Guitar god Chuck Prophet has some good news for us all – May 15th will see his latest album ‘The Land that Time Forgot‘ carried shoulder high into the streets by Yep Roc. We don’t like to go too hyperbolic, but it’s fairly safe to predict that this one’s going straight to the top of the Americana charts. Why so sure? Dude – Chuck Prophet! Need we say more? We need not.
The album was recorded mostly n Upstate NY, just a few miles from the Vermont border, San Francisco having got just too expensive to be a realistic option. Chuck prophet describes the album’s content as “just as much a 21st-century exorcism as it is Americana.”
The songs inhabit a world where the protagonists might be on the run from the truant officer, a handsy boss or the Immigration Service. These are love songs that turn political on a dime, told through Chuck’s personal history; one greatly informed by an upbringing with Republican Party members as parents. In his singular way, the album charts the slow-collapse of the party: be it songs about ‘Honest Abe Lincoln’s’ funeral train through to stories about growing up in Nixon’s hometown and ending with an attack on the current clown who sits in the Oval Office. Anticipation is high – we can’t wait – ‘cos Chuck Prophet always delivers the goods.
The Land that Time Forgot: Track – list
Best Shirt On
High As Johnny Thunders
Marathon
Paying My Respects to the Train
Willie and Nilli
Fast Kid
Love Doesn’t Come from the Barrel of a Gun
Nixonland
Meet Me at the Roadbout
Womankind
Waving Goodbye
Get Off The Stage
Wondering how that’ll all sound? Wonder no more – it’s going to sound superb as we can demonstrate with what we are referring to as Exhibit A – well, ok, it’s actually Side 1 Track 3 : ‘Marathon‘ – which sees Chuck and Stephanie Finch dancing all night long…as he explains: “It’s all Krautrock bass and Everly Brothers acoustics. I threw all my rockabilly, space-age, Roxy Music tricks in there. I don’t know if you’re hip to the dance marathons during the Great Depression. They were the first reality shows. So, that’s what this song started out being about… Not all that much different than the gig economy or Task Rabbit, really, though. History repeats.”
Hey – wait, don’t go just yet otherwise you won’t have read about the exciting tour dates for Europe announcement. Piqued your interest ? Well, what it is is that there are tour dates. For Europe. For Chuck Prophet. And the band. Yup – he’s going all full on Mission Express this time. Can we get a hallelujah? Thought so – so be there or be that special form of rectangle which has four sides of equal length.
European Tour Dates
May
25 Birmingham – Hare & Hounds
26 Bristol – The Fleece
27 Leeds – Brudenell Social Club
28 Glasgow – St Lukes
29 Bury – The Met
30 Suffolk – Red Rooster Festival
June
1 Raalte, NL – Blues & Ribs Festival
2 Leffinge, BE – De Zwerver
3 Utrecht, NL – Ekko
4 Oslo, NO – Loaded Festival
6 Zaragoza, ES – Oasis (Lucinda Williams support)
8 Barcelona, ES – Sala Apolo (Lucinda Williams support)
12 Nottingham – Metronome
13 London – Lafayette
