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Blues-rock guitarist Popa Chubby (a/k/a Ted Horowitz) has been part of the blues scene for almost 20 years now, Chubby a gifted instrumentalist and underrated songwriter from the Dylan-inspired old-school of folk-blues lyricists. Between 2001 and 2010, Chubby released seven albums – six studio and a live disc – for the esteemed roots-blues label Blind Pig Records, not counting a pair of very cool live collections of Hendrix covers (Electric Chubbyland).

Although he's often stereotyped as an unabashed blues-rocker due to size, his tattooed-biker appearance, and larger-than-life personality, in truth Chubby is a guitarist capable of great nuance and subtlety, and an intelligent lyricist that has incorporated hip-hop influences into his often self-referential words and phrasing. The Essential Popa Chubby pulls material from across his Blind Pig catalog, sixteen songs in all that showcase the length and breadth of Chubby's talents.

The Essential Popa Chubby

If you haven't listened to Popa Chubby in a while, or you've never taken the plunge, this is as good a time as any to familiarize yourself with this talented fretburner. The Essential Popa Chubby kicks off with a couple of songs from his first Blind Pig album, 2001's How'd A White Boy Get The Blues, beginning with the humorous, autobiographical "Daddy Played The Guitar and Mama Was a Disco Queen." Chubby's gritty vocals display a surprising gymnastic bent here, never the crooner but slinging out lyrics with a mix of talking-blues and hip-hop meter, the vox accompanied by some tasteful guitarwork that ranges from acoustic strum to searing tightwire electric solos.

Even better is "How'd A White Boy Get The Blues," another self-referential tune that explains exactly how a white Jewish kid from the Bronx became a blues guitarist, the song's acoustic country-blues sound peppered with darts of fine electric tone.

"Somebody Let The Devil Out" is another fine performance, inspired by the Delta but evincing a contemporary edge in its lyrical and vocal tone. Chubby successfully mimics a Mississippi bluesman at times, and a healthy dose of harmonica lends support to the song's rustic sound, but it's Chubby's engaging guitar that drives this material, and here he's all over the place with a variety of licks and sounds. "Life Is A Beatdown," from his 2004 disc Peace, Love & Respect, is a muscular blues-rocker with subdued albeit powerful fretwork and a strong lyrical tale while Chubby's cover of the Jimi Hendrix gem "Hey Joe," from 2005's live Big Man, Big Guitar, allows the guitarist a chance to really cut loose with the six-string pyrotechnics that he brings to the stage nightly, but the studio has never been able to adequately document. Chubby's take on the song doesn't just ape Hendrix's, however, but builds upon it with soulful vocals and some imaginative guitarplay.

Hallelujah

Leonard Cohen's wonderful "Hallelujah," best covered by the Velvet Underground's John Cale, is perfectly suited to Chubby's talents, and he does a great job with this live version, imbuing the song with a bluesy hue with his gruff vocals and elegant guitar accompaniment. Alternately whispering and roaring, the song's emotional swells are captured by Chubby's passionate delivery and tasteful fretwork.

By contrast, the red-hot "Slide Devil Man Slide," from Chubby's 2006 album Stealing The Devil's Guitar, is an unbridled rocker with a well-written storyline and scorching, serpentine guitar that evokes memories of Hendrix, Muddy Waters, and Elmore James to these ears. Chubby's "Deliveries After Dark," from the 2007 album of the same name, is a long-time crowd favorite and a staple of the guitarist's dynamic live show for a good reason. An uncompromising blues-rock gem, the song's blustery guitar-driven soundtrack is matched by machine-gun vocals and a driving locomotive rhythm. Chubby's guitar squeals and screams with pleasure here, with that old Hendrix influence creeping in along with strains of Robin Trower and probably a bunch of others, but sounding entirely like Popa Chubby.

The title track from 2010's The Fight Is On is equally audacious, a muscular rocker with soaring guitar riffs and a defiant nature, with probably Chubby's most matured songwriting ever, a flurry of words and imagery that plays well alongside the bluesy fretting. The Essential Popa Chubby closes with a rant 'n' roll reading of the Carter Family country treasure "Keep On The Sunnyside Of Life," transformed here into a bluesy rave-up that retains the original's joyful vibe while adding a reckless, punkish intensity and dollops of fierce rockabilly-tinged guitar. It's a priceless moment, and a great illustration of Chubby's immense skills as both a guitarist and an interpreter of other artist's material.

The Reverend's Bottom Line

Popa Chubby is never going to be mistaken for a great blues vocalist in the way that, say, Tommy Castro is feted, but he ekes out each song with feeling and strength, often talking the lyrics in a rhythmic style that manages to evince emotion and passion nonetheless. Chubby's skill with his instrument is second to none, and his ability to delve into different styles and sounds places him heads and tails above many of his blues-rockin' brethren. It's Chubby's way with the word that impresses the most, however, his imaginative story-songs long on intelligence and thought, short on cliché. Constructed as they are, I can't imagine anybody else singing any of these songs in quite the same way, as Chubby's natural artistic flow perfectly matches voice, lyrics, and guitar on each song into a cohesive and entertaining whole.

The Essential Popa Chubby is a rock-solid collection of material that does a fine job in recapping the artist's first decade with Blind Pig Records, the hand-picked and Chubby-approved tracklist offering up a wide swath of material that does a great job in spotlighting the guitarist's best musical moments, and sets the stage for the next decade in this underrated and often underappreciated artist's career. (Blind Pig Records, released December 14, 2010)

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