Mighty
Sound Press Release
We proudly present MICHELLE SHOCKED's deluxe, re-mastered version
of her classic 1988 debut studio album SHORT, SHARP, SHOCKED,
due
out September 23 on her own label, Mighty Sound. She launched the
label with her acclaimed 2002 album DEEP NATURAL and followed
it earlier
this year with the deluxe re-issue of her pivotal 1986 release,
TEXAS CAMPFIRE TAPES. SHORT, SHARP, SHOCKED--out of print
since 1998--is
packaged with a special bonus disc of 21 live recordings, rare
radio sessions, and studio out takes.
While
SHOCKED continues to work on new material for release in mid-2004 as
well as tour, she also wears the hat of founder and CEO--or, as she
prefers, "Big Boss With The Hot Sauce"--of Mighty Sound. There
will be two deluxe reissues per year until her entire catalog--all of
which has been out of print for years--is again available. Shocked,
an artist rights advocate, is the only known major label artist to now
own and publish their complete catalog. Instead of accepting a large
advance when she was signed with PolyGram in November 1987, Michelle
negotiated instead for ownership of her work. After long years of legal
battles, the control is back with its rightful owner.
Track
Listing Disc One:
1. When I Grow Up
2. Hello Hopeville
3. Memories of East Texas
4. Gladewater
5. Graffiti Limbo
6. If Love Was a Train
7. Anchorage
8. L and N Don't
Stop Here Anymore
9. VFD
10. Black Widow
11. Fogtown
Track
Listing Disc 2:
1. When I Grow Up (demo)
2. Memories of East Texas (live)
3. Yamboree
Queen
4. Strawberry Jam
5. Graffiti Limbo (demo)
6. If Love Was A Train
(alternate)
7. Anchorage (radio)
8. The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore
(alternate)
9. VFD (live) 10. Black Widow (alt.)
11. Leavin'
Louisiana In the Broad Daylight
12. Disoriented
13. Lovely Rita
14. Ballad of Penny Evans
15. Remodeling
the Pentagon
16. Fred's Winter Song
17. Prince of Darkness (w/ the Mekons)
18. One Piece At A Time
19. 5 AM In
Amsterdam
20. Campus Crusade
21. Goodnight Irene
Praise
for Short Sharp Shocked:
"Michelle
Shocked is simply the brightest new voice unearthed from the American
roots-music landscape in a long while. With an ear to the ground and
a thumb to the wind, she has taken the oral-tradition torch handed down
by troubadours like Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan and recast
its male vocabulary in a post feminist light that erases sexual dividing
lines...Short, Sharp, Shocked is a vibrant work, full of character and
informed by a political conscience. Michelle Shocked is a true trailblazer
who knows how to play with fire, and Short, Sharp, Shocked is a scorcher."
--Janie Matthews, ROLLING STONE, November 3, 1988
"...folk
rooted singer songwriter is a talent of the first order...on Short,
Sharp, Shocked, the singer's rich, intoxicating alto alternates between
coquettish Southern-belle reminiscences of humorous incidents...and
the thoughtful, almost dreamy delivery of reflective songs about
friendship."
--Holly Gleason, ROLLING STONE, Nov 3, 1988
"Sure,
the words roll lazily off her tongue, much in the style of Billie Holiday.
The guitar accompanies them with the studied precision favored by Robert
Johnson and other bluesmen...Shocked has a serious voice and an artistic
way of presenting the world."
--Tom Moon, THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, August 14, 1988
"Shocked
is an immensely likable artist, one whose music combines biting wit,
sharp social commentary and a strong sense of Texas roots. There's a
bluesiness to much of the material, a hint of country swing in some
of it, and a striking contemporary sensibility..."
--CHICAGO SUN TIMES, August 29, 1988
"The
best of these tunes are simple, sturdy folk songs...Shocked's dark voice,
sly phrasing and acoustic guitar are the primary focus, while dobro,
mandolin, banjo, fiddle and dulcimer bring many of the rural scenes
she writes about vividly to life."
--WASHINGTON POST, Sept. 2, 1988
"On
Short, Sharp, SHOCKED Shocked proves herself as real and imaginative
as any folk predecessor. But her traditionalism is firmly tied to the
contemporary."
--Tom Lanham, THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER-CHRONICLE, September 25, 1988
"...I
can hear the quickening of an honest American voice...Shocked's songs
gel, moving outward from specifics, she speaks boldly about her times
in a manner that calls Woody Gutherie to mind."
--Leslie Berman, VILLAGE VOICE, September 27, 1988
"The
major label debut of this highly-touted Texan singer-songwriter lives
up to the promise of The Texas Campfire Tapes...the most promising major
label folk debut of the year."
--THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER-CHRONICLE,
September 18, 1988
"Ms.
Shocked's voice is still key. Her mature singing is a dead ringer, in
alternative moments, for as diverse a pair of crooners as Chrissie Hynde
and Jennifer Warnes...East Texas's loss is the world's gain. Ms. Shocked
is a decent poet and real vocal marvel...Miss it at your own peril.
It is the next best thing to Route 66."
--LOS ANGELES TIMES, September 16, 1988
"Like
the early Bob Dylan, Michelle Shocked seems wise beyond her years. The
best tracks on Short, Sharp, Shocked have a wistful, remembering-the-past
quality-tender, sensitive looks at what was or might have been...One
of the best albums of the year."
--John Mackie, THE VANCOUVER SUN, September 24, 1988
"Every
once in a while a voice emerges in pop to blow the music's pretensions
and formats out to sea. Such is the voice of Michelle Shocked...Shocked
blooms under his (co-producer Pete Anderson's) guidance and attacks
each song with precision bringing out the inherent attitude and emotion
with the right touch of instrumentation."
--Marty Racine, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, October 2, 1988
"Short Sharp
Shocked" is
available here.
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