WORLD'S FRETLESS GUITARISTS: Village of the Unfretted

World's Fretless Guitarists

Village of the Unfretted

© 2005 Jeff Berg (634479130182)

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A definitive double CD, spanning fusion, roots, jazz, ambient, blues and metal from 16 countries. 2 hours 37 minutes without a fret in sight.

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This double CD showcases 35 of the World's Fretless Guitarists, spanning 16 countries across the globe, and that's nearly most of this rare breed. Their instrument of choice, the fretless guitar, is a specialist item, either custom built, luthier modified or sourced from one of a handful of select manufacturer's.
The Fretless Guitar opens up a whole new world of nuance, pitch, and expression making this compilation a completely different listening experience. Part I consists of mainstream, world and ethnic material while Part II is more diverse featuring metal, microtonal, ambient and experimental music.
Village of the Unfretted was conceived, created, and completed in four short months. It is a unique snapshot in time, when the large majority of performers on a single musical instrument could still squeeze themselves onto a double album.

Jeff - Unfretted

reviews

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  • VA - Village of the Unfretted
    author: Mikolaj Furmankiewicz

    You can find atypical introduction in this double CD's booklet: "There is a transition phase, from guitar to fretless guitar. It's like walking all your life on Earth and then suddenly finding you can fly. All the fixed points you relied upon are gone, you are UNFRETTED", haha. Only one glance at the cover and all is clear - a sparrow stopped short on a guitar's string and picked frets off the guitar neck. An English guitarist and producer, Jeff Berg gathered 35 composers of 16 countries on two CDs. All of them are distinguished by the fact they play the music on fretless instruments. It's worth mentioning a luthier Patrice Vigier whose instruments belong to most famous stringed ones of such a kind (particulary his "Excalibur Surfretter"). Many recognizable musicians play or played his instruments, e.g. Gary Moore, Ron Thal, Jean Beauvoir, Shawn Lane and Franck Vigroux. The latter one is even called a "godfather of fretless guitar". Especially for Poles, it's important that Ryszard Latecki also went down in that instrument history and made a half-fretted guitar "The Latar" in 1996. There is also my compatriot on the compilation - Andrzej Izdebski, Warsaw based specialist in improvising. As far as the history of "Village of the Unfretted" is concerned, there wasn't nothing to it, haha. "Fretless Guitar Festival 2005" held in New York and it was the main driving force to publish that compilation. As regards its contests, it is very diversified: fusion, jazz, avant-jazz, progressive, experimental, blues, world music, Balkan, Hindu, Asian, ethnic music, guitar ambient, and even "Appalachian trance metal", as Erik Hinds characterized his own style. As you see, genres' multifariousness is considerable, so you will be able to pick up something for you. I admit that we persistently deal with a highly specialist music being performed by the greatest, most famous (without a few names) and world's contemporary fretless guitarists and bassists. For hard rock and metal music fans, it will be just a pure improvisation, rather making them think of a sound check before the gig than the music to listen, haha. I am a honest person, so I allow me to recommend that double CD only to those ones who like plays with tones of characteristically intelectual nature.

  • Brand new to me and to alot of people I am sure.
    author: Robert Chatenoff

    What is this? Brand new to me and to alot of people I am sure. Buy this in any form and the destination of the guitar will be made clear for sure.

  • Take A Stroll Thru The Village
    author: Chewy

    This is one helluva of a cd AND a bargin. The styles of music are all over the place & that's just one of the great points about this. You get Rock, Jazz, Blues, World, styles of music that are hard to classify...other then to say original & a whole lot of guitar. Bass players have been without frets, so why not giutars??!!! If you're the type of listener that likes to hear a whole bunch of different & interesting, then do yourself a favor & get this cd.

  • Great
    author: David

    Fretless is the futur of guitar. Remove your frets !

  • in short, a must have guitar recording
    author: Infinite Ego

    Give the boys at www.unfretted.com a huge round of applause for moving the collaborative and thematic recording project benchmark forward by at least a mile. A review of this double album is virtually unnecessary insofar as it is, in my opinion, essential for any fan of guitar – fretted or fretless: well-known guitarists like Ned Evett, David Fiuczynski, Ron Thal, and Elliott Sharp, among others, are represented; the recordings and overall sound quality are high; the project covers many styles of music (there’s fun for the whole family); unfretted went all out in delivering a professional product; and most importantly, the music is great across the entire two CDs. Village is sure to be warmly received by the guitar community and serve as a tremendous platform in promoting the fretless concept.

  • Excellent promotional compilation for the artists and the instrument
    author: Mike Watson

    Village of the Unfretted is a rare find for a rare instrument, the fretless guitar. This double CD spotlights some of the most adventurous musicians on the planet. What you won't find is a bunch of guitarists emulating Middle-Eastern & East Indian music just because the instrument lends itself to music of those cultures. These artists all reflect their own cultures in their music, some with a moderate amount of world fusion but not to the point of glaring imitation. Village of the Unfretted builds a smooth bridge between potential fretless guitar fans & the pioneering artists of the instrument.

  • everything from alt to experimental to ethnic!
    author: Allen Strange, Bid Red Studios

    This is an incredible anthology of works ranging from very left of center experimental to heavy and not-so-heavy alternate to blues to improv to work with obvious ethic influences. The range of musics being voiced by the fretless guitar on this CD has redefined the role of the instrument in the 20th and 21st century. There is something here for all!

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