Popa Chubby
Brooklyn Basement Blues (1999)

review by: Glenn Pfeifer
Date: 4/12/01

Now that AR is being noticed among the artist community and actually referred to on certain artists' websites, I am going to push spreading the word about one of my absolute favorite "local" acts - Popa Chubby.

Popa is my favorite type of blues guitar hero - one who won't be typecast! Unlike some 12-bar stylists who may always keep their tone even or their rhythms simple or their covers predictable - Popa Chubby moves flawlessly from heavy doses of "stand-up-and -be-heard-in-your-face-blues" to sweet sounds of swing blues to jazzy clips of world-music-influenced blues. Brooklyn Basement Blues is a nice collection that samples from all these sources and more. Popa's songwriting gets more accomplished with each CD and I think his next one or the one after may finally have the hit that gets him a larger audience. "Arlita" is my pick for this collection (although I'm not sure anymore where to find blues RnR on the radio here in NY except maybe WFUV?)

Make no mistake about Popa Chubby though - this is a three-piece blues outfit that kicks ass first and asks questions later - and they can only be fully appreciated in a live performance. His live disc does a decent job capturing the energy of his rumbling vocals and his powerful Gibson, but until you've seen this mammoth man engulf his fretboard up close - you can't relate to what I'm talking about.

Go see Popa Chubby now! Preferably at The Bayou in Mount Vernon. If you can't get there and you like the blues - I'm talking Jimi and Stevie Ray and Buddy Guy and Albert King - chew the fat on Popa Chubby's Brooklyn Basement Blues. It's quite tasty. -gpfife