Pamphlet
Chuck Prophet covers a wide range of musical ground on his latest outing. In the opening tracks alone, we go from loud and dirty rock (“Automatic Blues”), to cross-generational Mind Games psych-pop (“Age of Miracles”), to the hip-hop inflected, hyper-melodic nod to the history of pop culture idioms (“You Did”) - which if it doesn’t answer, at least raises many more musical questions, including: “Who put the ram in the ram-a-lama ding-dong?…Who raised the roof and never made a sound?…Who cleared the static and made it sing? You did.” Prophet seems to have a fondness for throwing many different people and various sounds/styles/attitudes together just to see what happens. Dig the transformations throughout a cut like “Pin A Rose On Me.” The magic of such experimentation is no mistake; Prophet knows what he is doing. The results are enchanting, particularly the Spector of Wilson that drives a tune like “Just to See You Smile,” or the lilting groove of “You Got Me Where You Want Me.” I never did believe in miracles, and I’m beginning to wonder why.