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Popa Chubby and the Beast Band—Popa Chubby and the
Beast Band Live at G. Bluey's Juke Joint—Gulf Coast Records

Well what a great deal this one is. Recorded at G Bluey's Juke Joint
in Long Island City, New York, on October 24 and 25, 2022, the
album features Popa Chubby (guitar and vocals), backed by his
all-star "Beast Band," which consists of Mike Merritt - bass (Conan
O'Brien, Billy Gibbons); Mike Dimeo - keyboards (Johnny Winter,
Tommy James); and Stefano Giudici - drums. This double album

brings you more than two hours of outstanding music filled with
virtuoso playing and outstanding showmanship; the nearest to
‘really being there’ at a live gig that you will ever get.

Popa Chubby (Ted Horowitz) is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve and has known the ups
and downs of the bluesman’s life, including the bouts of ill health and affairs of the heart that are
part of modern living.

He is a very fine guitar player, not afraid to tackle a touch of Robert Johnson as well as movie
themes and even popular music and sometimes, too, vintage popular music.

The gig—which is a masterclass in structure and pacing a live gig—begins with Neil Young’s
‘Motorcycle Mama’, pretty close to a traditional blues. That is followed by one of Ted’s own songs
‘Another Ten Years Gone’ and straight into ‘Hey Joe’, the Hendrix work out, written by Billy
Roberts.

A couple more Popa Chubby penned tracks (‘Dirty Lie’ and ‘69 Dollars’) are followed by the first
of a number of surprises, his rendition of the ‘Godfather Theme’ (aka ‘Speak Softly Love’) giving
a bit of a spin to Ted’s self-selected nickname of ‘Don Chubblione - The Capo of Love’.

Two more blues— one of them ‘Grown Man Crying Blues’ close to fourteen minutes long—
precedes another surprise, a delightful rendition of ‘Over The Rainbow’, a Popa Chubby
tour-de-force.

End of first CD.

The second CD is (almost) ‘more of the same’. This time, six of Chubby’s own songs are mixed
with Leonard Cohen’s anthem ‘Hallelujah’, Tom Waite’s ‘Heart Atack and Vine’ and a delightful
reading of Jimmy Cox’s ‘Nobody Wants You When You’re Down and Out’, a song often attributed
to Bessie Smith, here set in a very inventive 6/8 time.

The second CD ends with a great rendition of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Sympathy For the Devil’ which,
is not as some believe a song in support of devil worship, but rather a examination of the dark
side of humanity. Chubby couples this with a rap or perhaps it’s a talking blues, outlining some
aspects of ‘Chubby’s Story’.

This album is a stunner. Popa Chubby goes to the top of the tree with this one. Wonderful!

Ian K McKenzie