ATN correspondent Mike Lach reports: Michelle Shocked and

Mercury Records have finally reached an understanding, and she'll have a new

record readily available later this spring. According to Shocked, Mercury had

balked at supporting her follow-up to the well-received Arkansas

Traveler, but refused to let her record for another label. Never one for

giving in, Shocked went and recorded a whole new record, the sparse Kind

Hearted Woman, and sold it at concerts.

As part of the new agreement,

PolyGram (which owns Mercury) will distribute a new version of the hard-to-find

Kind Hearted Woman this April. The album has been re-recorded "closer in

spirit with the way it was played on tour these past two years," with support

from Fiachna O'Braonain and Peter O'Toole from Hothouse Flowers. Produced by

Bones Howe (Tom Waits, Ornette Coleman, Elvis Presley), the new version will be

released on Shock's Mood Swing label and distributed by PolyGram. The original

version is stark and quiet--only Shocked and a Stratocaster--but features some

of her best writing ever, particularly on the disarming "Silver Spoon." Shocked

plans to record yet another album this spring (label and distributor yet to be

determined) and tour the world.