Unfretted Records UNFT903 - 2009
Classification - Rock / Fusion
Format - Audio CD
Personnel
Ed DeGenaro - Guitars
Featuring; Ray Gomez / Chris Taylor / Matte Henderson / Ric Fierabracci
Trip Walmsley / George Whitty / Dave Weckl / Joel Rosenblatt / Marco Minnemann
Satish / Ezekiel Trosper / Dave Simpson / Gwen Snyder.
Artwork & Design by - Emre Meydan
Tracks
1. Intro
2. Ave D (fretless)
3. Monkey Bawls Utility (fretless)
4. Utilitarian Research Jam
5. Matte's Bible Camp (fretless)
6. Confirm Walk Forward (fretless)
7. Prayer (fretless)
8. Joe Z (fretless)
9. Yes Man (fretless)
10. Neck Bone
11. The Brother
12. One
13. Southern Flyer
14. Outro
Review
Anyone already familiar with Ed's work will be looking forward to this
album, and it is a treat well worth waiting for.
Edging around fusion jazz, with more than a nod to Weather Report,
the production is faultless, hip, fast, complex and constantly interesting.
Some tracks are paired together; Monkey Bawls Utility / Utilitarian Research Jam,
Prayer / Joe Z, The Brother / One, so don't set your player to random play,
this is a serious album.
It was great to hear Joe Zawinal's words again in the track Prayer;
"Music, its a holy thing." A nice tribute.
But its not all the same, Ed's up to all his old off-piste tricks, from the sombre, haunting
"Matte's Bible Camp" to the raw country picking style of "Neck Bone" which, coming right after the
speed licking "Yes Man", is a surprise to keep you on your toes. Even more interesting,
Ed has managed to inject an asian / oriental feel into the album.
Like Ed's last CD, the artwork is from Emre Meydan, who also designed the "Village of the Unfretted" and
Ed's "Dog House" album artwork. I do urge you to buy the actual CD, just to ogle the graphics.
Ed's collaborating musicians are a sterling bunch, headlined by the legendary Ray Gomez,
we would detail them all here, but hey, buy the album and read the credits.
To sum it up, Ed's got a masterpiece on his hands here, and its about time he went mainstream.
I'm convinced Ed made this album just to make me happy, but if that's the case,
its got to make a lot of other people very happy too.
Unfretted Records UNFT702 - 2007
Classification - Rock / Fusion
Format - Audio CD
$11.60 (for a while)
Personnel
Ed DeGenaro - Guitars
Fritz Wolf - Drums
Orlando Marin - Bass
Satish - Slide Trumpet
Anton Pukshansky - Keyboards, bass on track 2
Matthew Burgess - Percussion
Chris Taylor - Keyboards, Programming, Additional Guitars on Track 4
Trip Walmsley - Bass on Track 7
Produced & Arranged by - Ed DeGenaro & Anton Pukshansky
Mixed & Mastered by - Anton Pukshansky
Executive Producer - Jerrod Snyder
Artwork & Design by - Emre Meydan
Photo of Ed by - Carrie Robinson
Tracks
1. Twang This (E. DeGenaro)
2. Teutonic Hellbelly (E. DeGenaro)
3. Fretless in Seattle (E. DeGenaro)
4. Joe Z (C.Taylor)
5. Jamaican Sunsets (E. DeGenaro)
6. Aja (D. Fagan / W. Becker)
7. Some Cow Phunk (E. DeGenaro)
8. Acoustic Moments (R.Lagrene)
9. Angelina (T. Emmanuel)
10. SFW (E. DeGenaro)
11. Ballad of Heidi (J. Strunz)
12. Hip to Hop (E. DeGenaro)
13. La Mer (C. Trenet)
14. North Coast (E. DeGenaro)
15. Charlie Parker Goes Heavy Metal (U. Wakenius)
16. Hoppier Than Thou (E. DeGenaro)
17. Three Views of a Secret (J. F. Pastorious)
18. That's All Folks (E. DeGenaro)
Review
The first thing that strikes you about this CD is quality, the superb graphics from Emre Meydan
matching the muted tones of the text and liner notes. Plus you get a massive 80 minutes of value-for-money
Ed on this album, typical of Unfretted Records to cram the maximum audio content possible onto all its CDs.
You might be forgiven thinking you'd bagged a country album as it races off
with "Twang This!" and continues with the enigmatic "Teutonic Hellbelly", I guess a reference to Ed's roots. Don't worry though,
Ed has his fretless out on track three "Fretless in Seattle" a great title as Ed is living there right now, its a great drone piece with
what seems like impossible high notes squeezed out by Ed.
Oh, and did I mention, all the tracks are gapless, its a straight switch from one track to the next and Ed manages it well,
Joe Z is very reminiscent of early Weather Report, and so it should be but the band bags the tone and feel really well.
The mood is quickly becoming the jazz fused rock Ed does so well.
Ed fans will recognise a few tracks that have appeared elsewhere in prototype versions, and nice to hear the humor in
"Some Cow Phunk". "Acoustic Moments" is solo guitar again the surprising versatility could draw you to the
conclusion that Seattle has found its very own Jeff Beck.
That doesn't stop Ed throwing in the odd cheesy lounge lizard track, or a complete remake of "Hip to Hop" the track he
headlined the Village of the Unfretted CD with. The last five tracks are all stand out,
"Charlie Parker Goes Heavy Metal"
is blisteringly fast, love to see that live. The CD rolls out with the moody "Three Views of a Secret" and a very ambient
"That's All Folks" which gets everything including the kitchen sink thrown in.
All in all a wonderfully diverse album, you can feel the vibe that says these guys had a great time making this CD.
You will have a great time listening. Guaranteed! 5 stars.
In the time between Summer 2006 and Ed's full-on CD release of Dog House
he put out a series of three concerts on DVD and two audio CDs.
Ed DeGenaro & Friends - NAMM bash 2006
Classification - Fusion Rock
Format - DVD NTSC (note: played fine on multizone DVD player and PAL TV)
Running time: 32 minutes
$12.60
Heavens above! This features Ed on a fretted guitar. Though I must say, its a pretty one.
Shot from a single camera angle we do get a fair use of zoom and a nice view of Ed's fingerwork.
We kick off with Hip to Hop and to be fair, Ed is well down in the mix and after a couple of
minutes is shouting to the mixing desk to turn the guitar up. After being ignored twice he turns
round to his THD Monster Amp and cranks it up a notch. After that we are flying.
The set continues with Sunsets, Flash Flood, U 'n' I, and finales with So What. Out of the three
DVDs, this is my favourite (I will have to burn in hell as there is no fretless here) but mainly
because of the drive and dynamism, plus this one has you transfixed to the screen.
This is Ed at his fiery best, fast fusion rock, blisteringly fast riffs, shockingly nimble
fingers, its a rare treat.
Ed DeGenaro & The Powers OF 10 Band
Remembering Shawn Lane - Live on Beale St
Classification - Heavy
Format - DVD NTSC - Stereo (note: played fine on multizone DVD player and PAL TV)
Running time = 34 minutes
$12.60
Filmed from three camera angles, left stage close (manned), right mid field and
center rear cameras appear unmanned.
Plenty of shots covering Ed's work close up from the left stage close camera,
some nicely framed work.
Ed really rips on this DVD. He leaves the band to catch up on the second number
"Hip to Hop", but they soon get synchronised and I guess this never to be repeated
performance makes the DVD very collectable.
The third and final track could only be described as fretless reggae, with some superb
fretless work from Ed, but and I am afraid to tell you this, but, but three minutes in and Ed
has exchanged the fretless for a Vigier Shawn Lane model! But I guess given the concert....
Nude Guitars, Live at the Knit - Ed DeGenaro
Classification - Metal
Format - DVD NTSC (note: played fine on multizone DVD player and PAL TV)
$12.60
Nude Guitars - Live at the Knit
Ed DeGenaro - Vigier Fretless
Eric Rhodes - Fernandes Fretless
Running time - 30 minutes
Filmed at the now legendary 2005 NYC Fretless Festival gig at New York's Knitting Factory.
Shot from a single camera angle, highlights include the famous free bananas scene,
plenty of great guitar work from Ed and Eric Rhodes.
Live at the Knit - Ed DeGenaro
Classification - Metal / Fusion
Format - Audio CD
$11.60
This is essentially an audio track of the DVD,
so you don't need to purchase both! If you are like me though,
you need the audio in the car, as current driving legislation doesn't
allow the driver to watch DVDs while driving.
Nylon and Steel - Ed DeGenaro
Classification - Acoustic Guitar
Format - Described as a mini-CD, though it is the usual size.
$9.60
Ed DeGenaro - Acoustic Guitars
This is a very enjoyable CD, all acoustic solo guitar offerings.
Sadly it is all over too quickly, clocking in at just under twenty minutes,
like all of Ed's work it always leaves you wanting more, which is a great road to go down.
Another secret; this is all performed on fretted guitars! Yes, I know, quite a shock to the system.
But this is a must for Ed fans, it shows the other side of his talents, not unfretted / fretted, but less
metal, more acoustic.
If you have to get one example of Ed's work, do consider this,
as it showcases his often unseen / unheard talents.
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