Producer Pete Lawrence recorded an impromptu performance by singer/songwriter Michelle Shocked at the 1986 Kerrville Folk Festival; his original version of the resulting album removed most of her between-song chatter, re-arranged song order and substituted new titles for a few songs. Nonetheless, the original album has an organically complete, self-contained feel that emphasizes Shocked's roots in the folk tradition a la Ramblin' Jack Elliott. The closest contemporary comparison to Shocked would be early Billy Bragg, although Shocked has always been a less overtly political singer, preferring evocative and introspective songs like her ode to San Francisco, "Fogtown." In 2003, Shocked came into possession of a copy of Lawrence's original recording and used it as the basis of her own revision of the album, titled THE TEXAS CAMPFIRE TAPES. The first disc is the album itself, pitch-corrected (the batteries in Lawrence's Walkman were dying, meaning that the original cassette recorded too slowly and therefore speeded up when played back), and the second is the unedited tape, with Shocked's original song titles and between-song explanations returned.
What the critics say...
Dirty Linen (8/03, pp.66-83) - "...This set provides a means to thoughtfully reflect on where Shocked has been and help celebrate her creative and contractual liberation..."
