This Black Top Records reissue takes us back to 1991 when Snooks Eaglin was at the apex of his career. The song list here reads like a set he would have played at the Rock ’n’ Bowl or Jazz Fest, and includes a stellar back-up group. Producer Hammond Scott surrounded Snooks with local heavy hitters, including George Porter, Jr., Sammy Berfect, and Herman Ernest, as well as Texas saxophone legend Grady Gaines. Then he pretty much let the tape run. Naturally, the bulk of this CD consists of reworkings of familiar New Orleans R&B nuggets. In fact, Earl King must have gotten a handsome BMI check upon the release of this one as there are no fewer than three of his compositions here, including the title track.

Our man is anything but subdued here as he lets it hang out on the likes of “Baby Please Come Home,” “Lily Mae” and the old Fess standby, “Red Beans.” Even on the slow blues “Black Night,” Eaglin sings and plays like he’s pissed off. There’s also a mind-boggling instrumental included here, and his version of “Sleep Walk” sounds like he’s playing two guitars, not one.

The list of in-print Snooks Eaglin CDs is short (Wish they’d make his Imperial catalog available again) so this is a welcome release as well as a reminder of what we lost with his passing last year.