Customer Reviews

The Road We'Re On

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have always recognised that Sonny Landreth is one of the best slide guitarists around. However I have never been a "great" fan of him because I am not too much in "tune" with zydeco or cajun kind of music. I like it but it is not my passion, I prefer to listening to other genders, and the one that I like the best is the "blues". I bought his new CD because I read the above editorial review and apparently it would have been more focused on the "blues" rather than on other stiles. In his previous album "Levee Town" I found a song that from my point of view, or for my taste if you prefer, by it self worth the price of the entire CD: "Broken Hearted Road" a very solid traditional blues played with intensity and passion. As soon as I received the delivery from Amazon I put this record in my CD player with a lot of hope but also with a touch of scepticism. What a surprise! From start to finish this is a great blues collection! Other influences are still present of course, however blues rules this time. The opening track "True Blue" is a masterpiece and it gives you an immediate flavour of what is about to follow. Not bad songs on this CD, no a single one. Sonny shows his ability in playing slide but also "traditional" stile guitar as in the blues-rock oriented title track. Excellent guitar work throughout the entire album, excellent singing, excellent band, excellent mix and production. I can't possibly find a weakness on this CD. I just love it from start to finish. As far as I am aware this is one of the best blues release of at least the last 12 months (and maybe more). I think that we already have, so early in the year, a very serious contender for the "best traditional blues album" award when time will come. I hope that Sonny Landreth will continue following the "road he's on" and that with his next one he will be digging even deeper into the "Blues". I can't rate this CD less than five stars!

Sonny Landreth's new CD, "The Road We're On" is a tour de force. Here is your opportunity to hear a musical original at the peak of his power. Widely recognized as the greatest slide guitarist on the planet he is that and so much more. With guitar playing as sensual as Jimi Hendrix and singing as evocative as Jim Morrison what more could you ask for? Well, in addition you get fantastic and unique songwriting that accentuates his amazing guitar skills. From the wry humor of "Gemini Blues", which Sonny describes as a "Menage a Trois between two people", to the pure romance of "Falling for You" this is a CD to love. Whether you are looking for a slide guitar hero or a crooner to make you swoon you will find it here.

The first time I heard Sonny Landreth play, which was just a year ago, I opened my mouth and couldn't close it until the set was finished. I literally did not believe what I heard. It felt like I was hearing Bach play the harpsicord or Louis Armstrong the trumpet. While Landreth's influences are many his sound is entirely unique. Why wait until until he has been dead 100 years? Support this musical genius now.

A self confessed guitar geek, Sonny presses, pushes, pulls and slaps guitar strings in ways that no one else has ever figured out. He has earned the respect of musicians as diverse as Mark Knopfler and Jimmy Buffett.

Sonny's new CD "The Road We're On" has a wonderful familiar nostalgic feel to it while at the same time being completely original. This sound is created with, among other things, the use of vintage guitars and microphones to create a kind of echoing fifties Chuck Berry mood. Landreth can get a range of sounds from an electric guitar that you have never heard before, my favorite being that of a mandolin on the eery, otherworldly "World Away". Nobody does spooky nighttime in the Louisiana swamp better than Sonny Landreth.

After too many years as a sideman it is long past time for Sonny to step into the spotlight. He is what we all might wish to be, a legend in his own time.

If you never buy another CD buy this one. And if you have the opportunity to hear him play in some small local venue do not miss it.

I was lucky to see Sonny at a small club in Philly last year. This was just before he headed into the studio to record The Road We're On, so the band played the entire CD as a final warm up before recording.

And boy, was it more than warm! EVERY song was high-energy/high volume hard-edged, driving blues/zydeco, with Sonny's guitar much more in front than has been the case on his studio CD's. Each song included an extended solo rather than just ornamental work, so I was really looking forward to the release of the CD.

And it has not disappointed. The Road We're On does a great job of capturing that energy and drive of the live show. Blast the title track and you'll experience being blown off the dance floor to Dave Ranson's power bass and Brian Burch's explosive drumming. And, of course, Sonny wailing with much more (controlled) volume than you've heard before.

You won't find any tunes on the CD with the type of lushness of some of the songs on Levee Town or South of I-10. The production shoots for immediacy, in your face, almost power trio stuff. Much of it sounds like single take, or with minimum overdubs.

I felt like I was back at that club in Philly. Or, from one of the zydeco stompers, Gone Pecan:

"So don't come knockin'
we ain't home
me and mine
are gone pecan"

It has been a while since I have written a review but during the month of December I found little in the way of new releases worth writing about. Things changed in January with the release of Sonny Landreth's "The Road We're On". I was somewhat skeptical at first as Sonny's vocals on his prior releases sounded a bit one dimensional. However, based on the performance here, either 2003 will be a great year for blues releases or we have a very early contender for blues album of the year. From the opening tune "True Blue" to the ending "Juke Box Mama" this CD features solid playing and vocals from Sonny not demonstrated on his earlier releases. A great selection.

Well, I've been waiting a while for this CD to come out and let me tell you it was worth the wait! The newest release by Sonny and long time friend/bass player Dave Ranson is FANTASTIC! It is somewhat different than his previous releases in that it's more blues based, yet you can still hear the influences of Cajun and Zydeco in some of the songs. There is everything from acoustic to electric blues and Sonny's unique slide guitar playing really shines through! Steve Conn plays his Hammond B-3 on four of the tracks and really adds to the feel of the songs. There are some songs on here that you just have to get up and move to when you hear them! If you like Sonny's other releases I'm sure you'll love this one!

Sonny Landreth's "The Road We're On" is a great full-throttle blues set with Sonny's pyrotechnic guitar flaming each track. Two tracks are my very favorites, the opener "True Blue" with its insistent beat and Brian Brignac's pounding drums, "The hurt is pourin' down on you; you got to dig down deep and find strength to shelter you through." As I sit here in North Carolina watching Hurricane Isabelle pound the trees like ping pong balls, Sonny's "Natural World" with his flying slide guitar is the perfect track, "The natural world is talkin'; the natural world got plenty to say." "Hell At Home" is a great new song in traditional blues mode, "I said your moody little angel done packed her bags & gone." Landreth has said that author William Faulkner has influenced him as a lyricist; and that he feels the poetry of blues lyrics has been underestimated. "We can't pick up the pieces; I'm here to break the news; the rest of my life ain't gonna be all about you," Sonny sings on "All About You" while his guitar gyrates Hendrix-like and sounds like the instrument is crying. On "A World Away" Sonny smokes to a slower groove with Steve Conn's keyboards drenching the arrangement like high tide. "Falling For You" has the more upbeat feel of a man falling in love. Sonny gives some great tongue-in-cheek on the combination of opposites in "Gemini Blues," "Welcome home, there's the door." The title track is a great road song with a boogie beat feel. The CD concludes with Sonny's slide guitar workout on "Juke Box Mama." This set from Sonny is consistently strong with no weak tracks. Megan Barra's design for the packaging is particularly attractive with the photos in the lyric book seeming like a little art gallery. This is an excellent collection of modern blues. Enjoy!

Not being a long-term blues fan, I had never heard of Sonny Landreth until recently. While channel-surfing during a recent trip "down south," I happened to catch him performing "A World Away" on a Mountain Stage show. I was completely blown away. It was like hearing this perfect music that I never knew existed. After buying several of his CDs, which are all terrific, "The Road We're On" is still the favorite. He is a brilliant songwriter with a wonderful voice and style, in addition to his obvious gifts as a musician. Start with "The Road We're On" and just keep going from there.

From Hell at Home to Gone Pecan, Sonny's hellacious slide guitar work and blues inspired songs on The Road We're On take me to roots-rock heaven. If you're already a huge fan like I am, you'll love this record - great songs, great vocals and a guitar solo in every track! Like Levee Town, this recording has quickly become one of my favorites.

Any new release from Sonny Landreth is a cause for celebration. Certainly one of the greatest slide guitarists ever and a brilliant writer, Landreth has again come up with a sinewy workout of his remarkable technique in the service of compelling and plaintive cajun blues. Every song is a gem. His voice is as languid as a summer day on the Mississippi delta, and in his inflections you hear the crossroads of Acadian culture and black rural blues. His is a voice of wonder.
The musicianship throughout is terrific. Steve Conn's organ fills out a palette coloured by remarkable rhythm work from Dave Ranson, Mike Burch and Brian Brignac. The recording is warm and intimate and the mix is superb. Everything technically as well as artistically about this disc is first rate.
Enjoy this disc! Along with Chris Smither and James McMurtry, Sonny Landreth is the real deal. And he has come up with a real treasure!

Sonny made it known beforehand that this CD would be made up of primarily blues-based material, and so it is. All original material; no covers. The sound, production, and packaging are all excellent -- and yet this is a good album rather than a great one. For some reason, it seems to lack a certain magic "something" that was present on his last few solo efforts, particularly the awesome LEVEE TOWN. If I had to rank them in ascending order, I'd say that this CD is better than DOWN IN LOUISIANA, which was also an enjoyable collection of Zydeco-flavored blues-based tracks, although Sonny is not the lead vocalist on most of them; almost as good as SOUTH OF I-10, which is an uneven mixture of so-so tracks and stronger ones; not as interesting, innovative, and engaging as OUTWARD BOUND, with its verstaile blend of uptempo rockers and softer, more ethereal tunes; and a considerable disappointment after LEVEE TOWN, which boasts equally fine production, sound, and packaging, but better material, stronger vocals, and more impressive playing. Don't get me wrong, though: This is a good album. You can tap your feet and maybe even sing along with it. However, with LEVEE TOWN, Sonny Landreth set the bar much higher, for himself as well as for others. Start there and you'll be dazzled, moved, and thoroughly pleased.