From a young age brothers Joey and David Landreth were exposed to music; their Father, Wally, is a well known Winnipeg musician and the boys attended his gigs as children. Drawing on the traditional Americana sound, the brothers debut album, Let It Be, also incorporates a blues influence from the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Little Feat and Ry Cooder all of which were staples of the Landreth household music collection.
The early part of the album stays very much in the country/folk tradition. It has a smooth west coast feel and blood harmonies so tight that it almost sounds as if Joey has double tracked his own voice.
I Am The Fool sees those blues influences coming across with the use of slide guitar. Written by their Wally Landreth the track has a great energy and some terrific dynamics. The clean production from Murray Pulver really shines through on this track.
Made Up Mindcontinues the blues vibe and Greehouseoffers something new with a piano based track. Nothingis a soulful country blues ballad with a wonderful B3 Organ, Runaway Trainhas a funky rock sound and some great guitar licks from Joey. It also has Wally joining his sons on vocals. This track, one of the best on the album, really benefits from the meaty vocal sound.
For those who are just discovering the genre or for fans of the Allmans and The Eagles you can't go wrong with this laid back album; although the latter may find the album stylistically too familiar, it does offer a fresh slant on the music. There are certainly some lovely melodies and harmonies here coupled with some solid musicianship from the rest of the band. (Ryan Voth – percussion, Alex Campbell – keys) Let It Be also won the Roots and Traditional album of the year at this years Juno awards, and it certainly does it's heritage proud.