Taken from his anticipated album 50, out January 20th, the hellish travelogue approaches a pure distillation of the perfect Chapman song, with its dark lyrics and mesmerizing, elastic instrumental passages. (We’re snowed in here in North Carolina, so it feels particularly apropos to the season.)
The legendary Michael Chapman joined Marc Riley on BBC 6 Radio Music today, playing several songs and chatting about his new album 50; recording with Steve Gunn, Nathan Bowles, James Elkington, Jason Meagher, and Jimy SeiTang (“a stick insect who plays the bass!”); his first American tour disaster in 1971; and … run-ins with Jimi Hendrix, among other things.
The critical acclaim for Michael Chapman’s magnificent forthcoming album 50 continues with unanimous praise from the UK, including MOJO, Uncut, The Wire, BBC Radio, and Record Collector. Also, peep photos of the finished LP package.
To celebrate, all catalog items will be discounted 20% through Sunday, Dec. 11th when you use the coupon code KRAMPUS during checkout. This year, in the spirit of assistance and resistance, we will be donating a portion of our sale proceeds to the ACLU. Also, listen to our PoB 2016 Picks + Office Favorites Playlist.
Michael Chapman has premiered his latest single “Sometimes You Just Drive,” “further proving the transcendental power of his music.” The dark, angular song, one of three new compositions on 50, prominently features the smoldering guitar work of Steve Gunn and the backing vocals of Bridget St John, and was inspired by events very close to home.
Michael Chapman’s new record 50, produced by Steve Gunn and titled to commemorate fifty years of touring—and released four days before Michael’s 76th birthday—stands as a formidable monument of retrospection and introspection in his adventurous catalog, embodying his undeniable late career masterpiece. Today Chapman shares debut track “That Time of Night” via NPR Music’s Songs We Love. Pre-order and watch an album trailer.
After five decades of recording and touring, veteran British songwriter and guitar sage Michael Chapman has finally made what he calls his “American record,” and the aptly titled 50 now stands as his late career masterwork, a moving legacy statement by a legend. Backed by Steve Gunn (who also produced), Nathan Bowles, James Elkington, Jason Meagher, Jimy SeiTang, and Bridget St John, Chapman tears into both bold renderings of new songs and radical reinterpretations of material from his revered catalog, his world-weary whispers assuming the incandescent power of prophecy.
