Joel Murdoch

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to share with you a simple tribute to a musical legend you have probably never heard of. I am a huge music fan (I have five guitars, over 100 CDs and nearly 7000 MP3s). I like real music, sung and played by people who believe in what they are doing. Not the senseless noise of techno, the chauvinistic nonsense of (most) rap, or the prefabricated pop of the boy bands and… whatever the hell you call bimbos like Jessica Simpson.

One such man who has gained my respect as a master of this craft over the last couple of years is Sonny Landreth. Simply put, he is the best slide guitar player in the world, and I have Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton to back me up on that statement. I first saw him in action on Mark’s “A Night in London” DVD and was astounded by his incredible skill and the unique sounds he coaxed from his strat.

I recently bought his latest album, “From the Reach”, off of iTunes, and every song has ended up on my favourites playlist. Mark and Eric guest star, along with Robben Ford, Vince Gill and others. The guests do not simply waltz in and provide a solo. Nor are the songs annoying “who can play the most notes the fastest” jams. Sonny wrote each track with the guest in mind, the result is a seamless blend of styles that is a delight to hear. I honestly cannot fault this album (if you stuck a gun to my head and demanded me to do so, I might mutter something like “ahhh… Brian May’s not on it”). Every song is executed with the skill, precision and passion that you only get from genuine masters. From foot tapping rockers, to easy going blues, to ballads so perfectly executed they gave me chills, this album has it all.

You can pay a visit to Sonny’s site at http://www.sonnylandreth.com/sonnyframes.html to learn more about the album and hear some samples. If you want a little more, then visit the page below to download some full free MP3s that he has kindly made available. I highly recommend “Back to Bayou Teche”.

http://www.sonnylandreth.com/lagniappeMP3s.html

To close it seems right to quote a few lines from “Last Man Standing”, the brilliant Bon Jovi song that celebrates legends like Sonny and his friends.

“Enter at your own risk mister, it might change the way you think
There’s no dancers, there’s no diamonds, no this boy don’t lip sync…

Come and see, hear, feel, the real thing”

Thank you and good night :)