Going the Distance: Come A Long Way

Michelle Shocked: Come A Long Way

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I’m trying a new file hosting service, so I hope the link stays live.

Music can be escapism. It isn’t always, but I suspect that is why a 50+ professional who has lived his whole life in either New York or New Jersey and has a pretty quiet family life likes to listen to music about people living on the edge, drinking, carousing, ramblin’. I know that I never will ride a motorcycle, get into a bar fight, hitchhike across the desert, or be a rock star. And, honestly, I don’t really have any interest in doing so.

But it is fun to listen to music that is about things that are outside your experience. I remember once reading an article that said that people like roller coasters, or eating spicy food, because it gives the illusion of danger, without real risk. That your body reacts by producing adrenalin and endorphins that give you that edge and pleasure, without having to worry about actually getting beat up or killed.

Which is why, I guess, I have always liked this song, by Michelle Shocked. Her narrator rescues her motorcycle from the repo man and drives it around Los Angeles, referencing a number of local landmarks and noting that she has driven 500 miles, but never left the city.

Shocked is an interesting artist—uncompromising and demanding of creative freedom. Her first few albums were incredible, and the album that this song comes from, Arkansas Traveler, is both brilliant, and controversial. In great part, it is a reworking of traditional folk and country songs, with all-star guests including Levon Helm and Garth Hudson, Hothouse Flowers, Uncle Tupelo (which included her brother), Taj Mahal, Pops Staples, and others, and there are many, many good songs. But Shocked insisted on appearing in blackface on the cover, to highlight her interest in blackface minstrelsy, and her label refused. The album was barely promoted and failed to sell, leading to the end of Shocked’s major label career. I did buy her next album, but have kind of lost track of her, although I know that she has been recording gospel music. She is someone who has simply done what she wanted, and damn the consequences. Another thing that I don’t think I could ever do, even though I respect her for doing it.

I’ve been to L.A. a few times, mostly on business, and recognize some of the places mentioned, but they are really meaningless to me. But there is something about the song, the music and the lyrics, that makes me want to jump on a bike, a hog, a chopper, or whatever the cool people call it, and head out on an adventure. It isn’t going to happen, and that’s OK, too. But it can be fun to live vicariously.

Early: The Late Edition

Unlike some of my fellow Star Makers, I do not have a collection of rarities to draw upon. So I have had to approach this theme differently. But just as rarities have their stories, so, sometimes, do first albums. Before we leave our early theme, let’s hear some of those stories.

Michelle Shocked: (Don‘t You Mess Around With) My Little Sister

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Michelle Shocked made her recording debut, quite by accident, in 1987. She never knew she was making an album until she heard that, not only had it been released, but it was charting in England. The album was The Texas Campfire Tapes. Shocked attended the Kerrville folk festival in 1986. She brought her guitar, and was singing and playing for her own pleasure when she was overheard by a producer named Pete Lawrence. Lawrence asked Shocked if he could record her, and made a tape of 21 songs with Shocked’s comments. Given that the recording was made on a cheap cassette recorder, (with low batteries, it turned out!), Shocked had no reason to think the tape would ever be released.

But Lawrence chose a sampling of the songs, left out all of the comments, made up his own titles to songs he didn’t know the names of, and released the album without Shocked’s consent. Eventually, Shocked gained possession of the tapes. And in 2003, she released the full recording, with the sound adjusted to compensate for the low batteries, and with all of her comments restored, as The Texas Campfire Takes.

One song included in both versions was (Don’t You Mess Around With) My Little Sister. If you are familiar with Shocked’s career, you may know the full band version she recorded on the album Captain Swing.

Billy Joel: Falling of the Rain

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Billy Joel made his debut as a solo artist with Cold Spring Harbor in 1971. He had previously been in two unsuccessful bands, The Hassles and Atilla. His bad luck would continue a little longer. There was a mistake in the mixing of Cold Spring Harbor. It was released at the wrong pitch, giving Joel’s voice a high whiny sound. The album was the first of a ten album contract with Family Records. Family owner Artie Ripp, (who I hasten to add is no relative of mine), owned the master tapes. Cold Spring Harbor, as originally released, went out of print fairly quickly, and remained that way for many years as Joel’s popularity grew. Finally, in 1983, Joel’s contract with family was running out. Ripp decided to capitalize by releasing a remastered version of Cold Spring Harbor. Ripp stripped out the original orchestration and added synthesizer and drum machine parts to “give the album a more up to date feel”. This was done without Joel’s consent, and is the version of Cold Spring Harbor that we have today. Despite this, the songs are worth hearing. The album features the original recording of She’s Got a Way, as well as Falling of the Rain and several others that are as good as anything Joel ever wrote.

Jane Siberry: The Mystery at Ogwen‘s Farm

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Jane Siberry is a Canadian artist. Far too many worthy Canadian artists never have there work released here in the United States. Others have their work released here, but without real marketing support. Siberry was luckier than most. Her self titled debut, which includes The Mystery at Ogwen’s Farm, was originally released only in Canada. She debuted in the United States with her second album, which established her here as an artist with a “cult following”. And her third album cemented this status. Her American label decided that that was enough to justify releasing her Canadian debut here, and I for one snapped it up immediately.

The debut is different from anything else of hers that I have heard. It is mostly acoustic, and has an innocence and simplicity to it that I find quite refreshing. Where her later work would often make my jaw drop in amazement, this one always makes me smile. And sometimes, that is all that is needed.

Postage Paid: Anchorage

Michelle Shocked: Anchorage

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"I took time out to write to my old friend
I walked across that burning bridge
I mailed my letter off to Dallas
but her reply came from Anchorage, Alaska..."

I'm a sucker for anything presented in epistolary form: songs, books and even TV shows and blogs - Michelle Shocked does the form justice in her tune of two women, who obviously shared some wild times in Texas, catching up after an over-two-years' lull in communication...

As with most female friendships, you can tell they are close enough such that they pick up just where they left off... with warmth, humor and a genuine desire to find out about, and fill the other in on, what they've been doing - a note of wistfulness creeps in as Chel's friend decries the isolation of her current situation, even as she describes the life she's now sincerely embracing...

"Leroy got a better job so we moved
Kevin lost a tooth, he's started school
I've got a brand new eight-month-old baby girl
I sound like a housewife
Hey Chel, I think I'm a housewife..."

And, as with all good stories, I want to know what happened next - I hope they kept in touch... and I hope they kept on rocking, each in their own way...

Green: On the Greener Side

Michelle Shocked: On the Greener Side

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I am a long-time fan of Michelle Shocked, starting with her *album*, The Texas Campfire Tapes... and segueing through CDs of her various incarnations of singer-songwriter... to swing jazz... to traditional twang - I admit I'm a few recordings behind... but I do see she has a new one coming out in May, and I'll attempt to catch up between now and then...

From Wikipedia:

...her 1989 album Captain Swing on Mercury Records was accompanied by a strong promotional push, including an MTV-aired video of the single "On the Greener Side." However, the label did not invest in further promotion, stating that she had "cut too good a deal" for herself. After litigation following her release of 1992's Arkansas Traveler, she extricated herself from the deal, citing a violation of her 13th Amendment constitutional right prohibiting slavery.

Okay... "Michelle Shocked' and "MTV video" are words I never thought I'd see in the same sentence - here is proof that it really happened!

Trains: If Love Was a Train

Michelle Shocked: If Love Was a Train

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Ah, the train as metaphor - most of the time it symbolizes a journey, whether beginning or ending, embracing a new life or escaping from an old one.

In a spirited segue from Paul's previous post, Michelle Shocked uses train symbolism at its most primal... and joyful... and non-compartmentalizable - "If love was a train I think I would ride a slow one". I adore how the musicality supports the premise... and you can just hear the train chugging along, picking up speed and then puffing steamily into its destination - woo! woo! indeed...

Michelle's musical career was ignited by a bootleg recording made around a Kerrville Folk Festival campfire on a Sony Walkman. Released in England as The Texas Campfire Tapes without Shocked’s authority, its success abroad enticed Mercury Records to offer the newcomer a recording contract.

Short Sharp Shocked remains in my Top Ten CDs, with eleven insightful, infectious and insistent tunes celebrating life... and little death - I remain a lifelong fan, throughout her various multi-genred incarnations...

Work: The Life Cycle of a Coal Mining Town

One could conceivably create a musical about coal miners and the towns they lived in, using existing music.

In Act One, the coal company finds coal, and creates a new town where none existed before. Two songs eloquently describe the conditions in which the miners live and work. Autopsy IV has already done an amazing job of presenting these here and here
.

In Act Two, the miners form a union to try to improve their lot. There is a strike and this song is used during a strike montage sequence.

Sting: We Work the Black Seam

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(Sting wrote We Work the Black Seam as an expression of solidarity with striking coal miners in England.)

During the strike, a few of the miners become desperate, and return to work before the strike is over, becoming strike breakers, or “scabs”. This song is used to convey the conflict between them and the miners who remain on strike.

Steeleye Span: Blackleg Miner

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(After Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span is the best known of the British folk-rock bands. Over the years, many musicians have been official or unofficial members of both bands..)

In Act Three, the mine becomes played out. The coal company closes the mine, leaving behind a town with no further reason for being, and leaving the former miners and their families to fend for themselves. Sadly this actually happened far too often. This song closes the show.

Michelle Shocked: The L&N Don‘t Stop Here Anymore

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(Michelle Shocked created the concept of “folk-punk” to describe her music. I believe that this is her first appearance on Star Maker Machine. I hope it won’t be her last. For another excellent version of this tune, seek out the one by Norman Blake.)