Description

Popa Chubby is 30. Probably a few years younger than his legal alter ego, Ted Horowitz. But we're here to celebrate Popa Chubby's 30-year career, not to count the gray hairs on Ted's head. Besides, he doesn't have any. For his birthday, he's giving himself the gift: a new album. And because he loves to eat and cook, Popa Chubby initially thought of making a food-themed album. A "homemade" album, as they say in real restaurants, largely played solo (Popa is a multi-instrumentalist) and recorded at home. He started by writing the song "The Flavor is in the Fat," the opening track of his new album, *It's a Mighty Hard Road*. In music as in cooking, fat is what holds everything together, what crackles on the flame, what melts in your mouth, what softens the dry. Fat is the cherry on top of the birthday cake, you might say. It's the pleasure and beauty of life. And it's a good start for this album. And then Popa Chubby changed his mind: goodbye to food songs, and hello to songs, period (even if the album is long, with 15 tracks). The kind of song that gets stuck in your head and that you hum without even realizing it. But Popa Chubby still conceived this album as a festive feast, one that won't leave anyone wanting. Neither guitar lovers nor melody lovers. In addition to the New York-style guitar-blues he's accustomed us to (that is to say, electric, eclectic, eclectic, generous, energetic, and restless), the musician sometimes lowers the volume of his trusty guitar to deliver a few soulful ballads and mid-tempos, as good as a Southern road trip. With age, Popa Chubby may have lost some of his rage and edge, but he's also acquired a kind of wisdom that allows him to express himself differently, with more gentleness. Popa Chubby has released so many albums and filled so many venues: he has nothing left to prove, just his fans to satisfy, the joy of playing to share. This album is captivating because it explores the full spectrum of emotions and feelings that can be put into songs. Including love, of course. As a bonus, Popa Chubby covers Kiss. ​​Not the band Kiss, but the Prince song. "Prince is one of my biggest influences for guitar; no one surpasses him, except maybe Hendrix. And I love this song. I first played it for my girlfriend, who loves it too. For me, Kiss is a blues song." Thank you, Popa, kisses. But the good news about It's a Mighty Hard Road is also Popa Chubby's return to the Dixiefrog label after five years away. Dixiefrog has done a lot for Popa Chubby, and vice versa. And as Popa Chubby sings in the middle of his new album: The best is yet to come.