COCO MONTOYA "Dirty Deal" Alligator POPA CHUBBY "Stealing the Devil's Guitar" Blind Pig
Friday, March 2, 2007; Page WE08
THERE ARE TWO performances on Coco Montoya's latest album, sharply contrasting songs delivered back to back, that powerfully illustrate why this blues vet should be far better known in his own right than for following in the footsteps of Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.
The first is a cover of Otis Rush's "It Takes Time," complete with two sets of Stratocaster-fueled, slash-and-burn guitar choruses that achieve the kind of dramatic intensity associated with another one of his former bosses, Albert Collins. The second is Johnny Copeland's "It's My Own Tears," a smoldering, Southern soul-rooted ballad. It's the inspiration for a performance that proves Montoya's voice can be nearly as expressive as his guitar work when everything clicks.
Nothing on "Dirty Deal," produced by Little Feat's Paul Barrere, outshines those cuts. But what make "Dirty Deal" an even more attractive proposition are several songs that capitalize on Montoya's underrated vocals and fierce guitar work, whether it's as lighthearted as the self-penned, organ-grinding shuffle "Coin Operated Love" or as foul-tempered as Lowell Fulson's vintage rant "It's All Your Fault."
Ogden Nash's famous couplet "The Bronx? No Thonx!" may be embraced by blues musicians, but Popa Chubby (a.k.a. Ted Horowitz) has always been a charismatic exception. "Stealing the Devil's Guitar," Chubby's latest offering, is a typically exuberant and genre-blurring affair. Sure, the album's title suggests that hellhounds are on his trail, but more often than not, Chubby is in good spirits, starting with "Slide Devil Man Slide," a rap-blues saga that has more in common with Tenacious D than with Robert Johnson.
From there, Chubby charts his own peculiar course through blues, rock, rap, funk, ska, gospel, what have you. The zigzagging trek is enlivened by his colorful guitar work, outsize personality and, on "Young Guns," an odd knack for simultaneously bringing to mind Jack Black and Charlie Daniels.
-- Mike Joyce
Coco Montoya appears solo on Friday at the Rams Head Tavern and with Popa Chubby on Saturday at the State Theatre.
