Renegade Master

BENEATH SONNY LANDRETH’S BOOKISH EXTERIOR BEATS THE HEART OF A RULE-BREAKING MAVERICK. THE SOUTH’S GREATEST SLIDE MAN TOLD US ABOUT THE THRILL OF IMPROVISATION, HIS BATTLE WITH TENDONITIS AND HIS ‘THREE-DAY LIMIT’...

- Henry Yates

Look elsewhere for your industry-standard rock hellraisers. Sonny Landreth ticks precisely none of those boxes: no ego, no attitude, no Harley, no whisky – and definitely no tattoos. “I don’t like needles, man,” drawls the 68-year-old. “I’m not having someone sticking that stuff on me. Plus, I sorta change my mind about things. So a bunch of tattoos – it’s not for me.”

Yet beneath that bookish exterior – imagine a nuclear physicist spliced with Frasier’s Niles Crane – Landreth is more renegade than any rock pig. Born in 1951, schooled in the lineup of Zydeco king Clifton Chenier and closely tied to his native Louisiana scene, his solo catalogue has pushed the art of slide guitar where others fear to swoop. Now, with experimental tunings, leftfield gear – and one song on which he goes entirely slide-less – Blacktop Run might be Landreth’s most daring album yet.

Are you pleased with how Blacktop Run came out?

“I’m real happy with it, man. I feel like a lot of things converged in a cool way. When you make a record, there are so many variables, and anyone can put you on a detour. You might be happy with your playing, but sonically it isn’t happening. It’s frustrating when something’s not quite there. On this one, I was happy with everything.”

Is it important to push your guitar work forward?