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To Heaven U Ride
Better late than never. These recently discovered tapes from the 2003 Telluride Bluegrass Festival find the eclectic Americana of Michelle Shocked in pure gospel mode. Backed by a vocal quartet, the "sacred steel" of Hot Rize's Nick Forster, and a killer band, Shocked does her best to channel her inner Mavis Staples, not only on Staple Singers classics such as "Wade in the Water" and "Uncloudy Day" but also on the Band's "The Weight" (which featured Staples as a guest performer in The Last Waltz). The audience joins the chorus on the frequent call-and-response of the material, which includes Shocked originals such as "Quality of Mercy" and "Good News" and the traditional "Study War No More" (more often titled "Down by the Riverside") along with the incantatory opener, "Strange Things Happening Every Day" (from Sister Rosetta Tharpe), and the sanctified reggae closer, "Can't Take My Joy." While some of Shocked's patter sounds like blackface minstrelsy (though she forthrightly acknowledges the issue of race) and "God Bless the Child" finds her way beyond her depth--as if she learned it from Blood, Sweat & Tears rather than Billie Holiday--the spirited performance makes a joyful noise. --Don McLeese
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Tracks| 1 | Introductions | | 2 | Strange Things Happening Every Day | | 3 | Weight | | 4 | Quality of Mercy | | 5 | God Bless the Child | | 6 | Good News | | 7 | Cancer Alley Rap | | 8 | Wade in the Water | | 9 | Uncloudy Day | | 10 | Study War No More | | 11 | Blessed | | 12 | Psalm | | 13 | Answered Prayer Rap | | 14 | Can't Take My Joy |
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