by Cub Koda
Popa Chubby plays loud blues-rock, plain and simple. The songs on this 1999 outing are almost all originals from his pen, with Otis Redding's &I've Been Loving You Too Long& and Jimi Hendrix's &The Wind Cries Mary& being the only covers aboard. While blues purists will no doubt find his playing and demeanor rock-excessive, fans of burning bluesy guitar will actually find much here to savor. Chubby never really overplays (given the parameters of the genre he's working in, mind you) and the tunes show a stronger sense of melody this time out. There's a nice selection of grooves and all of them exist as songs first and as frameworks second. Fans of high-powered blues-rock will love this one.