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Sonny Landreth, A Master Of The Cross Style Slide Guitar

In: Sonny Landreth Wednesday Oct 1,2008

sonny landreth playing his electric guitar, slide I must admit I didn’t know Sonny Landreth until yesterday, so when I found an article about him on npr.org naming him a guitarist’s guitarist, I just had to find out who this guy was.

Also, I am not a big fan of slide guitar, I like to listen when used in a good song but I am not much into it, I guess also because of the alternative tuning. Whatever. But Sonny Landreth got my attention with his style of playing right from the start. As npr.org says:

Most guitarists rest the slide on the strings over the frets to create a quavering, fluid sound. They pluck the strings above the guitar’s sound hole. Landreth does that, finger-picking in a Chet Atkins style, but he also plays chords, as he says, on the “wild side” of the slide — up on the neck — creating what John Hiatt calls “ghost notes.
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But there’s more. Landreth has perfected a tremolo using the palm of his hand as a baffle over the sound hole, which he combines with the notes behind the glass. “Kind of an accordion effect,” he says. “So you can manipulate the sound with the motion of your palm.”
(Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95101083)

This made me dive a bit more into this guy and I looked for him on YT. I found a couple of videos that are quite amazing, him playing with Eric Clapton, with Jeff Beck, with Mark Knopfler and also a lot other great solo performances. Actually he released 9 CDs of his own already so he has a lot to say I guess in a solo performance.

Maybe some of you know him, maybe some other don’t, so here are two YT videos, pay attention to his right hand….

PS: I really like the song in the first video and I also like his voice. In the beginning I wanted to only add a video, then I’ve got charmed by this song so I just put both here.

Also, here’s Sonny Landreth’s site, www.sonnylandreth.com.

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10 Responses to “Sonny Landreth, A Master Of The Cross Style Slide Guitar”

Josh
October 2nd, 2008 at 5:30 am

I’ve been a fan of Landreth for a number of years. He’s fantastic! He recently passed through Nashville, and unfortunately I wasn’t able to catch the show. I bet it would have been great. Thanks for posting these videos!
Danny Lehrman
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:35 pm

You sure go to a lot of trouble to find the best guitar players that people are not so familiar with. It is really a never ending task since there are so many excellent players no one has heard of. I hope you went to Richard’s my space site from my last post, he is one of them.
Ovidiu
October 2nd, 2008 at 3:11 pm

Ooo, yes, I have been there and I must say I am impressed, I liked his style and tone very much, an impressive guitar player! Maybe I will write an article about him here!Thanks for pointing me to him!
Kenski
October 2nd, 2008 at 5:57 pm

I’ve always had trouble with Sonny in that his playing is great and I *should* like his material, but aside from the first album I got “Outward Bound” I’ve found it difficult to get into his other stuff. I guess I find him lyrically a bit too ‘honest’ if that makes sense. Not much is left to the imagination.

I’m a slide-guitar lover, though and his sound is instantly recognisable. I guess you missed him playing with Derek Trucks in Amsterdam a couple of years back, then
Ovidiu
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:55 am

I must have missed him I was out of town at that moment. I will listen more of his music, I like his voice and style, plus the guitar playing, even if I am not a slide guitar fan.
Stratoblogster
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:39 pm

Great post!

Landreth is interviewed in the Oct. PG– available also online.

I rank him with David Lindley, Ry Cooder & Derek Trucks as a slide virtuoso. Great song writer too. He’s written tunes for more famous artists. The PG interview gets into that, as well as his gear, tunings, etc.
MG
October 7th, 2008 at 7:58 am

Yeah I have always liked Landreth. He’s great! Really good player!
ZUrlocker
October 11th, 2008 at 9:08 pm

I was lucky enough to see him play in a small club in Santa Cruz, CA this summer. It was one of the best shows of the year. His technique is really amazing. Here’s some photos and videos I shot:
http://www.guitarvibe.com/2008/08/sonny-landreth.html

–Zack
http://www.guitarvibe.com
REDSTRAT
October 12th, 2008 at 4:32 am

I USE A INSULIN BOTTLE.
Pepper
October 13th, 2008 at 1:50 am

I live in New Orleans and seeing that Landreth is from Layfayette, which is 2 hrs away, I have seen him numerous times. I never miss him when he plays near by.

Sonny Landreth, A Master Of The Cross Style Slide Guitar

10 Responses to “Sonny Landreth, A Master Of The Cross Style Slide Guitar”

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