REH video
This is an instructional video originally released on VHS, featuring Allan performing several numbers with his band in the studio, as well as Allan talking about and demonstrating some musical concepts on his own. This video was rereleased on DVD by Alfred Music, and is still available. http://www.alfred.com/Products/Allan-Holdsworth--00-28313.aspx
Allan Holdsworth: An interview (Atavachron 1994)
CH: You were less than pleased with the REH video. Why were you less than pleased with the REH video, and the new book, "Just For The Curious"?
AH: Well, I wasn't displeased with the book-I think the book turned out really good, and the book is just basically for me, one really good way of clarifying things that weren't made so clear in the video. The biggest problem with the video was there was a huge problem on the video. What I wanted to do was to record the band live, like we did, but we wanted to... I wanted to record it live-to-24-track and then mix it, so... because I know that some guy sitting behind the desk [mixing console-JP] who's never heard the band before, he doesn't know where to put anything; he doesn't know there's a keyboard solo... how loud the chorus should be, or anything! So it was part of my deal was that we'd record the thing live, of course...
CH: Um-hmm.
AH: ... but to 24-track, and that I would be able to mix it afterwards. Well, they screwed up big time. They went to the expense of recording the all-live to 24-track, then when I got the tape at home, and put the bass up, I thought, "It sounds great"; put the drums up- "Sounds great"; put the keyboards up-"Sounds great." I put the guitar up and all I could hear was drums!!!
KK: What?
AH: They sub-grouped the drums to the guitar track. So when you listen to the video now, this is a very good example of why I'm extremely displeased with it is, that the way the video sounds now, there are no drum tracks up-none, whatsoever! None! All the drums you hear on the REH video are on the guitar tracks.
CH: So in other words, it was a massive engineering disaster.
AH: It was a massive engineering fuck-up of the highest magnitude. An d then, not only that... not only that. Not only did that displease me, but they turned 'round to me and said, "Well, didn't you check that?" and I said-because they know that I do my own engineering-but I'm on this side of the glass, playing live!!! I'm not on that side of the glass! All it takes is the guy-the engineer-to push a solo button and listen to the guitar. If I was in there and pushed "solo" and all I heard was drums...
