Two Bugs & A Roach

Earl Hooker | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 17, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Arhoolie Records
• ASIN: B0000001GH
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,975 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #38 in Music > Indie Music > Blues > Chicago Blues

Editorial Reviews

From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD

Taught slide guitar by Robert Nighthawk, Delta-born Earl Hooker earned his reputation as a stalwart of amplified blues in the 1950s and 1960s. This collection shows sufficient grounds for his place in the sun: Hooker's guitar speaks volumes on both early 1950s recordings and country- and soul-mannered numbers cut shortly before his death in 1970. The stunner is "Sweet Black Angel," in which the young man's suspended-in-air notes-Azrael hovering-delineate a sepulchral, frightful mood. As a singer Hooker always had a tough time depicting any particular state of feeling at all. -- © Frank John Hadley 1993

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A superb guitar player shows-off his stuff, August 14, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two Bugs & A Roach (Audio CD)

Earl Hooker's great guitar playing shines through on this recording. The "Bug" is Earl's reference to his bout with TB, which almost killed him.

Earl's an incredibly versatile player and this recording highlights the spectrum of his playing. In a 1970's interview, BB King listed Earl Hooker as one his favorite players, and offered the following analogy - "If Earl Hooker was a truck driver, he'd be able to back his rig into any space, no matter how tight..."

By the way... when Jimi Hendrix went to Chicago early in his career he played back-up for Earl & learned alot about how to use a wah-wah.... Listen closely and you'll hear Earl tearing off several riffs that later became parts of Jimi's sound.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars hidden legend waiting to be discovered, January 6, 2004

By 

"crazyjimbo" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two Bugs & A Roach (Audio CD)

Earl Hooker is a master of the wah pedal and slide. Noone has found a way to get a sound like his in all the years I've been listening to the blues. This album is a must have for any blues collector.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars King of the Wah pedal, January 6, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Two Bugs & A Roach (Audio CD)

This recording is a classic for all blues fans and guitarists alike. Earl plays slide guitar with a wah pedal to give his music a unique sound that NOBODY has duplicated. If you had to choose from the ten best blues albums, this one should definately be on that list.