an 18 wheeler &
went cross country & sang songs with all of her favorite artists.
The new songs were solid.  From their performance on stage,
I guess that the album will have lots of hillbilly/country feel to it.

Her comment about ``Anchorage'', ``Anchored down with ankle weights''
left me rolling.

I hope her anticensorship song gets lots of radio play;
She sang it twice.  Between the first and second times, she
pointed out the raft of things you can't say on TV buried
in the sylables.

She talked a bit about living in LA & her and her boyfriend (fiancee??).

It was a really excelent show, though I had just about the worst
seat in the whole theater.

Roland.

    Not to be mean, but....I was curious about her music so a friend taped
    a few of her songs for me, and....I think she has a horrible sounding
    voice!  I'm amazed she's famous!  
    
    Lorna
    

    Lorna,
    
         It would seem that way.  Most I know people love her or hate her.  
    Not a lot of in-betweens.  :-) 
    
                                                       Capt. Scott

Which songs did you hear?  I think Michelle's voice
has gotten better over each of her albums.  Unfortunately,
the album where she sings the best (Captain Swing) is the
least interesting musically, in my opinion.

So you still may not like her music, but don't judge her
singing just from The Texas Campfire Tapes...

    Anybody (besides me) got the new release yet?  It's called "Arkansas
    Traveler" and it's a real clean recording, DDD as a matter of fact.  I
    don't know how to describe it.  In a way, it very reminicient (sp?) of
    Depression Era type stuff.  You'd have to read the liner notes and
    decide for yourself.  Has some good comments about what she had
    intended to do with the CD and how she was gonna be on the cover with
    blackface make-up.  She decided to bow to the PC crowd and not do that
    because she felt sure that it would be mis-interpreted.  She also urges
    you to read a book that goes into detail about the history of
    minstrels.  I like most it and musically it's very competent.  I think
    it'll have to grow on me more though.  Lotsa guests artists, too.  What
    do y'all think?
    
                                                            Capt. Scott
                   

 Didn't have to grow on me...I loved it at first listen.






 Jim

re. .8

>>  Traveler" and it's a real clean recording, DDD as a matter of fact.  I


She's come a long way from the "Texas Campfire Tapes" hasn't she.

Walker

    You aren't kidding!  I think that release was bootlegged by someone in
    Europe and she didn't even know about til she was in England and just
    happened to hear it.  That's the way I heard it.
    
    So far, "Jump Jim Crow" and "Hold me Back" are my faves.  Man, that
    lady can sing!
    
                                                       Capt. Scott

    Well, I finally got a copy of this album that will play in my CD
    player.  First time in hundreds of CD's that 2 discs had the same
    identical problem - a skip at 1:05 in the first tune.  After waiting a
    month it looks like I managed to get a CD from a different batch which
    has no such problem.
    
    The wait was worth it, because this is a wonderful album.  My current
    favorite is "Come a Long Way", but "Hold Me Back" is up there too, and
    the whole album just sounds wonderful.  Of course, given the guest
    artists (Doc Watson, Taj Mahal, Hothouse Flowers, and lots, lots
    more), I was hoping that would be the case!  This is one of the top two
    albums I would recommend as a starting point for her music: try this
    one for a folkier album, or "Short Sharp Shocked" for a more pop album. 
    And it's nice to have an hour-long album from Michelle for a change,
    instead of those short half-hour albums she's made up until now.

RE:                <<< Note 137.12 by PIPE::GOOD "Michael Good" >>>
                      -< Arkansas Traveler is excellent! >-

   > Well, I finally got a copy of this album that will play in my CD
   > player.  First time in hundreds of CD's that 2 discs had the same
   > identical problem - a skip at 1:05 in the first tune.  After waiting a
    


    Hmmm...I know a number of people (including myself) that ran into this 
    problem at the same place (1:05)..




 Jim

    I'm with Michael on this one.  One of the very best CDs I've bought
    this year.  Some very clever lyrics and some outstanding guitar and
    fiddle work.
    
    The title cut is a riot.
    
    Mark.

    I have the skip at 1:05 too - is anyone accepting exchanges for it
    without a receipt?
    
    Scott
    

    
    	I got a copy of Arkansas Traveler on the way home from work
    	Friday. I have relied on this conference a lot for comments
    	about groups, singers, etc. which I am not familiar with. 
    
    	Well... I sure was 'shocked'. I can listen and enjoy almost any
    	type of music... but the 'yee haa' straw hat, barn music on this
    	cd got old... REAL fast. I think it was Stawberry Jam.. or
    	something like that when both my wife and I looked at each other
    	and said.. 'I've had enough'...
    
    	I the put some real music on... Gary Moore... 'Still Got The
        Blues'. 
    
    	Shocked.. may not get another chance on my CD player!
    
    		Jerry
    
    

    Which is precisely what I find so appealing about Michelle Shocked. 
    She's willing to experiment with different material.
    
    What does Gary Moore do that Jeff Healy, Eric Johnson (I still can't
    tell the difference between Moore's latest and "STill Got the Blues for
    You" by EJ), Elvin Bishop, and many other blues artists can't do?
    
    BTW, Michelle Shocked is listed as performing this summer at Club
    Casino in Hampton NH, but isn't scheduled yet.  I'll post a date as
    soon as I find out.  Los Lobos and Bruce Cockburn have yet to be
    schedule but are also listed.
    
    
    Mark.

    "Still Got The Blues" *was* doen by Gary Moore, not Eric Johnson. 
    Maybe that's why they sound so similar to you ...  8^)
    
    Jerry

    Perhaps that's why I get them confused.
    
    Mark.

    
    	EJ sounds like Gary Moore?  
    
    	Get real.

    My point is that there are only so many variationsof the basic 12-bar
    blues arrangement.  I like the blues style of music as much as anyone,
    but I have a soft spot for people (a la Joe Jackson, Michelle Shocked,
    and to a lesser point, even Sting) who are willing to try different
    things.
    
    Mark.

Twelve-bar blues variations from my mental collection:

	Hungarian gypsy band in a spy movie

	Duke Ellington's Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue

	"Shake Rattle and Roll" by Big Joe Turner

	"Parker's Mood" by Charlie Parker

	"Blue Suede Shoes" 

	"Further on up the road" by Bobby Blue Bland

And not a one of them sounds like Gary Moore.

Not to mention 8-bar blues, 16-bar blues, blues ballands, blues-based
pop songs, gospel songs, hillbilly music, western swing, Chuck Berry,
and about nine jillion blues exponents who are -- Imagine! -- not even
British.

And, please don't mention Stink in any more notes discussing the blues.

         The point being is that most of the artists mentioned thus far 
    stick pretty much to one genre and to some people that can get kinda stale. 
    Sorta opposite of the I-like-their-old-stuff-not-the-new-syndrome.  To
    give ya an idea of Michelle's musical prowess:
    
    "The Texas Campfire Songs" - Recorded on a portable machine without her
    knowledge and released ill-legally in Europe.  Music sounds like the
    title.
    
    "Short, Sharp, Shocked" - Folksy kinda thing with some excellent acoutic
    blues guitar riffs.  And the alternative tune at the end.
    
    "Captain Swing" - Aptly titled, because swing it does with a good dose
    of orchestration and some cool horns.  Still, this woman can play a
    guitar.
    
    "The Arkansas Traveler" - A back to her roots kinda thang with the
    first two tunes being very soulful and modern.  The rest being a mix of 
    celtic, applachian, and folk styles with lotsa guest artists.
    
         Now maybe I described some of these incorrectly with respect to a
    particular genre, but I think you can see that this lady is anything
    but stale.   Not many artists are willing to experiment that much.  But
    I digress (after all that typing), it comes down to a matter of taste.
    
    Capt. Scott
                                 

    Thanks Scott, for eloquently stating what I tried to say.
    
    Mark.

    
    	To each there own in music taste... but I like new and different
    	stuff... if it's good! If you simply want to hear something
    	different and not care about the music.. Michelle Shocked will
    	work... It (Arkansas Traveler) sounds like a bunch of people in
    	a barn with fiddles, and all kind of makeshift instruments, having
    	a good time... nothing wrong with that, except I don't expect to
    	pay top CD proces for it. 
    	
    	        Smitty 

       I'll have to bring in the liner notes and we'll go over these
    makeshift instruments and the artists.  Yeee Haa, indeed.
    
    Capt. Scott

    Guess I should have mentioned in my review that if you have a serious
    allergy to bluegrass-type music, you should probably skip this album.
    I guess I thought folks knew it's basically a collection of Michelle's
    favorite fiddle tunes in her own treatments, with new lyrics and
    arrangements.  If you can't stand fiddles, steer clear.  Bluegrass
    isn't my favorite style of music but I still like this album.
    
    Smitty, do you not even like "Come A Long Way" on this album?  It's the
    least fiddle-like, most pop-sounding song on the album, and the closest
    to the rest of Michelle's music.  I don't think it's safe to generalize
    from disliking Arkansas Traveler to disliking Michelle Shocked's music,
    since this album is very different from her others.  If you like "Come
    A Long Way" as a single and want more in that style, try "Short Sharp
    Shocked".  But I can understand if you might want to try some other 
    artists first...

    I'll have to listen to 'Come A Long Way' and the last 4-5 cuts. I
    really do like all types of music, and will listen again to this
    CD. Maybe I will like some of the cuts the second time around. 
    
    I look to this conference to get introduced to artists that I am
    not familiar with, and *really* appreciate the reviews in here,
    please keep it up. Perhaps I will try an earlier CD by Shocked at
    some time. 
    
    	Smitty
    

    I first became exposed to M.S. listening to Dick Pleasant's Sunday
    afternoon (folk) radio program on WGBH-FM in Boston.  She is not the
    kind of artist that one is likely to draw an immediate liking to; it's
    better if she sneaks up on you, and a few days later you wonder what it
    was that sounds so good...
    
    Once you recognize her musical talent, even genius, you realize that
    she has certain roots but unpredictable --- and even uncategorizable
    --- branches.
    
    Of all of the albums (4) that she has out, I think that the 2nd one,
    Short Sharp Shocked, is the most approachable.  But I think that a
    forced listening will fail; you need to listen the first few times
    while doing something else.  I will say though that if you have no folk
    or bluegrass or even blues roots yourself, you will be less likely to
    appreciate what she is doing.
    \Gary