Hyperbolium

Expanded edition of Landreth’s blues-rocker

Originally released in 2000 by Sugar Hill, Landreth’s album is augmented on this reissue with five tracks from the same era. As on last year’s From the Reach, Landreth proves himself a guitar hero whose music runs deeper than his incomparable slide work. His songs, all seventeen are originals, are more than showcases for his instrumental prowess. To be sure, his powerful slide playing is a dominant voice, but his vocals are roughly melodic and emotional, his blues are seasoned with second-line rhythms, and his lyrics chronicle the people, stories and ghosts of his native South. He sings of social and political pressures, but also finds time to revel in the delights of a comically oversized Oldsmobile.

The album’s basic tracks were produced in Los Angeles by Mike Post, and then finished by Landreth and R.S. Field. The results are occasionally too polished, and the edgy guitar harmonics can sound dated; yet when Landreth is left to indulge his guitar playing, such as on the standard blues “Broken Hearted Road,” the results are electrifying. The power-trio instrumental “Z-Rider” with a Zydeco double-kickbeat neatly evokes the open throttle thrills of trail riding, Bonnie Raitt adds a superb harmony to “Soul Salvation,” Michael Doucet plays fiddle on “Love and Glory,” and horns add sparkle to the album’s last two tracks.

The bonuses were recorded between 1998 and 2000, with the same core quartet as the album, and sweetened for this reissue. Fans of Landreth’s slide playing will enjoy the four instrumentals, but the sleeper is a fetching duet with Jennifer Warnes, “For Who We Are (The Night Bird Sings).” The deluxe packaging includes a tri-fold digipack, a 28-page booklet, complete lyrics and an additional two-page insert with the bonus disc. Those who own the original might be inclined to get the whole package for its remastered audio, but the bonus tracks, particularly the Warnes duet are the real sweetener. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

Legendary New Orleans blues guitarist’s 1987 debut for Black Top

Snooks Eaglin – known as “The Human Jukebox” for the unmatched catalog of songs in his head – first surfaced in the 1950s New Orleans scene. As a guitarist with Allen Toussaint, he was on hand for the elemental forging of blues, R&B and rock ‘n’ roll. He recorded under his own name for the Imperial label until it folded in 1963, and then only sporadically until he caught on with Black Top twenty-four years later. This 1987 album was the first in a run of five for Black Top, and shows off his encyclopedic knowledge, dexterous guitar playing, low-key vocals, straight blues sensibility and the funky second lines he carried from New Orleans.

Backed by a veteran Crescent City rhythm section of Erving Charles Jr. on bass and Smokey Johnson on drums (the latter of whom backed Eaglin on his early ’60s sessions for Imperial), legendary session saxophonist David Lastle, and the highly regarded pianist/organist Ron Levy, the group hits a groove on all eleven tracks. A few, such as the original “Oh Sweetness,” fades just as the band seems to be warming up for an extended jam. The song list includes straight blues, New Orleans second-lines, James Brown funk, and an instrumental salute to the Ventures in a cover of “Perfidia.” Eaglin also takes to R&B ballads, such as Percy Mayfield’s “Baby Please” and Dave Bartholomew’s “Lavinia.”

In addition to three originals, Eaglin resurrects tunes associated with Guitar Slim, Earl King, Smiley Lewis, and The Four Blazes. The album closes with the irresistible Crescent City funk of “Pretty Girls Everywhere,” which at 3’35 would need to be played twice to keep dancers happy. Eaglin’s at the top of his game threading his leads around his accompanists, providing driving rhythm lines and singing with a confident, easy swing. His early recordings for Imperial are worth tracking down, but for a full dose of his eclectic range, you can’t top this album. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]