Editorial Review:

Amazon.com:
Michelle Shocked released three albums simultaneously on June 21, 2005: Mexican Standoff, Don't Ask Don't Tell, and Got No Strings. They were collected together in this three-CD set, appropriately titled Threesome.

Mexican Standoff

Shocked sounds particularly playful while playing things loose on the most roots-oriented of these three albums. Stylistically, Mexican Standoff divides itself down the middle, with the first half exploring Mexican border music and the second half devoted to Texas-style blues. The Mexican music ranges from the mariachi brass of 'Lonely Planet' to the conjunto accordion of 'La Cantina el Gato Negro' to the torchy 'Match Burns Twice.' On 'Wanted Man,' Shocked moves into the sort of narrative territory frequented by the likes of Joe Ely and Tom Russell, while 'Picoesque' matches gospel piano with vocal dramatics so over the top they amount to caricature. While the first half of the album is all over the musical map, the bluesy half is more of a piece, with stinging guitar and bedrock organ suggesting that Shocked has channeled the swaggering spirit of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.

Don't Ask Don't Tell

Don't Ask Don't Tell is the most seriously ambitious and eclectic of the three, so much so that Shocked might have considered combining the strongest tracks from its companions with the best here to make a single powerhouse release. It's also the least conceptually focused, though the centerpiece of a kiss-off song, 'Hardly Gonna Miss Him,' suggests a theme of love gone bad, reinforced by titles such as 'Elaborate Sabotage,' 'Fools Like Us,' 'Evacuation Route' and 'Goodbye.' Whatever Shocked has lost with the end of a relationship, the song cycle benefits from a creative emancipation. Like a musical chameleon as she adopts various vocal styles, she sounds willing to try anything--from the jazzy sophistication of 'Early Morning Saturday' to the hipster spoken-word wisdom of 'How You Play the Game' to the rollicking New Orleans spirit of 'Don't Tell.' Most atmospherically audacious is 'Don't Ask,' which sounds like a cross between Dr. John in his Night Tripper days and Uncle Remus. Don't miss the unlisted bonus track, which ends Shocked's most diverse collection to date in an explosion of punk-rock fury.

Got No Strings

The most kid-friendly of the three, Got No Strings brings the spirit of swing--from western to supper-club--to a collection of Disney soundtrack tunes. The steel guitar of Greg Leisz helps transform the familiar 'A Dream Is a Wish' into a honky-tonk waltz, until the sprightly fiddle of Gabe Witcher takes a break that recalls the 1930s' Hot Club of France. Shocked imbues 'When You Wish upon a Star' with a breathy sophistication, gives 'A Spoonful of Sugar' a bluesy tinge, and has never sounded more tender than she does on the lullaby 'Baby Mine.' Producer/guitarist Nick Forster of Hot Rize and band provide sprightly support throughout. From the hipster scat of 'To Be a Cat' to the concluding yodel of 'A Spoonful of Sugar,' Shocked and her musicians sound like they're having fun. --Don McLeese

Recommended Michelle Shocked Discography

Texas Campfire Tapes	Short Sharp Shocked	Captain Swing
Arkansas Traveler	Kind Hearted Woman	Deep Natural

Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

---

Related Items:
     see more

Related Items:

• To Heaven U Ride
• Deep Natural
• Arkansas Traveler
• Captain Swing
• Short Sharp Shocked
• see more

---

Disc 1:

1. Lonely Planet
2. La Cantina el Gato Negro
3. Wanted Man
4. Picoesque
5. Match Burns Twice
6. Mouth of the Mississippi
7. Bitter Pill
8. 180 Proof
9. Weasel Be Poppin'
10. Blackjack Heart

Disc 2:

1. Early Morning Saturday
2. How You Play the Game
3. Don't Ask
4. Used Car Lot
5. Hardly Gonna Miss Him
6. Evacuation Route
7. Fools Like Us
8. Elaborate Sabotage
9. Don't Tell
10. Goodbye

Disc 3:

1. To Be a Cat
2. Give a Little Whistle
3. Got No Strings
4. Spoonful of Sugar
5. Spectrum
6. Wish Upon a Star
7. Baby Mine
8. A Dream Is a Wish
9. Bare Necessities
10. On the Front Porch

Rating: - Threesome is Awesome
I'm giving this 5 stars even though I'm not really into the Disney songs (Got No Strings disc), but the other two discs are so full of extra great music that it averages out to 5 stars. Seriously!

---

Rating: - Shocked shoots high and mostly hits her target
After her triumphant "Deep Natural" Shocked 2-disk release, she set herself a very high bar and she tried to reach that bar with a three disk set!

If you're a diehard Shocked fan, like me, you'll want the set. Otherwise, take advantage of Amazon and listen since most people aren't going to equally like all three disks.

Disc One (Mexican Standoff) is my least favorite only because I'm not too fond of Mexican music -- not because there is anything wrong with that genre nor her songs. Some of the songs are not Mexican at all but are old-school Hammond Organ style blues. I love those tracks!

Disc Two (Don't Ask, Don't Tell) is my personal favorite and is more what I expect of Michelle Shocked's original pieces. It's folksy, bluesy and poignant -- although she has avoided the over-heavy seriousness of a couple of her albums.

Disc Three (Got No Strings) is my favorite to listen with my 6 year old in the car. I'm always looking for albums that both she and I enjoy, and this is certainly one. It a simple, sweet little tribute to the old "Disney style" songs that I was raised on.

If you are a first-time Michelle Shocked album buyer, I'd probably steer you to her earlier works like "Short Sharp Shocked " or "Arkansas Traveler" (best yet, Mercury Poise, if you can get it) or I'd recommend my personal favorite, "Deep Natural".

However, if you already know how great Michelle Shocked is, then I'd say go for the set! You may not like every song but you'r sure to like enough of them to make the set worth it since you get three discs fore the price of two.

---

Rating: - mixed bag of music/bad packaging
I am a fan of Michelle and I own every release that I can find. I was a bit disappointed with this release; it could have been a killer record with a little trimming.

The real complaint that I have is with the packaging. The rubber dots that hold the discs in place have already come off and the cover itself is very sparse.

---

Rating: - Be Shocked
Michelle Shocked is endlessly creative, moving effortlessly between genres and styles of music, from pop to Tex-Mex Rhumba beats to sweet Disney songs done to swing. Her voice is always great, her amusement at the wonders and horrors of this little planet always shines between the lyrics and the musical lines. Have fun. Be shocked. Be surprised. Your ears will be happy.

---

Rating: - Not what I had in mind.
OK, first off, to the previous reviewer, a 1 out of 5 because of the packaging is a little harsh isn't it? LOL, just kidding. Well, I gave this a 4, based mostly on the fact that it's a worthy effort, and that Michelle Shocked is one of the best artists I know of. She is right there in the upper eschelon. Having said that, I really did not enjoy this collection very much. Not that it was terrible music, just that it wasn't my cup of tea. I guess this is no shock, because this has happened before with me. I was blown away by Short Sharp Shocked and Arkansas Traveler, but wasn't crazy about Kind Hearted Woman or Captain Swing. I was then blown away again by Deep Natural, but this latest set just doesn't hit the mark with me. My sugestion is that, seeing that it's right here at your fingertips, I would give the sample cuts from Amazon a listen before investing the $25 or $30. If given the option, I think I would have given this more like a 3.5 out of 5, but a 3 is too harsh.