Sonny Landreth
(Landfall)
Sonny Landreth is the rare guitar virtuoso who never puts the playing before the song — doing time in John Hiatt’s band will instill that in a guy — and that’s never been more apparent than on From the Reach. Even the instrumentals “Überesso” and “The Milky Way Home” build drama by way of composition rather than merely fancy fretwork, though there’s certainly plenty of that, especially on the latter, where Landreth is joined by Eric Johnson.
But those are by no means the album’s high points; for those, check out “Blue Tarp Blues,” a vicious attack on the Bush administration’s ineptitude following Hurricane Katrina (“a bad mix of politics, greed, and fools”) on which Mark Knopfler provides simpatico vocals and guitar, and “When I Still Had You,” where Eric Clapton unleashes his finest playing in years.
Standout Tracks: “Blue Tarp Blues,” “When I Still Had You” ERIC SCHUMACHER-RASMUSSEN
