Arkansas Traveler (album)

Arkansas Traveler
Studio album by Michelle Shocked
Released	April 1992
Genre	Americana
Length	58:47
Label	Mercury Records
Producer	Bernie Leadon Hugh Padgham Michelle Shocked Don Was
Michelle Shocked chronology
Captain Swing (1989)Captain Swing1989 Arkansas Traveler (1991) Kind Hearted Woman (1994)Kind Hearted Woman1994

Arkansas Traveler is an alternative folk album released by American singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked in 1992. Her fourth album for Mercury Records, the songs focused around the roots of her music. The album included collaborations with several other artists, including Taj Mahal, Alison Krauss, Tony Levin and Norman Blake. Jack Irons plays drums at the beginning of track 6. [Uncle Tupelo] plays on track 6.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Michelle Shocked; except where indicated

1. "33 RPM Soul" — 4:10
2. "Come a Long Way" — 4:43
3. "Secret to a Long Life" — 3:50
4. "Contest Coming (Cripple Creek)" — 3:35
5. "Over the Waterfall" — 4:39
6. "Shaking Hands (Soldier's Joy)" — 3:25
7. "Jump Jim Crow" — 3:32
8. "Hold Me Back" — 5:09
9. "Strawberry Jam" — 4:33
10. "Prodigal Daughter (Cotton Eyed Joe)" — 6:43
11. "Blackberry Blossom" — 3:31
12. "Weaving Way" — 2:57
13. "Arkansas Traveler" — 4:20
14. "Woody's Rag" (Woody Guthrie) — 2:51

Reception

Reviewing the album for Rolling Stone, Mark Kemp gave it four stars out of five, calling it "ambitious". William Ruhlmann of AllMusic also gave the album four stars out of five. He also found it an ambitious album, calling Shocked "feisty" and "exuberant". He also noted the album's lack of commercial success. Her desire to have the cover portray her in blackface in tribute to the roots of the music featured on the album drew criticism and a change in the cover art.