Snooks Eaglin – Country Boy Down In New Orleans / Arhoolie CD-348

Description

CD 348

Snooks Eaglin – vocals 6-string & 12-string guitar washboard and tom-toms
with Lucius Bridges – washboard & vocals and Percy Randolph – harmonica vocals and washboard.

Includes all of ARH LP 2014 plus previously unissued solo and group recordings.

1. (I’m A) Country Boy Down In New Orleans
2. Mama Don’t You Tear My Clothes
3. I’ve Had My Fun
4. Bottle Up And Go
5. Give Me The Good Old Boxcar
6. Walking Blues
7. Possum Up A ‘Simmon Tree
8. That’s All Right
9. Veal Chop And Pork Chop
10. Down By The Riverside
11. Model T And The Train
12. Jack O’diamonds
13. Death Valley Blues
14. Rock Me Mama
15. John Henry
16. Locomotive Train
17. I Had A Little Woman
18. Rock Me Mama (2)
19. Mailman Passed (And Didn’t Leave No News
20. Going Back To New Orleans
21. Mardi Gras Mambo
22. Bottle Up & Go (2)
23. This Train

REVIEW

“This is a world away from Eaglin’s recent Black Top releases as these recordings are from the late 1950s when he was working as a street musician. Eaglin plays six – and twelve-string guitars washboard and tom toms and is accompanied by Lucius Bridges (washboard) and Percy Randolph (harmonica washboard on several cuts). Since street performers thrive on tips and requests these twenty – three tracks present a fairly broad repertoire. It’s mainly blues but also gospel folk harmonica `train’ tunes percussion workouts and even a Caribbean lilt on a couple of songs. Recommended both as a delightful audio document of an earlier time and a record of the pre-electric guitar virtuosity of Fird ‘Snooks’ Eaglin.”

(Rick Swenson — Record Roundup)