Monday 17^th September sees the release of Soap and Water, the 8^th studio album by solo artist/guitar slinger extraordinaire Chuck Prophet.   Chuck relocated to Nashville and bedded down for a month at the Alex the Great Recording Studios with producer Brad Jones (Yo La Tengo, Dolly Parton, Josh Rouse) manning the desk.  Chuck is joined by his own band The Mission Express, Todd Roper (of Cake) on drums, and The Spinto Band. Hell, they even drafted in the local Methodist children’s church choir for a few tunes. The album sees him blending his twisted soul-country-rock; a Alex Chilton-meets-Waylon Jennings via Dylan thing, with that Fender Telecaster he’s had since his Green On Red days weaving a singular common thread throughout. From the beautiful lyricism and arrangement of “Would You Love Me?”, the witty and wicked call-and-response of the title track, to the pure rock and roll ecstasy of “Let’s Do Something Wrong” featuring Chuck’s well-honed six-string abilities. “We goofed on some agitated single coil cubist junk, got serious with the spring reverb on mournful ballads” says Chuck. Soap and Water is, without a doubt, his finest work to date.  

 

Soap and Water will also be available on heavy weight 180g vinyl in a full colour, double weight, embossed sleeve via Coppertree Records - www.coppertreerecords.com 

 

It’s been three years since his last album, “Age of Miracles”, but Chuck Prophet is not a man to sit about.  He revived the band that started that whole goddamn alt-country thing, Green on Red, for a recent spin around Europe. He produced and helped co-write Kelly Willis’ new album “Translated From Love”, and is currently collaborating with Alejandro Escovedo on his next album.  Chuck has also made his debut on the silver screen, acting the part of the dope dealer in the new film “Revolution Summer” (with a fine soundtrack by Jonathan Richman) as well as contributing his own tracks to the Sundance Jury Award winning film “Teeth” about a woman with a toothed vagina.  If that work doesn’t make you break out in a sweat, the thought of a toothed vagina should do the trick for the rest of you.

 

Chuck started it all as a kid back in the eighties when Green on Red plucked him out of Berkeley, CA and threw him in the van for an eight year ride and the recording of as many albums. Green on Red were seminal purveyors of American Roots-Rock and broke up in 1992 just before an entire movement followed in their wake. Since then Chuck has recorded seven amazing solo albums and toured and recorded with the likes of Lucinda Williams, Aimee Mann, Cake, Alejandro Escovedo, and Jonathan Richman. Ryan Adams, Solomon Burke and Heart have recorded his songs, along with a host of others. Chuck’s never been one to rest on his laurels and ride it out. He’s always manically chopped and changed; with his distinctive panache for a classic tune always in tow.

 

Chuck will be returning to Europe in support of the album this September and October.

 

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www.chuckprophet.com

 

 

 

“Chuck writes, sings and plays like a tornado. Like Sonny Liston threw a punch. He is the Real Animal.” - Alejandro Escovedo

 

Chuck wrote these songs last summer in one long spurt in San Francisco with the window open wide during a rare heat wave. Dwight Twilley, Iggy, Thin Lizzy and the Knack were blaring out the Hi-fi.  It is as anxious a time as any for the life, death, rebirth and future of the American Dream. A concept album emerged around this dream. The songs were immediate and called for guitars and more guitars and needed to be recorded somewhere raw and energizing.  You see, to Chuck music is geography, so his trick is to wake up interested and inspired from what is around him.

 

The answer came, so Chuck reached out to some musicians and talked them into going down to Mexico City, The Biggest City in the World  (pop. 25 million). Recorded at Estudio 19, a state-of-the-art studio (well, circa 1958 state-of-the-art anyway) with Greg Leisz (Beck, Wilco, Emmylou Harris) co-producing. Within three days of arriving swine flu broke out and the indignity of having to wear blue surgical masks just to fit in.  

 

Over the course of the next eight days, the band set about recording ¡Let Freedom Ring!, enduring  a poorly timed blackout, shakedowns by the Policia, and a 6.4 earthquake mid-take - Mexico City might only be 4 hours away by plane but it might as well have been on the other side of the moon.  But whilst mayhem ensued, the band buckled down to the task in hand, all set up together in a tight little bamboo lined room with the amps cranked.  Chuck played his Fender Squire, Kelly Stoltz on backing vocals, Rusty Miller (Jason Lyte’s band) played bass while Drummer Ernest "Boom" Carter turned his sticks into kindling. Carter played on Springsteen’s “Born To Run” - he promptly quit the E Street Band after they spent 6 months recording it.  The results can be heard from the Clash inspired opener to the power pop of ‘Let Freedom Ring’ and the Eddie Cochran infused ‘Good Time Crowd’.

 

Prophet started his wild ride back in 1984, when Green on Red, the seminal purveyors of American Rock-Roots, plucked him out of Berkeley, CA and threw him in the van for an eight-year ride, and the recording of as many albums. Since then Prophet has recorded nine amazing solo albums and toured and recorded with the likes of Lucinda Williams, Aimee Mann, Cake and Jonathan Richman. Ryan Adams, Solomon Burke and Heart have recorded his songs, along with a host of others. Prophet has never been one to rest on his laurels and ride it out.

 

His last album, 2007’s “Soap and Water”, was heralded as “The best work of his career” (Q**** Recommended Album) and “His most satisfying album yet.  The range of styles is impressive” (Uncut****).  Mojo declared “His Richard Thompson-indebted Telecaster squalls have subsequently decorated a litany of credible solo albums of which the latest may well be the finest”, whilst Q also voted it one of the Best Roots Albums of 2007 in their end of year poll.

 

 

www.cookingvinyl.com 

www.chuckprophet.com 

 

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