Gary Brewer’s House Of Axes
SGM, 2023
8/10
Listen to Gary Brewer’s House Of Axes
The bluegrass legend Gary Brewer takes on a novel idea here, where each song is a one-take guitar-only effort where he plays different ones from his collection, and each track gets its own intro as well.
“Old Brown Case” opens the listen with Brewer’s swift finger acrobatics via a 1941 Martin D-28 Herringbone for the flowing climate, and “Southern Flavor” follows with a 2007 Martin D-41 Porter Wagoner Custom Signature emitting meticulous progressions thanks to Brewer’s timeless vision.
The best selections land in the middle, where “Old Minor Joe Clark” radiates much warmth with a hint of intimacy as Brewer makes great use of a 1948 Martin D-28, while “The Little Rosewood” is full of swirling melodies that benefit from a 1959 Martin D-28 E.
Close to the end, the dreamy “Foggy Mountain Top/Lonesome Road Blues” is populated by a 1899 Martin 0-28 Herringbone, and “Little Brown Jug” exits with a raw recording where Brewer’s soft singing suits the agile 1957 Silvertone.
Brewer has an impressive resume that includes touring with Bill Monroe, J.D. Crowe, Uncle Josh Graves, Doyle Lawson and Larry Sparks, among others, and he’s made plenty of great music with the Kentucky Gamblers. This unique project explores another avenue of his talent, and is sure to appeal to those with an interest in guitar focused roots, Americana and bluegrass sounds.
Travels well with: Nu-Blu- The Stories We Can Tell; The Farm Hands- Good Things