These videos and audio files are bonus content related to the August 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now or at the Guitar World Online Store.
Last month, we examined the acoustic mastery of New Orleans guitarist Snooks Eaglin, which was captured on the acclaimed 1959 album New Orleans Street Singer.
Ironically, solo acoustic performance was only a sideline for Eaglin, who mainly played electric guitar and sang with full bands. Between 1960 and 1963, a series of Dave Bartholomew–produced contemporary New Orleans–style R&B recordings for Imperial Records explored that aspect of his talent.
The Imperial sides focus mainly on Eaglin’s impassioned Ray Charles–influenced vocals and the quality of the material itself varies, but the solos reveal a rich, quirky melodic imagination, flights of virtuosity, impeccable timing and a unique bare-handed attack. Together, they combine to make Snooks one of the great electric blues stylists of his generation.
