NYC experimental rock outfit The Mortal Prophets (helmed by John Beckmann) recently announced the forthcoming release of their debut LP, Me and the Devil, due December 9. On the record, Beckmann joined forces with Irish musician and producer William Declan Lucey (Rubyhorse, Leftbank), with whom he developed the record’s atmospheric, noisy sound. Additionally, it features collaborations with Morphine’s Dana Colley, vocalist Aoibheann Carey-Philpott, and more.
Now, Beckmann and The Mortal Prophets have shared three more singles off their forthcoming record, "Soul Of A Man," "Pretty Girl In The Pines," and "Grinning In Your Face." Each track takes inspiration from classic tracks that helped mold America's musical landscape, described as "contemporary reinterpretations." As Beckmann wrote on the record's newly released tracks and their original inspirations:
"'The Soul of a Man' is a gospel blues song recorded by Blind Willie Johnson in 1930. As with most of Johnson's songs, it deals with a spiritual theme within a blues musical framework. Accompanying Johnson (vocal and guitar) is Willie B. Harris, sometimes identified as his first wife, who sang harmony on the refrain.
'In the Pines,' also known as 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night?,' 'My Girl,' and 'Black Girl,' is a traditional American folk song originating from two songs, 'In the Pines' and 'The Longest Train,' both of whose authorship is unknown and date back to at least the 1870s. The songs originated in the Southern Appalachian area of the United States in the contiguous areas of Eastern Tennessee and Kentucky, Western North Carolina and Northern Georgia. Versions of the song have been recorded by many artists in numerous genres, but it is most often associated with American bluegrass musician Bill Monroe and American blues musician Lead Belly, both of whom recorded very different versions of the song in the 1940s and 1950s.
The song 'Grinnin in Your Face' was written by Son House and was first recorded and released in 1965 on The Legendary Son House. House was a slide guitar player and blues singer. He was a huge influence on Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson, who are, in turn, were huge influences on everyone else! House was a pioneer of the Delta blues. The recordings House made are raw, scratchy, but above all emotional and intense, sometimes even demonic. I know it's been covered by Andrew Bird and Beck, among others. It's really a song of betrayal, and back stabbing, yet the musician rises above it all, and laughs in their faces, and continues his life undeterred. I think we can all relate to that on some level." Earlier this year, The Mortal Prophets shared their highly anticipated debut EP, Stomp the Devil, produced by David Sisko and featuring collaborations with Gary Lucas (Captain Beefheart). | 
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