#6 Popa Chubby sits comfortably among Dixiefrog ranks frequently releasing his stuff of original material. His latest project is “Stealing The Devil’s Guitar” (Dixiefrog DFGCD 8600) which continues his well known musical path with few surprises along the way. Popa takes us into his world of sonic and lyrical salvation. This is blues, this is rock & roll, this is rap and funk and all that is New York City. Soundwise this CD offers the most textural Chubby to date with lots of slide workouts, acoustic, mandolin, even sitar, and a heavy dose of hard blues-rock guitar. The urban rap of “Smuggler’s Game” has Mid Eastern flavours which transcends the listener to exotic border crossings in the context of a four minute song. The Western saga of “Young Guns” sets the stage for a shootout between new and old, because if you want to take the devil’s guitar you got to steal it! The heart wrenching dirge of “Young Guns” bemoans the trials of the entrusted, add to the whole package of original material two great covers, “Bold As Love” (Jimi Hendrix) and “In This World” (Jessie Mae Hemphill). “Stealing The Devil’s Guitar” shows Popa Chubby in mature, confident way and confirms his status on contemporary blues scene.
the art is inside
