2017 – Popa Chubby
Productions
Release Date : Nov. 27, 2017
By Phillip Smith;
Nov 11, 2017
I’ve been a fan of Ted Horowitz, also known
as Popa Chubby, since 2003, when I saw him live in Memphis, TN at the Beale
Street Music Festival. I still remember
being so impressed with not only his mastery of the guitar, but with the amount
of passion he poured into his performance on that blistering hot day. It’s only been about a year since his
previous album, The Catfish hit the
shelves, and he has already set a new bar of excellence with his latest, Two Dogs. This is my absolute favorite released so far. Boasting thirteen tracks of hot electric rocking
blues, the record features two bonus live tracks, covering Leonard Cohen’s
“Hallelujah”, and The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil”. Besides the
fabulous Dave Keyes on keys, Sam “Freight Train” Bryant on drums,
and Andy Paladino on bass, Popa Chubby also is accompanied by his
daughter Tipitina Horowitz on trumpet, along with Andrew Garrison
on tenor saxophone.
“It’s Alright” magnificently jump-starts the album
with a searing guitar intro and keeps marching on with an infectious melody and
charismatic attitude. I immediately fall
for the captivating blues riff Popa Chubby plants in “Rescue Me”. Then, when he unleashes into the bridge, it sounds
so damn good, especially with the full sound of the organ lingering in the
background. As Keyes tears it up,
Chubby gets down and totally rips it up in a fantastic Neil Young
kind of way, bringing “Dirty Old Blues” to the top of stack of my favorites. “Shakedown” is another great song. It’s gritty, bluesy and loaded with gobs of psychedelic
guitar goodness. It’s almost a one man
show for the smooth and jazzy instrumental “Clayophus Dupree”, as Popa
Chubby plays guitar, bass, and drums, with Keyes applying his
signature vibrant texture to the song on organ.
Popa
Chubby undoubtedly hit the bullseye as far as this album
is concerned. Two Dogs is hands down one
of the best blues-rock albums released this year.
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