Preston Reed -- Metal

There's a great Simpsons line from the episode in which Homer decides to become an inventor. He's sitting in the basement, "inventing," and he says to Marge, "You look at this table, and what do you see?  Just a table. Now a creative person like me looks at this table and sees all kinds of creative things. But no table!" (it turns out it's not a table at all, but their dryer).

Preston Reed looked at a guitar and saw all kinds of things. But no guitar. Sure, he saw a rhythm-making, notemaking instrument, but he also saw a percussion section, a bass guitar, a second and third acoustic guitar, and something that could produce all of those sounds—plus harmonics—at the same time. He also saw something that he should hold with both hands above the neck, rather than the chord-making hand being positioned from underneath. The result: he has the busiest hands in the business, and has created a sound uniquely his own. A consequence of this is that he prints a disclaimer inside each album that reads: "All compositions on this recording are complete live takes with no overdubbing." In math form, this would be: 2 hands plus 1 Ovation guitar = a full band.

Our first stop in trying to assess why he's not the most listened-to guitarist in America is his album Metal, originally released in 1995, and re-released in 2002 by Outer Bridge records (Reed's own label—that he had to re-release this album himself is additional evidence that the music industry has no idea what it's doing). To begin with, Metal is not his most accessible album for those looking to be introduced to his sound. That honor would probably have to go to 2000's Handwritten Notes, which features tracks such as "Tractor Pull" and "Along the Perimeter," both of which reestablish a goal for many budding fingerstyle guitarists, and such tender fingerpicking tracks like "Crossing Open Water" and "Love in the Old Country."

No, Metal is much more aggressive, much more percussive, and represents a more energized side of Reed that first-time listeners might be surprised by. Of course, surprise isn't a bad thing. But hearing the album open with the harmonic slaps of "Blasting Cap" can be a musically altering experience if you aren't prepared for it. Same goes for "Tribes," "Metal," or "Chatanooga," which can all be jarring if one has no prior history with him.

One of the joys of listening to Reed is to try and picture how he accomplishes each sound. On "Chattanooga," for example, it helps to picture him on stage, holding a long-neck guitar (one with 24+ frets), with both hands above the neck, in constant motion. This image works when hearing "Stonecutter" for the first time, a track that, tragically, is not available anywhere online, except in the amazingly misleading Amazon.com sound bite. "Stonecutter" represents Reed at his most powerful, as the track has no downtime whatsoever, no slow bridge or simple hook-like chorus to allow for the musician's hands to relax a bit and get in position for the main guitar riff. It's 3:24 of motion. Give the more representative "Slap Funk" a listen for a better available illustration of his "busy hand syndrome."

He can be simpler, though. "Far Horizon" succeeds, not because of any intricacy to the style, but because he uses sustained and ringing harmonics and bass notes to create layers underneath what turns out to be a very simple (yet very beautiful) melody line. "Flatonia" begins as a moving, simple ballad, and ends as a finger picking clinic in the style of Leo Kottke or Michael Hedges. "Chattanooga," like "Stonecutter," is also a song of constant motion. Reed uses harmonic slaps, tapping, and occasional fingerpicking to add a very unique atmospheric sound to his arsenal.

When one mentions fingerstyle guitar, Leo Kottke is inevitably part of the discussion; most fingerstyle guitarists point to Kottke's "6- and 12-string Guitar" as an influence (the ones who don't have probably been influenced by it through other artists). Kottke's presence is felt in a few of Reed's songs, most notably "Franzl's Saw," in which Reed uses a pinky slide (while fingerpicking, no less) and recalls Kottke's "Poor Boy" and "The Sailor's Grave on the Prairie" (again, though the CD Baby sample is a full 2 minutes, they've inexplcably chosen the most uneventful two minutes of the song).

Within 10 seconds of listening to him, you'll realize just how little innovation is on display by the McBands receiving heavy rotation on MTV or Your Local Alternative Radio Station. Reed's Metal was the primary focus here, largely because it's one of the few albums of his that's still available; the majority of his records go for 35 dollars or more as rare or used copies, and the few that are available new—and cheaply—are recent re-issues from his own label. If not Metal, one could just as easily try Handwritten Notes first, before graduating to Ladies Night. The result is the same: Reed is a treasure, an absolute must-listen for those even tangentially interested in acoustic guitar music, and a one-of-a-kind innovator who will change the way you approach the guitar in both your listening and your performing.   

 

Comments

[Cath]

I'd just like to thank John Erhardt for his piece on Preston Reeds Metal. I'd also like to let everyone who reads Johns piece know that you can now listen to all of Preston's music that's available on Outer Bridge Records by either clicking the Broadjam link on Preston's website or by visiting www.broadjam.com and putting Prestons name in the search box. No longer will you be confined to 1.5 or 2 minutes of streaming, here you can listen to complete tracks. You can also see a video of Preston performing live and see what John is explaining.

[Cath]

Quick apology, thanks should have been to J Johnson for the Preston Reed piece.

[j. johnson]

Actually, this is John's piece. And it's a good one. Thanks for your comments Cath.

[Ben Spence]

This comment is really just to back-up the general enthusiasm that Preston Reed has on this page - I first heard Mr Reed about a year ago and ever since he has been my favourite musician, and you really have to hear him to believe him because single-handedly he's created my favourite sound of music. Please listen to 'Ladies Night' too, if only once in your lifetime!