Michelle Shocked: Short Sharp Shocked : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

With her Mercury Records troubles well behind her, Michelle Shocked continues the process of releasing her entire catalog on her own Mighty Sound label. Having her high-water mark Short Sharp Shocked back in print is a blessing for fans who missed it the first time around -- and this deluxe re-issue includes a bonus disc of twenty-one live recordings, rare radio sessions and studio outtakes. Originally released in 1988, Short's confluence of home-grown musical styles --folk, country, rockabilly, blues, swing -- is the Texas singer-songwriter's tribute to her geo-cultural roots and, inadvertently, her own uniqueness. Be it the jazz-drenched "When I Grow Up," the somber country-folk of "L and N Don't Stop Here Anymore," the surprising punk blast "Fogtown," or the tragedy-inspired acoustic blues of "Graffiti Limbo," Shocked's prodigious natural talent makes it all sound so damn easy. And her versatile alto voice bridges the many moods and motives of the disc -- joy, pathos, anger, commentary-with aplomb. Short Sharp Shocked is pure bliss.

ADRIAN ZUPP
(September 23, 2003)