Poppa Chubby - Universal Breakdown Blues - released May 28th 2013 (Mascot/Provogue)

Genre: Blues

The real selling point for Popa Chubby is his ability to play the guitar which he is quite amazing at.  The way I heard about Popa Chubby is not through his skills with the guitar or to gawk at his silly stage name but through his association with Sim Cain who used to drum for the Rollins Band until the 2000's rolled around. Cain had always been workman like behind the drum-set in that band but quietly had pushed the intense but insular vibe of the leader of that band, Henry Rollins, outwards into wholly more interesting music incorporating blues and jazz  on their albums The End of Silence (1992), Weight (1994) and Come in and Burn(1997). It was no surprise that the free-jazz saxophonist Charles Gayle turned up on some of their sessions for Weight that were later released on the companion album Weighting (2004). That sense of versatility and under-stated adventurous playing is present here while maintaining the driving intensity of a hard-rock band.

The album sort of stumbles early on, the opener 'I Don't Want Nobody' is good but there are moments on track number two "I Ain't Giving Up' and three 'Universal Breakdown Blues' that weren't up to the opener. Thankfully by the end of track three I was hooked as it was all pulled together later in that track with excellent guitar work. '69 Dollars' has the stock-in-trade variety of blues but it is carried off with passion that the track is memorable. Both of the cover tunes are well done. Firstly there is an intense workout through the blues staple 'Rock Me Baby' that is very close to the Jimi Hendrix version and secondly there is 'Over the Rainbow'  which is a eight minute instrumental and is the best showcase of the phenomenal guitar work this man can do. The second half of the record is devoted to outlaw type songs where the attitude is the draw.'Danger Man', 'Go'in Back to Amsterdam (Reefer Smoking Song)' and the hilariously crude 'Finger Banging Boogie' are the best of these cuts.The second half of the album was the strongest material here.

This album wasn't consistent all the way through but in patches it was brilliant!

RATING: 3.5/5

track listing 
1/ I Don't Want Nobody
2/ I Ain't Giving Up
3/ Universal Breakdown Blues
4/ The People's Blues
5/ Rock Me Baby
6/ 69 Dollars
7/ Over the Rainbow
8/ I Need a Lil' Mojo
9/ Danger Man
10/ Go'in Back to Amsterdam (Reefer Smoking Song) 
11/ Finger Banging Boogie
12/ Mind Bender

Here is the video for 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' by Popa Chubby