|
Sonny Landreth plays a mean slide guitar, and he has provided some excellent support to John Hiatt over the years (Hiatt sings background on one cut). This is one of those CDs that mostly whets my appetite for the real thing; halfway through Levee Town, I find myself wanting to hear some John Hiatt or Boozoo Chavis (sadly, this Zydeco giant is no longer with us). The first (title) cut, "Levee Town," just smokes from start to finish.
When I saw the nice packaging afforded this release, and the list of supporting musicians, I had to give it a listen. As the CD runs on, his voice just seems thinner and thinner, and less secure. I had auditioned a couple of his previous solo efforts, and was quite disappointed.
The bad news, however, is that try though he may, Sonny will never be a great singer. There is good news and bad news.The good news is that his slide guitar sounds better than ever. Whew.
What we have here is one of those "A for effort, C for achievement" recordings. But if you just want to hear some nasty slide guitar, this is the CD for you.
Old Flame features Sonny playing a very soulful slide , and he almost makes his guitar cry real tears. I purchased the original release of Levee Town when it came out in 2000.This re-issue includes 5 songs that weren't released with the 2000 debut , all of them worth the purchase price alone. Sonny has performed Pedal to the Metal live many times before and released it as a live version on Grant Street , but the studio version is absolutely mind blowing. There are some guitar licks on this album that are absolutely amazing and the sound quality appears even better than the orignal release. Thumbs straight up.
Originally released in 2000 by Sugar Hill, Landreth's album is augmented on this reissue with five tracks from the same era. Those who own the original might be inclined to get the whole package for its remastered audio, but the bonus tracks, particularly the Warnes duet are the real sweetener. Field.
His songs, all seventeen are originals, are more than showcases for his instrumental prowess. The power-trio instrumental "Z-Rider" with a Zydeco double-kickbeat neatly evokes the open throttle thrills of trail riding, Bonnie Raitt adds a superb harmony to "Soul Salvation," Michael Doucet plays fiddle on "Love and Glory," and horns add sparkle to the album's last two tracks.The bonuses were recorded between 1998 and 2000, with the same core quartet as the album, and sweetened for this reissue. As on last year's From the Reach, Landreth proves himself a guitar hero whose music runs deeper than his incomparable slide work.
The results are occasionally too polished, and the edgy guitar harmonics can sound dated; yet when Landreth is left to indulge his guitar playing, such as on the standard blues "Broken Hearted Road," the results are electrifying. To be sure, his powerful slide playing is a dominant voice, but his vocals are roughly melodic and emotional, his blues are seasoned with second-line rhythms, and his lyrics chronicle the people, stories and ghosts of his native South. He sings of social and political pressures, but also finds time to revel in the delights of a comically oversized Oldsmobile.The album's basic tracks were produced in Los Angeles by Mike Post, and then finished by Landreth and R.S.
Fans of Landreth's slide playing will enjoy the four instrumentals, but the sleeper is a fetching duet with Jennifer Warnes, "For Who We Are (The Night Bird Sings)." The deluxe packaging includes a tri-fold digipack, a 28-page booklet, complete lyrics and an additional two-page insert with the bonus disc. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]
This CD is definately not my favorite from Sonny. A couple of decent tracks but overall not the best in my book.
Landreth tends to have fairly long breaks between albums and it took "Levee Town" five years to follow up the excellent "South Of I-10". Overall this is an average Landreth album. Fans of Jimmy Buffett will recognize "U.S.S.
It is not that the album is bad, but the songwriting here just does not seem to be on the same level as his previous two. Although I think "Levee Town" is a slight step down there still some good songs to be found here. Many Landreth fans seem to rate this album really high, but for me it was a bit of a letdown after his previous albums.
Zydecoldsmobile" a song Buffett covers on his "Far Side Of The World" album. The material is a bit more on the pop side although Landreth does include two killer instrumentals "Z. Rider" and "Spider-Gris" that both showcase Sonny's incredible guitar prowess.
Along with the above mentioned ones the title tracks, "This River", "Deep South" and "Turning With The Century" are all decent as well. Worth owning, but not as good as some of his other stuff.
|
