Chuck Prophet - Age of Miracles - Music & Performance - CD

Chuck Prophet's 7th album, AGE OF MIRACLES is a collision of meticulous forethought, wild-assed spontaneity, studied traditionalism and super-hip-ultra modern. Lyrically it's smart, warm and fun. Chuck's been an innovator since his days with psychedelic roots rockers Green on Red. Raunchy blues guitars, hip hip beats, string sections and terrific production come together here on what's unquestionably Chuck's finest work to date.

For his seventh album, Chuck Prophet updates the all-over-the-map quality that made Green on Red's early albums so bracing. Age of Miracles is rooted in the same country and folk influences as Prophet's other solo albums, but Prophet and co-producer Eric Drew Feldman add a quasi-psychedelic haze and some distinct blues riffs to the mix. The title track, for example, combines a Neil Young-style country-rock tune with a prominent string section playing a woozy high-register part, a funky wah-wah guitar riff that appears to be playing at half speed for full lysergic atmosphere, and a vocal part from Prophet's wife and musical partner, Stephanie Finch (the Emmylou Harris to his Gram Parsons), that's so high it's almost audible only to dogs. Similarly, the opening "Automatic Blues" has a swampy, creepy atmosphere that recalls Feldman's former employer Captain Beefheart, and the downright odd "You Did (Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp)" has a trippy electronic sheen and an unexpected rapped chorus. In this context, songs like the more traditionally minded "West Memphis Moon" are the ones that sound out of place! However, the combination of country twang and psychedelic weirdness works more often than not, and it makes a nice change from Prophet's recent albums, which were starting to sound a bit formulaic. It's not as big a change as Wilco made with Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Age of Miracles has a similar restless quality. ~ Stewart Mason, Rovi

Performer	Chuck Prophet
Music genre	Alternative
Music release type	Album
Media format	CD
Original release date	2004
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Track listing	Automatic Blues, Age of Miracles, You Did (Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp), Smallest Man in the World, Just to See You Smile, West Memphis Moon, You've Got Me Where You Want Me, Pin a Rose on Me, Heavy Duty, Monkey in the Middle, Solid Gold
Record label	New West Records
Songwriter	Chuck Prophet
Number in series	7
Track name	Automatic Blues, Age of Miracles, You Did (Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp), Smallest Man in the World, Just to See Your Smile, West Memphis Moon, You've Got Me Where You Want Me, Pin a Rose on Me, Heavy Duty, Monkey in the Middle, Solid Gold
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N