ToHeavenURide

"He turned the rock/He turned the rock/He turned the rock into living water … He turned the rock/He turned the rock/He turned the rock that was my heart"—from "Psalm"

That Michelle Shocked is a slippery one. Those who have tracked the spirited singer/songwriter's career for 20 years have either come to expect unbounded stylistic shape-shifting, or else found themselves left behind, unable to keep up with her music. What began with a bare bones, lo-fi field recording in 1986 (The Texas Campfire Tapes) eventually morphed into big band (1989's Captain Swing), rootsy country (1991's Arkansas Traveler), avant-garde R&B (2002's Deep Natural), blues-cured Tex-Mex (2005's Mexican Standoff) and jaunty, acoustic Disney fare (2005's Got No Strings). Applying a different musical descriptor to each album isn't quite enough to fully capture the breadth of Shocked's artistry.

Now comes another musical shift with To Heaven U Ride, a live gospel set recorded at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival four years ago without Shocked's knowledge (despite a "no recording" stipulation in her contract). It offers the most revealing glimpse yet of the vision driving her—an open-armed embrace of emotional and spiritual freedom. (The album's title is a response to the "To Hell U Ride" twist of the festival's name.)

"I admit that you can't really see the whole picture yet," she told Christian Music Today. "I've been on this journey for over 15 years now and I'm starting to catch on. It takes the scope of vision of God to create this kind of journey. There have been plenty of times when the person all of this has made the least sense to is me. But I've just gone forward with it, sometimes feeling like Jonah being sent to Nineveh or Moses being asked to be a spokesman when he stuttered: 'Why me? I'm not qualified for this.' Turns out the only qualification you need is willingness."

It's clearer than ever that Shocked relishes mowing down boundaries, none more obvious than musical style. "In the simplistic ways that we have of marketing, branding, and categorizing, it's much simpler to make a one-size-fits-all generalization about people," she says. "That's not been my experience. I've never fit in. I've always been, as they call me at my church, 'our unique sister.'"

Then there's the boundary of worship, between going against the grain and openly celebrating God's presence where everyone within earshot can join in. Shocked brought a family of music ministers (the singing Dancys) to the secular Colorado music festival, devoting her entire hour-long set to creating a sense of "spiritual communion." The veteran artist supplies both cathartic and quiet moments, driving the stomping two-beat spiritual "Study War No More" with unrestrained, raw-throated belting, spurting spontaneous testimony within and between songs, and later providing what amounts to a meditative, salving exhale with "Psalm," a scripture-inspired original (excerpted above) that first appeared on her Deep Natural album in 2002. The invitation to participate is extended from the first chord on, with Shocked and worship leader Sean Dancy continuously exhorting the audience to lend their voices to the highly singable choruses.

"The choice of material, the casting that was made, the fact that we only rehearsed the night before … to me it is the manifestation of what God has manifested in my musical journey over and over again," says Shocked. "'Go by instinct. Just be yourself and I'll take care of the rest.' I was just grateful that we could bring that kind of energy and what I believe was a kind of spiritual nourishment to the audience that year at Telluride."

Aside from musical style and the notion of secular and sacred, Shocked just as readily charges across boundaries of racial division, something clearly demonstrated in the song selection of this album and her teaming with an African-American music ministry for the performance. Several of the songs come from spirituals and traditional gospel ("Wade in the Water," "Uncloudy Day," and "Strange Things Happening Every Day" to name a few) as well as a cover of Comissioned's more contemporary "Blessed."

Songs like these indicate where Shocked's journey has brought her over time. Though raised in a strict Mormon home, she ultimately broke from that religious tradition. Many years later, she was drawn to the deep, raw emotion of gospel music, not to mention their spiritual subject matter. It eventually brought her back to the church as an adult, as she amusedly recalls: "I remember thinking If they would just get rid of all that Jesus crap, this music would be really great! I came for the singing but I stayed for the song, because obviously it got through to me."

Shocked underwent a spiritual transformation every bit as powerful as the music's emotional appeal. In 2005, she joined the otherwise all-black choir at a South Central Los Angeles Church of God in Christ congregation. "Even at that early juncture when To Heaven U Ride was recorded, I was not singing in the choir, but paying attention," she says. "I appreciate how for Sean and Annie Dancy, giving glory to God is right there always on the tip of their tongues. For me it was still an awkward teenage phase, I guess. But it comes to me much easier now."

Shocked also crosses boundaries by bridging her spiritual focus with social commentary. Her unscripted, plainspoken explanations song explanations between tracks are not without provocative moments, but the main point is undeniably powerful: that impoverished and seemingly forgotten people are not forgotten by God. Against the slinky, sinewy churn of "Quality of Mercy," Shocked places herself and a host of other dubious figures amongst those who deny Christ by their actions and in desperate need of God's mercy. During the blistering, percolating blues-rocker "Good News" (also from Deep Natural), she testifies to the prayers lifted by an impoverished Louisiana community, asking God to protect them from potentially harmful industrial plants.

Even though longtime fans have come to expect something new and different from Shocked's albums, her latest dose of traditional gospel-drenched spiritual fervor is bound to defy expectations. "I had a sense even early on that my career was what I could put on the altar, and it was so important to me," she says. "I [still] have a sense that there will be some meaning and purpose to all of this at some point. It's true with everything [in my life], from my personal relationships to the way that I approach my work, that there's a passion to it. There's an intensity."

To Heaven U Ride is a revelation of what drives Shocked's unbounded tendencies today. For her, being categorical is trumped by her all-consuming spiritual pursuit, even if it means that she can't always see what's around the next bend.

Unless specified clearly, we are not implying whether this artist is or is not a Christian. The views expressed are simply the author's. For a more complete description of our Glimpses of God articles, click here