Sonny Landreth, born 2/1/51 in Canton
Mississippi, is one of my favorite slide guitarists, and I dare say he’s one of
the best in the genre. I love the way he frets chords and chord fragments
behind the slide. His right hand technique employs a flat thumb pick that allows
him to pick a melody line while using his fingers for his slide technique.
Notice he also uses all of his fingers to pick. The pinky doesn’t get left
behind. He’s got a new album out called Elemental journey on which he’s joined
by Eric Johnson and Joe Satriani for a couple of numbers. Satriani’s solo on
Gaia Tribe is ferocious. Don’t miss the modified G3 band with Satriani and Davy
Knowles, the later a real up and coming blues man. His duet with Eric Johnson
on Milky Way Home is also very nice. All around one of the best. Enjoy!
Listening to Landreth’s slide guitar conjures up images of sittin on
porch in the hot and steamy Louisiana bayou where he lives, sippin rot-gut
whiskey. Unfortunately, I don’t like whiskey, so instead I suggest a bottle of
the 2011 Girard Petite Sirah ($18.00 at CostCo). Let this one breath for about a half hour to
an hour before you drink it as it’ll really open up. The wine is dark purple
with aromas of berries and peppery spice. The taste is full of black
raspberries, dark plums, and chocolate. Finishes like a Sacher torte (for those
of you who’ve never tasted one, it’s full of dark chocolate and raspberry jam).
It’s a wine to stand up to the slide guitar and blues of Sonny.
Cheers!
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