MTVAsia
Friday October 13, 2000
by Sheng Yuen
American acoustic guitarist Preston Reed is a consummate
performer whose live showcases have consistently wowed both
music lovers and professional musicians alike. His
unorthodox playing techniques have so stirred reviewers that
he has been likened to an alchemist as he wields his
instrument of choice, an Ovation guitar, like a sonic
wand.
Sporting a look reminiscent of a
pre-shorn Michael Bolton on this latest -- his 12th album --
Reed's fingers work magic to the bone on fast tracks like
"Accelerator" and "Along the Perimeter" while slower pieces
such as "Lost Time" and "Love In The Old Country" literally
stop time in its tracks with subdued sensitivity. Reed
creates visual stimuli with every tweak of his instrument,
thus augmenting his wordless compositions with an aura of
the poetic. The moving "First Summer Without You" touches on
an elementary level of human longing that is romantic
without being cloying. On a different note, the masculine
"Tractor Pull" pulsates with redneck rigor and brings to
mind images of a harvesting farmer on fields of gold.