Album Review: Chuck Prophet 'Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins'

Released on February 10th, Chuck Prophet’s latest full-length, Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins is a thirteen-track set dealing with death and violence, lost love, and dreams set in an atmosphere Prophet has appropriately dubbed, “California noir.” The all-analog project, which was recorded at Hyde Street Studio in San Francisco (the same spot he did his very first recording session), kicks off with the jangly title track, a nostalgic look at the one hit wonder (“I Fought The Law”) before turning sexy and suggestive on the gritty “Your Skin” - where he delivers seductive lines like “Like a spoon of honey dripping down my throat kinda makes me wonder what you’re hiding in that coat;” and stunningly tender and romantic on “Open Up Your Heart” a ballad where feelings are bared “I don’t carry anything unless you count this torch for you.”

Along with his band, The Mission Express - Stephanie Finch (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Kevin White (bass), Vicente Rodriguez (drums, vocals) and James DePrato (guitar) – Prophet takes you down an ominous path on “Coming Out In Code” and goes darker in the tale of a girl who encounters a “Killing Machine” before taking a somber tone remembering those we’ve lost in 2016 in the undeniably catchy “Bad Year for Rock and Roll.” The album also includes the groovy harmonies of “Jesus Was a Social Drinker” (cowbell!!) which compliment a tale of that “all around decent dude” in relation to a contemporary coupling, “We Got Up and Played” which shows the less glamorous life of a musician: a night in a club “wondering who will show” yet doing your job nonetheless, and personal favorite “Rider of the Train” before closing out with “Alex Nieto” a hardcore tribute to the Bay Area security guard who was killed in 2014.

Although I have listened to isolated tracks, I have never given a Prophet album a listen in its entirety until now – and that’s definitely something to be rectified. Prophet brings heft, heart, and honesty to songs with dynamic melodies and lyrical depth. Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins is Prophet’s 14th album. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.

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