Chuck Prophet has been around since the times Green On Red roamed the wide fields of roots rock in the Eighties. Those were the heady days, with The Dream Syndicate, Giant Sand, Yo La Tengo producing some great music, but never attaining anything closer than a cult status.
Nothing has much changed these days. Green On Red are gone a long time ago, and Chuck’s co-writing partner Dan Stuart is not to be heard of, Howe Gelb disbanded Grand Sand recently, while Yo La Tengo and Ira Caplan are still around heard of sporadically. But Chuck is definitely around, and since he started his solo career in 1990, he seems to be getting stronger. Musically for sure, but success is there somewhere, yet to be fully attained. Working with almost everybody, like REM and Warren Zevon is helpful, but Chuck is still on the brink. Will this new album, “Bobby Fuller Died For You Sins”, change something?
Hopefully, since it is an excellent album. But that was never Prophet’s problem. All of his 14 solo (or collaborative albums with his name on it) are something to be heard in detail. And not only that. Chuck has never shied away from adding something new to his music, from electronics to hip-hop, and it all worked.
But the jangly, or should we say psychedelic roots music is his forte, and although there is a plenty of variety on “Bobby Fuller…” these abound. Starting with the title song through numbers like “Rider or the Rain” and “If I Was Connie Britton”. Prophet doesn’t miss either with his shall we say tribute numbers here “Bad Year For Rock and Roll” and “In The Mausoleum (For Alan Vega)” the latter brilliantly replicating (bot not copying) Vega’s rockabilly inclined style.
Another element of Chuck’s strength is on show here, and that is his excellent lyrical capabilities. Try for measure “Jesus Was A Social Drinker” or “Post-War Cinematic Dead Man Blues”.
By everything he has played and sang Chuck Prophet has shown that he has all the elements of modern music in his fingers (and voice). This album proves it too. Can a larger audience be more prophetic and pick up on him, as his long-time followers have been doing for years now?
