Terence Martin:
Waterproof
Good Dog Records


The brilliant second CD from poet/singer Terence Martin picks up where the first one left off, this time 
with the production kicked up a few notches. The writing is superb, as you'd expect from a man who teaches
English and writing and whose written works have been published in volumes of poetry

On the cover, a reproduction of a lithograph by Terence's father is a perfect metaphor for the work inside. 
Two rowboats rest there in a semidarkness that reflects the singer's smoky voice. The strength of the bold 
composition reflects the weight and power of Terence's lyrics.

Somehow, people like this manage to reach a place where lines are penned that trancend the ordinary. 
In the very first, title track, he proves himself a master of the quiet terrors that make up uncertain relationships: 
"a woman is a window / a man's a revolving door / one foot's always moving / the other's nailed to the floor 
/ and the walls keep them together  and they keep them apart/  and it's all just graffiti in the chambers of the heart… 
the sheets hold the imprint of your lover after dawn / and the bed remains unmade long after she's gone /  and you 
wish at that moment that you were waterproof / when these thoughts fall like rain / on a corrugated roof / like rain on a roof." 

Terence's sidekick, roadbuddy Dan Bonis, contributes  a layer of atmoshpheric wash on a number of tracks using lap steel, 
dobro, Weissenborn guitar, and mandolin. Jim Allen pitches in on lead electric guitar, gut-string guitar, and mandolin.
The very spooky "Another Memphis Blues" provides a good example of their interplay. Here, the protagonist "spent a 
weekend down in South Memphis," where "The night was as black as your cocktail dress / and noone was in the mood to sing." 
On the chorus, Terence sings, "I still wonder where you are tonight… I wrote this in L.A. by the light / of an Elvis lamp with 
a leopard skin shade." The low-key echo treatment with its slide and lead guitars conjures up a tiled motel bathroom on the 
desolate outskirts of a very shaky self image.

In "Room to Spare," another metaphoric meteor shower burns holes in our mindsets. "If wishes were dishes / we'd be unfinished 
drinks / we left out in the kitchen / piled up in the sink."

"Familiar Mysteries" is also a stunningly beautiful, haunting piece of work, containing more lyrical gems like this one: 
"I wrote this song and drank the ink / of the words I didn't need / to make amends for love's loose ends / and familiar mysteries."

There is so much good writing on this album that one is tempted to seek out lines here and there, and collect and savor them, 
picking out favorites. It's hard, though, to pick a line and say, "ah, that one… that one's better than all the rest ." 

Time will tell if my current favorite-- from Terence's live performances, before the CD's release-- "Folding Chairs," will continue 
to hold, in my opinion, the best lines on this CD. In the chorus here, he sings: "All your friends will miss you / your best girl will kiss you 
/ it's just scar tissue anyway / a temper like a pistol / a heart that breaks like crystal / these are the things we put away." 

Or will it change to, "A U.S. map on the seat / folded one too many times / you lose a town in every crease / they take a toll at the state line."
Or some other line from some other song?

Talk about an embarrassment of riches. It's going to be fun to follow this man's career. The school better start lining up substitute teachers. 
Terence is already a very busy performing songwriter and it's getting more and more hectic.

The cd can be purchased at Terence's website at 
www.martinsongs.com and www.cdstreet.com 
it will soon be available at amazon.com and cdnow.com. 
His agent, Barbara Roehrer can be contacted at acoustic@nac.net

Preston Reed
Handwritten Notes
Outer Bridge OB1001 

This CD is irresistible. The rhythms in this collection of guitar instrumentals are too infectious to ignore. 
Listeners will find their shoulders shaking, their torsos bobbing and weaving and their hands will be 
uncontrollably slapping anything in reach, in time with each composition. The faster, upbeat and more 
percussive  numbers throughout the album are offset with slower, introspective ones to allow the listener 
to catch his/her breath.

Not long ago, Preston encountered a college student who posed the idea, after hearing him, that he (Preston) 
is an alien, of the extraterrestrial variety. No earthling could possibly be this good. I, myself, began to wonder 
if this argument might have some merit. A cyborg, at least? This guy has to have a metronome built in there somewhere. 
With all the switches from rapid-fire strumming, to trademark fret-popping, to vicious turnarounds and back, he misses 
NOT ONE beat, ever.

The first track, "Night Ride" starts out with a bluesy riff featuring some lazily bent notes. It reels you in nice and slow. 
No need to hit you over the head with the entire arsenal immediately. About halfway through, the percussive fingerpopping 
begins and  kicks into a kind of warp speed with some flashes of strumming dropped in. By its end you inhale and come 
up for air in the intervening empty space while waiting for what comes next.

What comes next is a sweetly swaying melody, perfect for it's namesake, "Gianiana". It's easy to picture the object of its 
insprationto be a graceful, extremely attractive  woman.
This is followed by "First Summer Without You," a melancholy jazz-infused piece, easily conjuring up the loneliness 
following a loss.
"Tractor pull" kicks the groove into high gear again. It sounds like two hearts racing in tandem, as the hammer-ons keep 
the notes flying almost faster than we can take them in.
"Crossing Open Water" rolls softly, gently, like its name suggests, a relaxing respite from the trip-hammer-speed of the
 preceding composition. 

The rest of the CD continues along an ever-varying path, steering away from a cold display of guitar pyrotechics 
with an innate  passion.

Preston's website, www.prestonreed.com informs us that this CD is available from Amazon.com
Other Preston Reed products available include:
Ladies Night / Metal / Preston Reed (includes Pointing Up/Playing By Ear) / Road Less Traveled  
 / Groovemasters, Vol 1 (with Laurence Juber) 
Also available on Video:
• Homespun Video - Fingerstyle Guitar: New 
• Dimensions & Explorations, Volume 1 and 
• Great Guitar Lessons -  Fingerstyle Techniques
• Expanding the Realm of Fingerstyle Guitar
• Preston Reed in Concert
• Muriel Anderson's All-Star Guitar Night