The 50 must-have New Orleans records
Snooks Eaglin - "Teasin You" - Black Top - 1992
For most of his career, Snooks' recording output was the antithesis of prolific. He became a professional musician in the early 1950s, but by the late 1980s he had recorded just three albums. Snooks spent so much time making a living on the stage that Rock 'n' Bowl was often called his second home, and owner John Blancher was so close to him that he drove Snooks to and from his weekly shows. But it wasn't until the label Black Top signed Snooks in 1987 that he started recording regularly. The third album under Black Top, "Teasin' You," is his strongest work and one of the best blues albums put out by a New Orleans artist.
There are no new, original songs on this album, but it's hard to care when you hear how skillfully Snooks plays these blues standards. He does B.B. King justice on the title track "Teasin You" and channels Stevie Ray Vaughn's dirty blues on "Travelin' Mood" to great success. The organ on "Don't Take It So Hard" can't be missed, and instrumentals "Sleepwalk" and "Heavy Juice" pepper the album with a bit of calm and energy, respectively.
If you're looking for a New Orleans blues album that doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, but gives it a tune-up instead, you can't do much better than "Teasin' You."
- Chad Bower
Video: Snooks Eaglin - "Teasin You"
More Snooks video:
- Snooks Eaglin & George Porter Jr. - Live @ Rock N Bowl - Lucky Old Sun
- Snooks Eaglin - Live @ Lone Star Roadhouse - Baby Please
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