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Short Sharp Shocked

Michelle Shocked - Short Sharp Shocked Audio CD

A fair review of the Michelle Shocked "Short Sharp Shocked" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Michelle Shocked reviews here, or go back to the Michelle Shocked tabs.

Band: Michelle Shocked
Title: Short Sharp Shocked
Rating:

Release Date: 2003-09-23
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: When I Grow Up 2: Hello Hopeville 3: Memories of East Texas 4: (Making the Run To) Gladewater 5: Graffiti Limbo 6: If Love Was a Train 7: Anchorage 8: L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore 9: V.F.D. 10: Black Widow 11: Fog Town 12: When I Grow Up 13: Memories of East Texas [Live] 14: Yamboree Queen [Live] 15: Strawberry Jam 16: Graffitti Limbo 17: If Love Was a Train 18: Anchorage 19: L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore 20: V.F.D. [Live] 21: Black Widow 22: Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight 23: Disoriented 24: Lovely Rita 25: Ballad of Penny Evans 26: Remodeling the Pentagon 27: Fred's Winter Song 28: Prince of Darkness 29: One Piece at a Time 30: 5 A.M. in Amsterdam 31: Campus Crusade 32: Goodnight Irene

Liberal Lezzie ?
Her support of leftist fascists (Pelosi, Ted "Killer" Kennedy, FeinSTEIN, & Barney "Phagg" Frank) who routinely deny others (moderates & conservatives) their right of freedom of speech leads me to endorse censorship of any political/social comments, lyrics or music marketed by this radical, domestic terrorist(ELF/PETA) lover. It disgusts me that music this good comes out of the festering orifice of this carpetmunching, libtard. At one time I listened to the music emanating up to the street from her crooning & guitar playing on a subway platform in NYC's subway system on Manhattans Lower East Side in the mid to late 80's. I now wish some homeless, mentally deranged, minority, who off his court ordered meds had pushed her in front of a train. Feminazi's like this need to have their pants pulled down in public (figuratively) to expose their democracy hating ideologies. I'm not suprised she has embraced our current President, the Mulatto Marionette of The Liberal Left who occupies what has now become "Section 8" Federal Housing @ 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in D. C.

Greatness

Simply put, this is one of my favorite albums of all time. I own the original version of this CD so I can't speak to all the additions, but they sound great and I may eventually buy the new version for all the extras. It's unique. A killer set of songs (I am crazy about most of them) and Michelle Shocked is a stunning performer. I saw her live at a show in Portland many years ago and her voice was just searingly beautiful - in fact based on this album and that performance I'd put her in my top five favorite female vocalists of all time up there with Shelby Lynne, Lucinda Williams, and a few others. She's not just a great songwriter.
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Roots of 'Americana'
Michelle Shocked appeared, pretty much out of nowhere, in the mid-80s after she was "field recorded" at a folk festival on a Sony Walkman (the recording was eventually released as her first album, The Texas Campfire Tapes). Some of the most memorable music from the 1980s, for me at least, stems from this album (and that's perhaps because none of it sounds like the 80s at all). Michelle had a beautiful, blues/country voice, big Dr. Martens boots, skinny jeans, a short haircut and all that mystique of having lived on a houseboat in Holland and as a squatter. She was generally both politically to the far left of the spectrum and very musical at the same time, something I remember finding quite irresistible back in the day.

Short Sharp Shocked, her second record, was a polished affair, as country as it was folk or rock. The opener, "When I Grow Up," has served as my preferred track to test new stereos for years - the rumbling double bass has to be heard to be believed. What makes Michelle Shocked special, though, are her songwriting abilities - and her voice. Pitched slightly deeper than your average country singer from Texas, she had more of the blues (and, perhaps, less of the victim) in her voice. She also sounded much, much wiser and more experienced than her 26 years when Short Sharp Shocked appeared in 1988. The story goes that Michelle Shocked had seen both the inside of a mental institution and traveled the world - both things that come out in the lyrics here.

In a way, Michelle is the fore-runner from "my" generation (who came of age in the 1980s) to prioneer the so-called alt-country movement. Where Dwight Yoakam revolutionized country music by staying firmly in a country idiom, Michelle Shocked re-rooted folk and rock as Americana. Of course, this isn't surprising: Short Sharp Shocked was produced by Pete Anderson, Yoakam's long-time guitar cohort and producer. Listen to "(Making The Run To) Gladewater," where she's a perfect female ringer for Yoakam's California honky tonk. Her country timing is impeccable, and listening to her you know that she's spent countless hours making beer runs on the bumpy backs of pickup trucks across rugged Texas terrain.

Above all, though, Michelle Shocked is about her activism - even her introspection on tracks like the radio single "Anchorage" is essentially commentary on the state of the world. The "Leroy says. . . " sequence in its lyrics is both an indictment of certain life choices and a passionate feminist statement. "Fogtown," the hidden track at the end, establishes her punk cred by virtue of having been recorded with punk band MDC. The original "Fogtown" appeared on Texas Campfire and is a lot gentler, but its re-make here shows Michelle as versatile in the way of a troubadour, a bard for whom the message is what's important, not any false notion of stylistic integrity. (Plus, she always looked more punk than country, anyway. )

Shocked's long journey out of record label 'slavery' is well-documented on Wikipedia and elsewhere. She now owns her complete catalogue and continues to evolve as a musician, regularly releasing the kinds of records she reportedly wanted to make when she was still with a major label - like a gospel CD.

For me, it's a toss-up whether her magnum opus is Short Sharp Shocked or Arkansas Traveler, which features cameos from such luminaries as Uncle Tupelo, Taj Mahal and Clarence Gatemouth Brown. If Shocked is her early work of countrified political activism, Arkansas showcases a more fully-formed Americana renaissance woman who easily collaborates with the previous generation while simultaneously forging a new genre (it's key to remember that Arkansas Traveler came out in 1992 - well before alt country became a genre people talked about).

Not for everyone
If you're looking for stimulating writing, here it is, but if you want a catchy tune, look elsewhere. Obviously everyone else here loves this album, but as a more mainstream listener (take that however you want) it's a little crunchy.

classic!
Genreless, very ,very
much music. This woman has a place of her own in progessiv music. Lyrics that takes you away. Superb!.

You can see a complete list of all Michelle Shocked discography, or go back to the Michelle Shocked tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.