Chuck Prophet gained recognition as a member of the group Green on Red during the 80s of the last century. In 1990, he started off his solo career, and this year he celebrates his 14th album in a discography which is everything but regular.
The 53 year old prophet from California is a prolific storyteller, showman and intrinsic entertainer. With the support of the band The Mission Express, Chuck practically explodes on the scene, turning live performances into performance acts. Sort of.
The record Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins showers us with the uncompromising rock n roll mixed with enormous amount of blues, and garage and psychedelic rock. There is also a significant portion of country. The atmosphere changes from song to song. Sometimes, the morose and doleful moment are predominant, and at other time, a more cheerful and lively tones take over.
Chuck Prophet decided to pay homage to rock’n’roll icons, so it makes sense that one of the main protagonists on his new studio release is Bobby Fuller, a musician who died at 23 under the unknown circumstances, and made I Fought The Law popular (that became trademark of The Clash). Another legends he hails are David Bowie (Bad Year for Rock and Roll), Alan Vega (In The Mausoleum), the frontman of the band Suicide, and Thin White Duke, a musician who become immortal last year.
In Alex Nieto, Prophet criticizes political repression by reflecting on the security worker who was murdered in San Francisco. Killing Machine connects the destinies of paid killer and single mother. Sarcastic poetry, his strongest asset, strikes in Jesus Was A Social Drinker in which he provokes hypocritical believers. Unresponsive love is a theme on Open Your Heart, the most beautiful ballade on the record.
Overall, Chuck Prophet is in great rock’n’roll shape and he definitely satisfied my expectations. If you haven’t checked out his work, please do dig through his discography as there are a lot of outstandings songs there. This guy is a true rock’n’roll prophet.
