Little G. Weevil featuring Dulzura – Something Poppin’
https://gweevil.com/
10 tracks/42 minutes
Gabor Szucs grew up in Warsaw Pact Hungary and immersed himself in music and books. His dedication to music and performance had another musician say, “like a damned weevil, you just pop up everywhere,” which gave rise to his moniker. Emigrating to America in 2004, his accomplishments include winning the International Blues Challenge and being nominated for both a Blues Blast Award along with a BMA. His four albums have been well received and he has garnered accolades as he tours globally. This new 5th CD includes rock and roll, soul, R&B, hip hop and rap in the blues.
Weevil is on guitar and vocals and his band includes Daniel Harper on drums Marton Pfeff on bass, and Matyas Premecz on keys. Laci Borsodi is on guitar for tracks 8 and 10, Danny Del Toro plays harp on the first and third track and Dulzura raps on “Scrub.” Backing vocals are provided by Rebeka Easley Ellis and Sharika Allen Brown. There are 8 Weevil originals here and two covers.
“Here I Come Knocking” is a driving and rocking blues that opens the CD. Things slow down in the middle for a thoughtful respite and then things take off to the close again. It’s a catchy cut with piano and organ and harp and guitar and big vocals that grabs the listener. The title cut is next and things slow down a bit in this soulful piece about a woman that Weevil has under his eye. Tasty guitar graces the cut as does some nice vocal accompaniment. “See Me In The Country” is blues with a smidgen of country, rock and funk that makes things interesting. A big guitar solo, more harp and funky organ make this a lot of fun. Written by Laci Borsodi, Weevil helped do the arrangements here.”How Do You Want Me To Deal With This” is a darker R&B/soul piece with Weevil giving some real feeling to the lyrical delivery. The organ helps set the tone for the cut in a nice solo but Weevil’s growling vocals sell the song. He also offers a restrained and cool guitar solo. Gutsy and cool; loved this track! “You Can’t Say Nothing” follows, a call and response R&B number with some pretty organ and guitar work
“Scrub” opens the second half of the album. Dulzura raps throughout while Weevil and backing vocalists offer up the choruses. A stinging guitar adds tot he funky sounds from the keys and vocals as the song builds and builds and then goes into an outro. Nicely done! Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusherman” gets a gritty makeover with Weevil making this his own as his guitar and Premecz ‘ work on keys make this update sound good. Laci Borsodi’s lead and rhythm guitar is featured on “Crawling,” getting a big solo midway through the cut. The song starts out with some restraint and builds; the conclusion is a fiery and fun guitar duo with Weevil and Borsoli trading licks. The ballad “I Don’t Want To Feel The Rain” follows. Weevil and the backing vocalists offer up soulful vocals and a little pretty guitar make this one cool. Borsoli returns on the concluding piece, “Top Model.” It’s got a driving tempo that the guitar and keys fuel. Weevil and he vocalist also get a workout as they conclude the album as they began it- lots of energy abounds!
This is a fine album of originals and a nicely done cover. Weevil is really a great songwriter and performer who can put together an album of songs with a really nice variety of styles and tempos and melds his band into a cohesive and locked in musical force. I enjoyed the album and I think most blues fans will, too. He ventures into lots of styles here but does not stray far from his blues roots. I think he’s got another winner here!
