Published on Apr 2, 1999
I have always been a sucker for good guitar work. Whether it was
the “technical sloppiness” of Jimmy Page or Jerry Garcia, or the
acoustic show of force from Doug Smith, if the guitarist could make
their instrument really sing, I was hooked.
So it’s not surprising that I was so interested in listening to
Unassigned Territory, the latest release from guitarist
David Pritchard. Not only is this disc filled with incredibly
written and played melodies, it is one of the best guitar albums
I’ve ever heard.
The first thing that wows the listener to Pritchard’s playing
and style is listening to tracks like “Driven” and the title cut,
and later finding out that Pritchard performed all the guitar parts
himself. Even though I am certain this is achieved through the
miracle of multi-tracking, it still is amazing to hear how the
guitar parts interweave, creating a structure that is beautiful,
but complicated enough to leave you in awe.
The second thing that strikes the listener about
Unassigned Territory is the group of guitarists that
Pritchard assembled for this album. Granted, I couldn’t pick out
Pritchard, Joseph Jewell, Dale Turner or Jack Majdecki’s individual
performances if my life depended on it. But what these guitarists
do is combine their playing and styles so that, if you weren’t in
the know, it could have all been performed by one guitarist using
multi-tracking.
The third “wow” that is in store is the sparing use of vocals,
provided by Teri De Sario. If you’re thinking that name sounds
familiar and you ever owned a leisure suit, then yes, it’s that
Teri De Sario of disco music fame. Now, I know what you’re
thinkin’… and it was the same thing I thought too, going into
this album for the first time. Put aside your “disco sucks”
prejudices, ’cause what De Sario adds to this album is not what you
might be expecting.
De Sario’s vocals add another texture into the music, especially
noted on the track “The Language Instinct”. Her vocals tend to
float above the music, and occasionally swim in the melodies coming
from four wood-and-metal-string boxes. You would not think that
music so enchantingly could be created so basically… but is can,
and it has been.
There are rare moments in some songs where the paths that
Pritchard and the other guitarists take seem to be a tad difficult,
but these moments soon pass. But for these tiny cracks in the
surface,
Unassigned Territory is a damn near perfect album, combining
the worlds of light jazz, new age, and even a touch of classical,
into a sound that is so unique that it begs to be heard.
Indulge yourself, and take a walk into
Unassigned Territory. Chances are you won’t want to
leave.