by Stephen Thomas ErlewineAgainst all odds, Popa Chubby has turned into a distinctive, strong modern bluesman. He's still saddled with that ridiculous name, which makes it hard to take him seriously, and he has a tendency to indulge in easy, vulgar jokes, but that's just part of who he is. If that annoys you, look past it and concentrate on the music on The Good, the Bad and the Chubby, which is lean and adventurous, solidly within the postmodern blues-rock tradition, but breaking free of the Stevie Ray fixations that distinguished his earlier work by adding bits of jazz and an ever-so-subtle hip-hop underpinning. Plus, there's Chubby's insistence on relying on original material -- a welcome turn of events, since it gives his album character even when the songs aren't first rate. Fortunately, through much of The Good, the music is good and he tackles a number of different kinds of songs, from topical tunes about 9-11 to joke songs, knowing relationship songs, and much more. Perhaps there are a couple of songs that stretch out a little bit too long, and maybe the album could use a little more grit in the production, but these, overall, are minor quibbles, since The Good, the Bad and the Chubby is one of the strongest, most distinctive modern blues albums of 2002, proving that Popa has come a long way in his decade of recording.