Michelle Shocked began her recording career while still a street urchin punk-folky in the middle of the 80s, but at some point during the 90s, she became a Christian. And because she's always been a fiercely independent artist, whether with or without major label affiliation, her conversion never reached the masses the way, say, Bob Dylan's newsworthy experience did. Deep Natural is full of spunky folk, gospel, blues, and rock joy. It comes as a 2-CD set: one is the album proper, the second includes dub versions of the originals. Shocked's faith has not at all hindered her overt environmental concerns, as songs such as "What Can I Say" and "Good News" either directly or indirectly touch upon the threatened conditions of our planet. There are also character studies, such as the intriguing personality discussed in "Peachfuzz." But it's her more personal confessions, like "Forgive To Forget" and "That's So Amazing," that stand out the most here. These intimate and quiet hymns are so much more effective than those times she strains her voice for blues-y soul-shouters, like with "Good News." Shocked's newfound faith may not have grabbed a lot of headlines, but her smart pen and soulful tongue certainly deserve to be heard, nevertheless.
Editors' ratings - Doug 4/5, Jason 3.5/5
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Jeffrey Overstreet"The world in general is not so corrupt that it doesn't recognize the ring of truth when it hears it. But it has a really well-founded cynicism about the package that truth comes in, and so it can be very guarded. That ends up being my challenge as an artist -- to strip away as much of the packaging and deliver as much of the truth as I can. When I really hit the nail on the head people start…
