The Blues of Snooks Eaglin & Boogie Bill Webb

• Artist: Snooks Eaglin/Boogie Bill Webb
• Rating:
• Release Date: October 05, 2004
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Blues

Review

Although this release is titled The Blues of Snooks Eaglin, there isn't really a whole lot of blues here, which isn't a complaint, since most of Eaglin's output defies easy categorization anyway, and whether you call it blues, R&B or New Orleans street music, it hardly matters, since it's going to sound mostly like Snooks, and that's always a good thing. With his Ray Charles-derived vocals and his stinging, fluid and decidedly funky guitar lines, Eaglin walks his own walk, and on this live set with an unknown rhythm section from 1985, he flirts with soul, pop and rock, and yes, even the blues, delivering two blistering Freddy King covers ("San-Ho-Zay" and "Hideaway") along with a version of J.B. Lenoir's "Talk to Your Daughter" and a Cajun-fueled original, "Country Boy Down in New Orleans," making for a wonderful document of his casual hometown sets. The final four tracks are taken from a mid-'80s live show in a small New Orleans club by Bill "Boogie Bill" Webb and Harmonica Slim, and while they have a certain archival interest, Webb's guitar amp sounds blown, his guitar struggles to stay in tune, and his raw, rough style contrasts sharply with Eaglin's funked-up smoothness, making Webb's cuts feel like an unnecessary footnote. Snooks' set carries the day, though, making this disc well worth a spin. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Intro	Snooks Eaglin	Snooks Eaglin	(2:28)
Mustang Sally	Sir Mack Rice	Snooks Eaglin	(6:16)
Let the Four Winds Blow	Fats Domino	Snooks Eaglin	(2:25)
Guess Who?	Jesse Belvin	Snooks Eaglin	(3:54)
Drop the Bomb		Snooks Eaglin	(3:05)
Money	Berry Gordy, Jr., Janie Bradford	Snooks Eaglin	(3:14)
St. Pete Florida Blues		Snooks Eaglin	(4:37)
San-Ho-Zay	Sonny Thompson, Freddy King	Snooks Eaglin	(3:15)
Country Boy Down in New Orleans	Snooks Eaglin	Snooks Eaglin	(2:20)
Hideaway	Freddy King	Snooks Eaglin	(2:24)
Johnny B. Goode	Chuck Berry	Snooks Eaglin	(2:54)
Talk to Your Daughter	J.B. Lenoir	Snooks Eaglin	(1:51)
You Get a Right	Bill Webb	Bill "Boogie Bill" Webb	(3:16)
You Better Watch, You Might Get Killed	Bill Webb	Bill "Boogie Bill" Webb	(3:16)
Kansas City	Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller	Bill "Boogie Bill" Webb	(2:32)
Early in the Morning		Bill "Boogie Bill" Webb	(3:43)

Credits

Snooks Eaglin (Guitar), Snooks Eaglin (Vocals), Snooks Eaglin (Personnel), Bill "Boogie Bill" Webb (Guitar), Bill "Boogie Bill" Webb (Vocals), Bill "Boogie Bill" Webb (Personnel), Harmonica Slim (Harmonica), Harmonica Slim (Vocals), Anders Stefansen (Producer), Chrisna Morten (Layout Design), Paul Lewis (Liner Notes)