Music Review: Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express
ABC2, Glasgow ****
So when Prophet declared in freewheeling song that it’s been a Bad Year for Rock and Roll, you had better believe him. He paid tribute to the fallen heroes of 2016, covering Leonard Cohen’s Iodine and stealing brazenly and lovingly from the late Alan Vega’s band Suicide for the heatseeking rhythmic riff of In The Mausoleum.
But Prophet and chums were also the revivifying tonic, celebrating the low-slung drawling joys of their great American songbook with the rollicking call-and-response of Temple Beautiful or the brooding, stormy (though not quite as heavy as promised) You Did (Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp).
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Hide AdThere were a few too many meandering jams in the second half of the set, for all their strung-out place in rock’n’roll, but at least when Prophet indulged, he did so with a sense of humour, delivering an entertaining geek sermon on Wish Me Luck. Not that this charmed and charming performer needs it.
FIONA SHEPHERD