Maybe it’s a romantic notion but I believe in the perfect song. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a sap. I don’t believe in the perfect song, or that there is a perfect song. Rather, I believe that every once in a while an artist can hit upon a rhythm or a melody that is so exquisite that it lives with the listener long after the record from which it comes has left the turntable. Of course there are not many such songs, but when you find such a piece of music it is a thing to treasure. ‘Blue tarp blues’, the opening number to Sonny Landreth’s marvellous ‘from the reach’ is, in my humble estimation, one such song. I can’t pin down exactly what makes it so exquisite because each element is, in itself, nothing particularly new. However, the way that Sonny glides over the notes in that inimitable fashion; the way the melody wraps itself exquisitely around your senses; and the way the languid rhythm seems to conjure images of lazy drives down sun-kissed highways all make it a remarkable, beautiful piece of music which will stay with me always. Not that ‘from the reach’ in any way disappoints elsewhere – it is a wonderful album that deserves a place in your collection, but ‘blue tarp blues’ will forever be the Sonny Landreth song that I treasure.
With that in mind it was with some excitement that I found a copy of Sonny’s latest album on my doormat. Entitled ‘bound by the blues’ it is a chance for Sonny to return to his blues roots after the rather more open-ended albums ‘from the reach’ and ‘elemental journey’ and it most certainly does not disappoint. With just ten tracks on offer, it is a relatively svelte album (fitting on a single vinyl platter) that sees Sonny exercising that wonderfully unique guitar style of his whilst paying tribute to the blues (and to Johnny Winter on one track) with considerable depth and feeling.
Robert Johnson’s ‘Walkin’ blues’ opens the album on an upbeat note. With a foot stomping rhythm and a typically languid melody that floats from the speakers, Sonny still manages to surprise when he unleashes a blistering slide solo that just sizzles from the speakers with youthful vitality and it’s hard to imagine anyone staying in their seats when Sonny kicks this one out live. What an opening track! What a way to start a roots album! It’d be a highlight if it wasn’t for the wonderful homage to the greats that is the title track. A rhythmic delight with a classic Landreth melody, ‘bound by the blues’ is the sort of tribute that we all wish we were capable of delivering – elegant, memorable and entirely free of cliché – and Sonny makes it look easy. ‘The high side’ has a light, airy touch to it that has a J. J. Cale feel wrapped up in its rhythmic shuffle and subtle harmonies. It’s beautiful, yet it also has a slight swagger as if its daring you not to tap your feet, and you’d have to be inhuman not to. Having got the album off to a cracking start, it’s time for a slow blues which appears in the form of ‘it hurts me too’, a classic blues track that remains indisputably Landreth territory thanks to that gorgeous guitar sound, and for a brief moment it’s as if his playing has suspended time itself and you’re simply floating in a gossamer cradle woven by his remarkable fretwork. The side ends with ‘where they will’, a subtle, elegant track that speaks of long nights sat with a guitar and a whiskey, exploring the meaning of the blues. Few artists are so evocative with their playing, and here Sonny makes every note count, drawing a musical picture for the listener with a deft skill that is life affirming.
Having quietly slowed things as the first side of vinyl drew to a close, Sonny kicks off the second half with another foot-stomping blues track in the form of ‘cherry ball blues’ which has a wonderful, throbbing bass line underpinning Sonny’s pyrotechnics on the guitar and when played at volume you can guarantee the floor will be filled – it just won’t be denied. Next up is a touching tribute to fallen guitar hero Johnny Winter, ‘firebird blues’, and you could not ask a more touching tribute. With Sonny playing a gritty, distorted lead over slow, dirty blues, it is a mesmerising instrumental track that digs deep into traditional blues via Hendrix and the result is breath taking. The sun peaks out from behind the clouds once more for another cover, Elmore James’ ‘Dust my broom’, a track that recalls the evergreen ‘sweet home Chicago’ and which is delivered with just enough grit thanks to Sonny experimenting with guitar tone and texture in a way not heard elsewhere on the album. Remarkably, even when Sonny tears into that old standard ‘Key to the highway’ it is led by some innovative slide work that makes the song distinctively his own and the album ends, all too soon, with the instrumental ‘Simcoe Street’, which allows Sonny one last chance to weave his slide magic. It is a fitting end to the album that not only leaves you wanting very much more, but also in awe of Sonny’s sublime talent.
This may seem to be a review that is fulsome in its praise, but I know if no other way to write about Sonny Landreth’s work. His music soothes the soul, it caresses the senses and taps into the blues in its truest sense, finding a way through heartache and hardship by turning the darker emotions into something positive, always positive. Listening to ‘Bound by the blues’ is a wonderfully warming, uplifting experience and I can think of few other artists who have such a distinctive, life-affirming way of playing as Sonny. If you’re a fan, then ‘bound by the blues’ is simply further proof that Sonny Landreth is one of the finest exponents upon the guitar today. If you have somehow missed Sonny, despite his numerous and memorable appearances at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads festivals, then make this the next album you buy. Regardless it is essential listening – a perfect tribute to a varied genre delivered by a true artist – and an utter delight to listen to.
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