Chuck Prophet has always been so far ahead of sonic trends that he
can barely see them in his rearview mirror. From the visionary
country-rock architecture of Green on Red in the ’80s to his
wide-ranging solo career, Prophet has been creatively restless,
reinventing himself like a rootsy David Bowie and applying his own
stamp to whatever direction he pursues. His last album, 2007’s Soap
and Water, was yet another demonstration of his ability to find new
inspiration within Stonesian parameters while wearing all of the hats
he’s sported since 2000’s roots-and-turntables marvel, The Hurting
Business. His latest, ¡Let Freedom Ring!, broadens the
focus even more while honing in on the specifics of each individual
song, perhaps influenced by his work on Alejandro Escovedo’s Real
Animal last year.
“You and Me Baby (Holding On)” is the sound of Bob Dylan guided by
the Velvet Underground rather than Woody Guthrie, while “American Man”
is the Stones posing as SoCal rockers at their swaggering, staggering
best and featuring some of Prophet’s most incisively political,
Dylanesque lyrics (“American Man, up on the mound/With an orange alert
and a new wave sound”). Recorded in Mexico City at the height of the
swine flu epidemic and in the middle of an earthquake and brownouts in
a studio that hasn’t been upgraded since the Eisenhower administration,
Prophet poured the negative energy into this amazing set of songs
written in and about the economic, political and emotional maelstrom we
find ourselves in at the moment. Is this the best Chuck Prophet album
ever? Sure, why not? They all get to wear that medal for a while.
— Brian Baker
This article appears in Oct 28 – Nov 3, 2009.
