Elemental Journey
Sonny Landreth
Label: Landfall
Release Date: May 22, 2012
Review Date: May 20, 2012
Elemental Journey is the eleventh solo effort by slide guitar phenom, Sonny Landreth and his fans particularly – and guitar music aficionados in general – are going to love this treasure chest full of great music.
The album is distinctive in that it is his most adventurous project so far as well as his first solely instrumental project and, like he did on his last CD (2008’s From the Reach), he brought in some stellar talent to help him out.
For instance, Eric Johnson is again a guest, providing killer, spell-binding licks on the hypnotic Passionola. Let me put it to you this way: If you were to set off on a road trip with this tune on repeat, the interaction between Landreth and Johnson on this song would not have you so distracted that you would not see what’s in front of you or have you run off the road, but you would miss a turn or two.
Then there’s the viciously ruthless solo on the opening cut, Gaia Tribe, provided by the Joe Satriani. Wouldn’t a collaborative CD from those two be an almost sinfully delicious treat? The steel drums of Robert Greenidge an eclectic Caribbean vibe on Forgotten Story.
Another Boomerocity favorite is Letting Go. I don’t know how Sonny does it but he captures the exact feeling of the process of letting go. Letting go of disappointment; letting go of failure; letting go of a lost relationship of any kind; letting go of fear or needless inhibition. Landreth nails it with this tune.
These are just three of the eleven tunes that would have you under Landreth’s spell within a few short notes. If you love great guitar work – especially all-instrumental albums, this album is a must-have.
Written by Randy Patterson
All rights reserved. Permission for use may be obtained by contacting