Reviews
 Keep It Simple
Van Morrison
Roger McGuinn @ the Huntington IMAC, Long Island, NY - April 4, 2008
Emily Saxe @ the Allen Room/Jazz at Lincoln Center - April 5, 2008
Another Country
Tift Merritt
Be Your Own Pet
Get Awkward
Paul McCartney – The McCartney Years (DVD)
Juno – Music from the Motion Picture
Various Artists
Yes - Their Definitive Story
Day and Night Driving
Seven Mary Three
InterMedia Arts Center 2/2/08
Huntington, NY
|
Sonny Landreth
Listening to this album is like driving a vintage automobile; appealing, familiar, and totally cool. Sonny Landreth has a way of making everything he does sound laid back and easy, while smoking the room. It’s a talent that relates to the sound of the Deep South, and Landreth pulls it off better than anyone. His vocals are as smooth and simple as honeyed molasses, but it is his guitar playing that takes center stage. Levee Town features a high quota of great slide breaks, enough for any guitar aficionado to be more awed than satisfied, but it is Landreth’s ability to coax memorable riffs from his instrument that is most impressive. He bathes the listener in memorable phrasing, with each melodic riff providing the songs’ structure while simultaneously suggesting the melody. The musical phrasing is so satisfying that the vocals could be dismissed as extraneous, but that would be a mistake. The generous, artful booklet that accompanies the disk provides ample evidence of this by providing all lyrics.
Throughout, Levee Town focuses the mellower side of Louisiana living without oversimplifying things or lapsing into predictable stereotypes. The title track conveys the dilemma of living below a river, but even after the water is let loose, Landreth sums things up by singing “We’ll snake up the river and rejoice in style, Break out a bottle of fine gulping wine and raise Cain down in the levee town.” Imagery of roads and rivers abound, but everything leads back to the deep south, a place that will always remain ‘home’ to those with deep enough roots. All of this can get lost or forgotten, though, once Landreth leans into his solos on the bluesy “Broken Hearted Road” or the rollicking instrumental, “Z. Rider”, so relax and enjoy the ride. You don’t have to pay close attention if you don’t want to, but Levee Town works on many different levels, whichever road you decide to take.
Grade: 
 
|
Hit Network
More Music Reviews
More Movie Reviews
More Book Reviews
More Concert Reviews
Powered by Millennium Communications Inc.