Chuck Prophet 'Age of Miracles'
Chuck ProphetAge of Miracles (NW 6062, 2004)
Chuck Prophet, notable to some as a Green on Red member (Fender Telecaster) in the 80's. In the 90's as a solo artist most of his records were fairly 'roots' orientated. However, since the beginning of this new century he has not been constricted to a single genre. Different sounds & styles sit side by side here & work well together. A random selection of tracks one may find blues, rock, funk, r&b, some electronica & even kind of hip-hop. And with the various musical directions there is a slightly uneasy sense (in a good way) as it tends to make one feel the music is not stayed (like in a static vacuum).
Lyrically this is quite smart, with tales of lovers, injustices etc which by the way can bring out a smile as it isn't all doom & gloom. If this guy would have some radio station airplay there are a number of tracks here that have the potential to become pop song hits. Don't let this put you off as I'm not talking about some schmaltz (spelling?) as the American's would say, but just some excellent songwriting.
I don't know that this release is as strong as his 2002 effort 'No Other Love' still there is enough 'good stuff' here for many listeners to take something away from the many finely crafted songs.
To buy please online order from the label.
http://tinyurl.com/pk5oy
posted by MoogPower @ Friday, August 25, 2006
16 comments
16 Comments:
Track List:
01. Automatic Blues 3:26
02. Age Of Miracles 4:10
03. You Did ( Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp ) 4:30
04. Smallest Man In The World 4:04
05. Just To See You Smile 4:23
06. West Memphis Moon 4:15
07. You've Got Me Where You Want Me 3:26
08. Pin A Rose On Me 4:54
09. Heavy Duty 4:14
10. Monkey In The Middle 5:11
11. Solid Gold 5:05
great stufff!1
www.halfbreedhalf.blogspot.com
Africa Is The Black Man's Home............ Sugar Minott
Don't Know Who to Trust (version)........ The Aggrovators
Gates of Zion..............................................George Dudley
Groovy Dub................................................The Upsetters
I Know Myself.............................................Ernest Wilson
I Like Yvonne..............................................OT
Jah is The master.......................................Earl Sixteen
Love and understanding..........................Sugar Minott
Need Your Love........................................Dennis Brown
On the Edge...............................................Gregory Isaacs
Pay Them (Version)..................................Enforcer
Poor & Humble..........................................Wayne Wade
(???)...........................................................???
Satta Dread................................................Wayne Jarrett
Save Us Jah..............................................Vernon Buckley
Silly Games...............................................Janet Kay
Stranger.....................................................The Lovejoys
The Long Way All The Way....................Junior Byles
Trial & Crosses.........................................Earl Sixteen
Walk On By................................................Motion
Worry...........................................................Scotty
Funny you should mention "schmalz", Moog: I remember a German teacher called Gunter Schmalz when I was at high school, and here's an anecdote (albeit a rather black-humoured one):
This teacher was in his late thirties, maybe forty years old, and very enthousiastic about directing a play acted by the little kiddies from primary school (all German). Tragically, on the evening of the premiere, he died onstage of a heart attack. On a "funnier" note, when I was a student in Scotland, when someone -anyone- said the name "Gunter Schmalz", I HAD to lie on the floor and all who wished were allowed to kick me as hard they wanted (rule: no head, no crotch). This recurring event became rather well known as we progressed into our seniour years of uni. So, after all, there was some sense in his death...
Sheez Pax - seems you spent many years lying on the ground in great anguish & pain.
Do I get the feeling you were the class scapegoat or otherwise just had a penchant for pain?
What could the bonuses here be...Hmmm, you've got good stomach muscles now? :)
Anyway, I see the sense in his death - he has been well remembered, by not only you, but a group of students in Scotland, so his unusual & tragic death echoed all across the European continent; from Germany even as far as the highlands of Scotland.
I'm only concerend here that despite his memory lingering on, he isn't really remembered for anything special, other than dying tragically.
Aaaah, but the moral must be that at least he is remembered.
Thank Pax for this anecdote & I'll remember when I'm visiting your place not to make mention of schmalz.
Cheers!
'Homemade Blood' is a great record and should be checked out by anyone into Chuck or GoR
Aaah thank you Captain for another ChuckP recommendation. This album came out in the late 90's & was definitely regarded by many - just a shame once again not by a wider audience.
Go out everybody, try & find yourself some Chuck Prophet in your fav music store. BUY & support this drastically undervalued artist.
Moog: I must answer "yes" to all your questions. Boy, that feels weird... :-)
One of my favourite lyrics of all time - "just last week a little card came in the mail, it was gold and thin as Kate Moss" - from 'Credit' on 'Homemade Blood' by Chuck. What a line. You gotta hear it.
OH NO PAX...well at`least you have good stomach muscles & maybe those dudes don't know you can think - you have brains : )
Best at to ya mon....
from "Lexikon der Deutschen Sprache": Schmalz = melted, spreadable fat from pig or goose. In English, is "lard" the same?
thanks for the ChuckP album!
G'day RYP,
Ya I'd say lard=schmalz (literally) & for those in the States schmalz appears to be quite a common term. I'm always hearing them saying that this is schmalz or that something or other is. However, it is NOT meant to be taken literally, more that if something is schmalzy it's rather cheesey.
I hope this helps for your translations even if these terms are kind of dilaect colloquialisms (expressions or maybe even slang).
Cheers mate!
what a record..
Cool - thanks 'anon'
I love the Green on Red sound, I have been slowly collecting the stuff digitally. I have a couple of lp's and an old casette a friend gave me years ago, I was wondering is there an open link to the "Homemade Blood" offering.
Thank you
yes, think I know what you mean,
for example: on TV I'm seeing a creepy "Folksmusik"-show.... then I say "welch ein Schmalz" - "what a schmalz!"
in Germany it's the same use in both ways, literally & dilaect...
Hello anti-hero....glad to hear you're another into Green on Red & associated offshoots.
As for 'Homemade Blood' I'm not aware of any link for it, but I might post another time or if I see I link will update this post beforehand.
Cheers!
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