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=Allan Holdsworth: Velvet Darkness (1976)=
[[File:Ah velvet.jpg|right|200px]]"Velvet Darkness" is a 1976 solo album by Allan Holdsworth. The album features him on electric and acoustic guitar, as well as a short violin performance. He also write all of the tunes. In 1976, while in New York, Allan was offered a recording contract with CTI Records by Creed Taylor. Allan assembled a band consisting of Alphonso Johnson on bass, Narada Michael Walden on drums, and Alan Pasqua on keyboards. According to Allan, the band was just rehearsing for a single day in the studio when they were dismissed by the producer at the end of the day. Later, Allan found out that the producer had recorded the studio rehearsals, and mixed and released them without Allan's consent. He was completely unaware of the album release until he received a copy of the album on his doorstep back in England many months later. He disowned the album completely, and fought to have it deleted. In 1990, a CD version appeared, which contained all new mixes, as well as five alternate takes. This is the version that is listed here. The track "Floppy Hat" even had the original guitar solo from the album replaced with an alternate take, but without notification. Allan fought yet again to have the CD replaced. He claimed that he never released any royalties whatsoever from the album. Since Allan's passing, the album has reappeared on streaming services.
The music is very raw indeed, and it sounds exactly like what Allan claimed: A studio jam or rehearsal. The title track lifts ideas from Igginbottom's "Golden Lakes", while "Kinder" is an acoustic version of "Fred" on the "Believe It" album. Other tracks would be reworked later, as Allan by his own admission counted nothing that was done on the album. A chord progression in "Gattox" would later be revisited on "Gas Lamp Blues". "Wish" would be reworked into "The Things You See". The title track would reappear in a more refined from as "Shadows Of" on the "Gazeuse" album.
