In the 1980’s, when I started in the music
business, the state of the Blues was somewhat woeful. There were a lot of
frustrated white rock dudes playing amped up boogie and calling it Blues. One
guy that did penetrate however, was Snooks Eaglin and his series of good-time
albums on labels like Black Top. In the ocean of mediocrity, here was an island
of authenticity and originality. Shortly thereafter former Twist & Shout
employee (and renowned New Orleans music authority) Pietro Fassoli laid a
cassette tape on me of Snooks’ earlier music and I happily discovered one of
the truly unique musicians of the 20th century.
Blind from the age of 1, Snooks Eaglin was
performing by the time he was 11. Despite the nature of New Orleans Street Singer (solo acoustic) he was known as an
electric guitar player of rare feeling and a vocalist possessed of an earthy
yet totally expressive instrument. He had a long history of playing with New
Orleans R&B bands (like The Flamingos with Allen Toussaint) and later of
fronting his own band until his death in 1989. However this record is entirely
different and incredibly special. Originally released in 1959, New Orleans Street Singer was an attempt
to make Eaglin fit into the current folk boom sweeping college campuses and
coffee houses nationwide. In reality, playing solo acoustic guitar was
something Eaglin did more for recreation than as his primary source of income.
All that aside, taken on its own musical merits, this album is as powerful a
statement of American music as I can imagine.
The fascination with Eaglin is multi-faceted.
First, he is a startling guitar player. He could accompany himself on literally
thousands of songs of every genre and apply his own energetic stamp on each
one. He played what has been termed a New Orleans Flamenco style which involved
wild, frenzied guitar licks to embellish lyrics and then when he really took a
solo, his attack was somewhere between Charlie Patton and Django Reinhart. I
know, it seems unlikely, but Snooks is truly one of the guitar originators in
the modern age. Like Lonnie Johnson or Professor Longhair or Joseph Spence, he
invented his own style of playing. Listen to “Careless Love” to hear him in
full flight. Or “High Society” to
check out some more sophisticated playing. His strumming is always forceful and
his solos on virtually every song are memorable. If you are trying to become a
better-than-average guitar player, you could do worse than studying Snooks
Eaglin. Secondly, Snooks was a marvelously expressive singer, whose regionally
thick speech patterns and laconic approach to putting songs across was
unforgettable. The authority he brings to songs like “One Room Country Shack,”
“Drifting Blues,” “Mean Old World,” or “Every Day I Have The Blues,” rivals any of the pre-war Blues
masters, and yet he is equally effective on more modern fare like “One Bourbon,
One Scotch, One Beer,” “Mean Old Frisco” or “Mama Don’t You Tear My Clothes.” Which brings us to the third and main
point about Snooks; the guy could play any type of song in any style and OWN
IT. Plenty of musicians learn lots of covers and can play in many styles, but
Snooks Eaglin was a true originator. Every song he played, he made his own, and
upon hearing it, one can immediately identify who it is. He’s as recognizable
as Willie Nelson or Bing Crosby or Robert Johnson.
It is precisely the combination of these
elements that makes New Orleans Street
Singer such a total winner. When
an artist can startle you with his musicianship, break your heart with his
voice and keep you enthralled with his dynamic and eclectic choice of material:
that is indeed an artist worth exploring.
-
Paul
Epstein
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