I'll keep it brief as I'm planning a more detailed piece on the Leeds show in May but...I doubt I'll see a better gig all year. I think he played seven - maybe eight - from the new album and they all held up alongside the older material. What connects me to this guy is his open-eyed delight at what he does, the sheer unadulterated joy in how he goes about his business. His guitar technique is world class, as the closing encore surf indulgence ("the national anthem of California") and countless startling passages of interplay and effortless solos proved. It's power pop with balls, a muscular Flamin' Groovies that twangs, that rocks and which gives the audience permission to leave cares and resentments at the door - for the next two hours just ENJOY.
There are still a few dates left to see this vastly under-valued performer, and I'm going to a minimum of two. More here in May.
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It was a 2,4,6,8 Motorway moment - in 1978 when Radio 1's Kid Jensen played the Tom Robinson smash hit for the first time and then played it again... and again - eventually citing 'playlist responsibilities' as the only reason he didn't spin it for the rest of his show. I took Chuck Prophet's new album on a run this morning and the second track - Castro Halloween - kept me company on repeat for the next 10 kilometers.
Songs grab me - I still get shivers at the opening chords of London Calling or the jazzy drum breakdown on Born To Run, just before the '1,2,3,4' and this song has, well, grabbed me.
Maybe it's because I've listened to a lot of his music in the past five years or so and feel like I know a bit about him - how he cares about what he does but, as importantly, how his songs demonstrate how he cares for other people, the underdogs he meets along the way. His songs are personal/ universal with human messages rooted in the reality of people's lives.
Maybe it grabbed me because of the lines :-
"Did I dream you up or did you dream me/ Is there any place else you would rather be?"
This is a such a beautifully put together expression of love - it's bursting with gratitude and modesty and I nearly choked.
Or maybe it's because he's thrown the kitchen sink at this song. The guitars melt in and out of each other, the backing vocals soar, there are bells, there is a plaintive George Harrison guitar line which eats into the synapses. And there is Prophet's honey-coated, bloodhound voice - rich and authentic. Towards the end as the song goes reflective there is a sudden exhilarating 'HUH' which signals the climactic guitar melt down and then it fades out, thrillingly.
However it happens to have grabbed me Castro Halloween is a perfectly constructed piece of intelligent pop that works on every level. I haven't got past this track so there are still ten more to get to know, so I'll take those out on my run tomorrow.
Album: Temple Beautiful - Chuck Prophet (Yep Roc)
http://www.daytrotter.com/#!/concert/chuck-prophet/20031036-1295
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