Cry of the Prophets
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Cry of the Prophets
| type = studio
| artist = Chris Thomas
| cover = Cry of the Prophets.jpg
| alt =
| released = 1990
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Blues
| length =
| producer = Bruce Bromberg, Chris Thomas
| prev_title = The Beginning
| prev_year = 1986
| next_title = Simple
| next_year = 1993
}}
Cry of the Prophets is an album by the American blues musician Chris Thomas, released in 1990.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.nodepression.com/chris-thomas-king-o-brother-who-art-thou/|title=Chris Thomas King - O brother, who art thou?|date=January 1, 2002|magazine=No Depression}}
Production
The album was written and recorded in Austin, Texas.{{cite news |last1=Point |first1=Michael |title=Thomas' 'Cry of the Prophets' worth the yearlong wait |work=Austin American-Statesman |date=19 Apr 1990 |department=Onward |page=19}} It was produced by Bruce Bromberg and Thomas.{{cite news |title=Thomas's Advice Have a Good 'Cry' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1990/06/22/thomass-advice-have-a-good-cry/1bcbe0e3-c054-4be7-8f91-0464359bf6c2/ |work=The Washington Post |access-date=28 June 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Okamoto |first1=David |title=Hard-rocking new bluesman relays gritty messages |work=Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph |date=11 May 1990 |page=D11}}
Critical reception
{{music ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{rating|4.5|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/cry-of-the-prophets-mw0000654979|title=Cry of the Prophets - Chris Thomas | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}}
|rev2= Chicago Tribune
|rev2score = {{rating|3|4}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-05-17-9002090734-story.html|title=Chris Thomas Cry of the Prophets (Hightone/Sire)|first=Greg|last=Kot|work=chicagotribune.com}}
|rev3 = Robert Christgau
|rev3score = {{Rating-Christgau|dud}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=3912&name=Chris+Thomas|title=Robert Christgau: CG: Chris Thomas|website=www.robertchristgau.com}}
|rev4 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
|rev4score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=4 |page=845}}
|rev5 = Houston Chronicle
|rev5score = {{rating|3|4}}{{cite news |last1=Mitchell |first1=Rick |title=Recordings |work=Houston Chronicle |date=May 13, 1990 |department=Zest |page=10}}
|rev6 = Los Angeles Times
|rev6score = {{rating|3|5}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-08-ca-160-story.html|title=*** Chris Thomas, "Cry of the Prophets," Sire/Hightone|date=July 8, 1990|work=Los Angeles Times}}
|rev7 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
|rev7score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |date=1992 |publisher=Random House |page=702}}
|rev8 = St. Petersburg Times
|rev8score = {{rating|2|5}}{{cite news |last1=Snider |first1=Eric |title=Sound Bites |work=St. Petersburg Times |date=25 May 1990 |department=Weekend |page=17}}
}}
The Chicago Tribune wrote that Thomas's "keening guitar solos never overstay their welcome and his lyrics brim with urgency." The Los Angeles Times deemed the album "a strange brew of deep soul, country blues, modern funk, Hendrix and Marley that falls somewhere between a more rockin' Robert Cray and a Lenny Kravitz without the Lennonisms." Greil Marcus, in The Village Voice, praised the "deep soul guitar" and "deep soul crying," writing that "up against the likes of N.W.A., Thomas sounds pathetic—but also real."{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0XWhCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61|title=Real Life Rock: The Complete Top Ten Columns, 1986-2014|first=Greil|last=Marcus|date=October 20, 2015|publisher=Yale University Press|via=Google Books}} The Washington Post thought that Cry of the Prophets contained "some of the year's most pleasurable music," writing that it's "a groundbreaking fusion of '60s Southern soul singing, '70s rock 'n' roll guitar and '80s funk rhythms." LA Weekly said that the album "claims and revitalizes a lot of African-American heritage without any fuss."{{cite news |last1=Miles |first1=Milo |title=Squeezing the Boogie |work=LA Weekly |date=10 May 1990 |page=51}}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_writing =
| title1 = Angel Lady
| length1 = 0:55
| title2 = Heart & Soul
| length2 = 4:14
| title3 = Wanna Die with a Smile on My Face
| length3 = 3:24
| title4 = Help Us, Somebody
| length4 = 5:43
| title5 = Dance to the Music Till My Savior Comes
| length5 = 3:59
| title6 = I'm Gonna Make It
| length6 = 5:00
| title7 = Alpha-Omega
| length7 = 4:16
| title8 = All Nite Long
| length8 = 3:20
| title9 = Last Real Man
| length9 = 4:37
| title10 = I Need You
| length10 = 4:04
| title11 = Cry of the Prophets
| length11 = 3:25
| total_length =
}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.christhomasking.com/discography Discography]
{{authority control}}
Category:Chris Thomas King albums