By Scott McLennan

Predictably, Chuck Prophet’s brand of rustic rock ’n’ roll gets a bit of a makeover by the members of the cumbia band ¿Qiensave? But let me reassure you — this is another gem of a Prophet album.

Chuck Prophet had everything he needed to make a really embarrassing record. First, he lived through the terror of a cancer diagnosis and subsequent uncertainty about the success of the treatment he was prescribed. Then, as he was recovering from his illness, Prophet fell in love with cumbia music, a propulsive, psychedelic-tinged brand of danceable Spanish music.

In lesser hands, Wake the Dead, the album Prophet made last year under those influences, would have been a mess — maudlin songs about living to see another day presented in the audio equivalent of the guy who wears a sombrero to work on Cinco de Mayo.

Yes, Wake the Dead is infused with a palpable sense of gratitude (there’s even a song that proclaims that “It’s a Good Day to Be Alive”). Predictably, Prophet’s brand of rustic rock ’n’ roll gets a bit of a makeover by the members of the cumbia band ¿Qiensave? But let me reassure you — this is indeed another gem of a Chuck Prophet album. For those who are interested in being convinced of the album’s success by hearing the musicians in person, Prophet and a band consisting of members of ¿Qiensave? and The Mission Express, his main group for the past several years, will present a spate of shows this week in the region.

Prophet comes across as a guy who has too much respect for the craft of songwriting to release subpar tunes. Starting with his work in the ’80s with the band Green on Red on through a long string of albums under his own name, Prophet has made an enviable stash of songs that rock, provoke, comfort, inspire, and demand repeated listens. During the pandemic, when touring was not an option, Prophet hosted an online radio program, “Trip in the Country,” in which he illuminated his thoughts on what makes a good song tick (in short, do whatever Nick Lowe does).

Asked about the potential pitfalls of writing songs about one’s own mortality, along with importing music from outside one’s own ethnic identity, Prophet only shrugged. “Songs don’t arrive like they’re delivered by a stork,” he said. “Every day, I look to write a riff or a verse. Any day I get a little something from the muse, I’m grateful, it’s a good day. If a song can’t stand up for itself, it doesn’t make it. It’s a process of natural selection.”

Chuck Prophet & Cumbia Shoes. Photo: courtesy of the artist

Prophet had already composed songs — his kind of tunes, structured in his usual way — when he decided to record Wake the Dead with members of the cumbia band he had been listening to and then began to jam with. He told me that ¿Qiensave? added its distinctive flavor to this material. The creative process flowed smoothly, the blended sound giving the album the sort of energizing nucleus Prophet looks for when starting an album. “If I find I have three songs that, if I stand back and squint and think I’m seeing something fresh, that’s when I get excited to make a record,” he explained.

The song “Wake the Dead” opens the album and sets the stage powerfully with its hypnotic Latin grooves, sinewy melodies, and spectral images of survival. “Betty’s Song” deepens the album’s dark tones before Prophet turns to the lovely Ricky Nelson-inspired pop of “Give the Boy of Kiss” (but there’s no missing the kernel of sadness infused into the song’s sweet coating).

The album reaches beyond Prophet’s initial “squint line” to engage with other topics, too. “Sally Was a Cop” is a song Prophet wrote with Alejandro Escovedo: it appears on the latter’s 2012 album, Big Station. The tune takes on drug-cartel violence, serving as a reminder of what people trying to enter this country are (still) fleeing from.

“In the Shadows (song for Elon)” is a number inspired by Prophet’s disgust for the bully billionaire. The songwriter had no choice from his workplace in San Francisco but see, daily, the blue bird logo of the oligarch’s company. The Tesla founder has since moved to Texas with his rebranded social media platform. “I was really hoping he’d take his rocket ship and go away,” Prophet said.

For his part, Prophet is currently traveling around the East Coast with his new band, dubbed Cumbia Shoes. The ensemble is performing Jan. 28 at City Winery in Boston, Jan. 29 at 3S Artspace in Portsmouth, N.H, Jan. 30 at the Iron Horse in Northampton, and Feb. 1 at The Narrows Center in Fall River.

Cumbia Shoes includes Mission Express members James Deprato on guitar and Vicente Rodriguez on drums, ¿Qiensave? members Mario Cortez and Alejandro Gomez on multiple instruments, plus Joaquin Zamudio Garcia on bass. The band is focusing on songs from Wake the Dead, but the program is also peppered with material from other Prophet albums. For the tour Prophet has resurrected “West Memphis Moon,” a swampy, nightmarish meditation on the persecuted teens known as the West Memphis Three, which was recorded for the Age of Miracles album. And, on a few occasions during the band’s fall tour in Europe, Prophet reached back to mid-’80s Green on Red and played “Time Ain’t Nothing,” an anthem to staying young at heart.

Prophet wasn’t sure if he would continue to do performances of that or any other songs from the Green on Red days. He said that reviving that staple from the golden era of college rock was a spontaneous decision taken when he returned to the stage for encores. But even if Cumbia Shoes does not play “Time Ain’t Nothing” outright, the tune’s hopeful sentiment reflects a thankfulness Prophet himself is feeling at this moment in time.

Scott McLennan covered music for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette from 1993 to 2008. He then contributed music reviews and features to The Boston Globe, Providence Journal, Portland Press Herald, and WGBH, as well as to The Arts Fuse. He also operated the NE Metal blog to provide in-depth coverage of the region’s heavy metal scene.