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House of Guitars by Ed Gerhard

Ed Gerhard's House of Guitars passes the first test of a good acoustic guitar album. I wasn't able to listen to the whole CD without reaching for my own flattop.

Gerhard says he approached this project with a couple of simple rules. First, all the guitars involved were picked up at pawnshops and used guitar stores for under $200. Secondly, he didn't go anything to modify them. He didn't even change the strings.

"The strings on the Maccaferri are at least 35 years old," he points out.

You can hear every squeak of those ancient strings on the the traditional tune "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" and on Gerhard's on composition, "Because of You, This." I like to play those songs when my brother complains about how dead the strings on my own ancient Silvertone are.

That's another reason I fell in love with this album. I only have two acoustic guitars. One is a shiney new Alvarez that my brother gave me and the other is an ancient old Silvertone I picked up for $5 at a flea market somewhere in north Louisiana more than 20 years ago. It was the first guitar I ever owned, the one I learned on and the one I've dragged all over creation.

The much maligned "beginner's guitar" lost it's bridge somewhere in the late 1970s and I replaced it with a bright yellow No. 2 pencil. I've replaced the pencil twice since. Despite my brothers complaints about the dead strings and the pencil's deliberate attempts to stop anyone from playing harmonics, it's still a dream to play. I've head to find a guitar that's as easy to finger or that makes me feel as good when I play.

Having to retune after every song's a small price to pay for that.

Unfortunately, I didn't find a single Silvertone on this CD, but I did find a number of Harmony, Oahu, Danelectro and Framus guitars. The credits lists reads like a tribute to Sears and Fingerhut and all the other folks that sold cheap guitars to kids who'd never learn to play them. You can feel your fingers turning green as you listen.

And you realize that some of those kids learned to play very well indeed.

Gerhard has a true gift for making these relics sing and cry. The arrangements run from the funky "get up and go somewhere" feel of "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" to the downright weepy licks of "Shallow Brown." The arrangements sound deceptively simple -- until you try to duplicate them. That's when you realize there's a whole lot more to playing a guitar than knowing the notes.

Gerhard puts a lot of himself into these songs ... and I like to think the guitars do as well. You can tell they enjoy having a chance to shine again in the hands of a master.

You can listen to clips from House of Guitars here.

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