It’s been a prolific ride – eight albums recorded with the cult Green and Red, nine solo studio albums, and tours with the likes of Lucinda Williams, Aimee Mann, Cake and Jonathon Richman.
Chuck Prophet’s latest album Let Freedom Ring! was written one summer in San Francisco and recorded in eight days in Estudio 19, Mexico, amidst an earthquake and a swine flu epidemic. There is, almost inevitably then, a grizzled swagger to proceedings, which is becoming the hallmark of the Prophet sound. However, while Red and Green were rough hewn, rootsy rock, Prophet’s solo work veers slightly towards mainstream on occasion. One reference point for ‘Freedom’ is Dire Straits circa Private Investigations – there’s the gravel voiced narratives over muted blues guitar squalls, the pedestrian bpm count and the deceptively loose but technically fluid musicianship involved in every track. Elsewhere, tracks like ‘American Man’ conjure up the ghost of Tom Petty – thematically as well as musically – mid-tempo works of barbed Americana with infectious, fuzzy guitar licks and the velvety growls of Prophet’s voice.
‘Hot Talk’ uses vocals to create momentum by overloading lines – think All You Need is Love and Bowie’s Rock’n’Roll Suicide – where a breathless tumble of words falls just short of singing and creates a delirious panic leading into a chorus.
Tracks like ‘Barely Exist’ and ‘Love Won’t Keep Us Apart’ have a little bit of Iggy, some Travelling Wilbury and a lot of Mark Knopfler, and it is a pleasing melange of sound, not abrasive or edgy but tough and relaxed.
So, eleven songs of bluesy rock with nuanced lyrics and a deceptively garage feel to it all. Let Freedom Ring is a pretty good sentiment and sounds as if it was a guiding principle in the making of this album. Viva Prophet!