Sonny Landreth

Recorded Live in Lafayette

This two-disc set is inspired. One is focused on guitar giant Landreth in an acoustic format, while the other features his electric band plus guests. If you're a fan, this is a premium way to hear Landreth's finesse, creativity and fretboard sorcery before a rapturous audience in his adopted Louisiana home. If you've never heard of Sonny, this is a brain-scouring introduction. Not only are his nonpareil, unique slide skills in full display — the bottleneck's on the pinky finger, allowing him to chord, hammer and riff BEHIND the slide, which is harder than calculus — but never forget he's also got a sneaky-good singing voice and writes killer songs like "Back to Bayou Teche," "Blues Attack," "The U.S.S. Zydecoldsmobile" and "Überesso." Do I wish "Congo Square" and "Gone Pecan" were included? Yes, but that's whiny in the shadow of all this majesty.