Arkansas Traveler is an alternative

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 album released by American singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 Michelle Shocked

Michelle Shocked

Michelle Shocked is the stage name of Michelle Karen Johnston, an American singer-songwriter.-History:Shocked received her first international exposure in Europe, particularly Britain, with her debut album The Texas Campfire Tapes .Her first U.S...

 in 1992. Her fourth album for Mercury Records

Mercury Records

Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...

, the songs focused around the roots of her music. The album included collaborations with several other artists, including Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal (musician)

Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...

, Alison Krauss

Alison Krauss

Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...

, and Norman Blake

Norman Blake

Norman Blake may refer to:*Norman Blake , American folk & bluegrass instrumentalist and vocalist*Norman Blake , Scottish rock musician who is a member of Teenage Fanclub...

.

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
    Woody Guthrie
    Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
    
    ) — 2:51

Reception

Reviewing the album for Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

, Mark Kemp

Mark Kemp

Mark Kemp is an American music journalist and author. A graduate of East Carolina University, he has served as music editor of Rolling Stone and vice president of music editorial for MTV Networks...

 gave it four star

Star (classification)

Stars are often used as symbols for classification purposes. They are used by reviewers for ranking things such as movies, TV shows, restaurants, and hotels. For example, one to five stars is commonly employed to categorize hotels.-Restaurant ratings:...

s 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.