May 22, 2004
Love him or hate him, there's no denying that Popa Chubby is here to stay. On his second album for Blind Pig, Chubby focuses his Bronx-fueled, rock-and-hip-hop-inflected blues on the political climate of 21st Century America. Along with the newfound maturity of his subject matter, Chubby has also grown as a musician. While this CD is in some ways his least personal yet, his own experiences shine through in the opinions he expresses on tracks like "Un-American Blues" and "The Man on the News." Chubby is gradually but surely developing a more sophisticated, accessible style--without losing the brash attitude that has made him so effective in the first place. The blues has always been about expressing harsh realities, and Chubby continues in that fine tradition. --Genevieve Williams
Popa gets better once more..., May 21, 2004
Reviewer: A music fan from Europe /Amazon.com fan review
I got the European version of this Popa Chubby album (different and better cover), which was out a month or so prior to the Blind Pig records US edition. Popa is very popular around here and in my perception way underappreciated in his home in America. The new title is out for sometime now and there's not a single customer review on Amazon yet?!? That said you need this CD badly if you are into an honest, straight ahead blues-rock music, lets alone if you are a fan already. Then for the long-time Popa fans his unique melodic (for lack of a better term to describe them) solos are not a secret. He is true to the style again, yet the new tunes are fresh and stinging and much different from his previous work too. I will put Peace Love & Respect alongside Popa's best studio work so far: How'd a White Boy Get the Blues? and the outstanding The Good, the Bad & the Chubby. It's a shame to miss any of them, honestly.... BTW it's not the second (as the editor review states) but the third Blind Pig release, plus a fourth CD of previously issued early works. Did I mention the artist is underappreciated.....?
AOL MUSIC
If you've ever seen Popa Chubby live, you're probably a fan. He pours his heart and soul into his shows and he's got a ton of presence and charisma. That's how he attracted such a loyal following, but listening to his early records alone sure didn't add up to the live experience. Maybe it's because his flippin'-the-bird-till-I-die attitude only went so far without the smoke and beer, but all that began to change with 2002's The Good, the Bad and the Chubby and it's pivotal, 9/11-related cut, "Somebody Let the Devil Out." Peace, Love and Respect equals the energy and inspiration of The Good, the Bad and the Chubby and adds more focus with its overriding frustration with America 2004, George W. Bush in particular. The opening "Top Ten Reasons Why I Can't Sleep at Night" is a gimmicky song with Chubby rattling off a list of grievances and the stiff production does it no favors (a missed opportunity the singer will no doubt correct on the road). "Life Is a Beatdown" is a slow burner that would have found a better home toward the end of the album, but from the slinky and lyrically striking "Like the Buddha Do" to the end of the album there is no filler. Troubled by the attraction of the military, "Young Men" advises the youth to "Stay at home and live your lives." Besides being the centerpiece of the album, it's Chubby's most heartfelt song yet and following it with a roaring version of the Carter Family's "Keep on the Sunny Side" is a dark and poignant move that no one could have foreseen four or five albums ago. The commentary just flows out of Chubby for the rest of the album like Joe Strummer was writing for Double Trouble, and the band stays gritty and tight throughout. Peace, Love and Respect takes some time to really get going, but when it does it's a winning combination of bar band guts and troubled-times reflection that matches the urgency of Chubby's live shows. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide