Mexican Standoff [Digipak] (CD - 2005)

Personnel: Michelle Shocked (vocals, guitar); Anne McCue (guitar, background vocals); David Kalish (guitar); Max Baca (bajo sexto, bass instrument); Joel Jose Guzman, Joel Guzman (accordion); Richard Edwards (trumpet); Freddie "Ready Freddie" Washington (bass instrument); Pete Thomas , James Gadsen, James Gadson (drums); Dusty Wakeman (background vocals); Doug Pettibone (guitar, background vocals); Richard Armstrong (trumpet); Skip Edwards (keyboards); Tommy Funderburk (background vocals).

The three albums that the ambitious Michelle Shocked released simultaneously in 2005 are each as unique in their own right as they are different from each other. MEXICAN STANDOFF is certainly no exception. The first five songs are Mexican-flavored tunes with lyrics that alternate between Spanish and English, while the next five are low-down electric blues songs. On the album's first half, Shocked is accompanied by great idiomatic musicians like accordionist Joel Guzman, who lend an air of authenticity to the proceedings. The blues tunes are goosed along by biting, T-Bone Walker-like guitar licks, and rhythms that are simultaneously swinging and in-the-pocket (courtesy of veteran R&B drummer James Gadson). It's hard to tell how the two styles represented here are meant to relate to each other (unless the album's title offers a cryptic clue), but it's the sheer musicality of MEXICAN STANDOFF that ultimately stays with you, not the concept, and that's exactly as it should be. minimize