The Sixteen Men Of Tain (album): Difference between revisions

A cursory listen to any of Holdworth’s ten recordings since his 1979 debut as a leader, I.O.U., reveals a player of astonishing technique -- the stunning streams of notes, unparalleled harmonic sophistication, singular chordal voicings produced by seemingly impossible reaches on the fretboard along with his orchestral scope as an arranger and his improvisational daring. But on his latest release, '''The Sixteen Men Of Tain''' , the reluctant guitar god has trumped himself. Fueled by the rhythm tandem of former Chick Corea drummer Gary Novak and in-demand LA upright bassist Dave Carpenter, Holdworth has come up with his jazziest offering to date for the small, mail-order-only Gnarly Geezer Records (www.gnarlygeezer.com). The typically mind boggling legato chops are very much in tact on Tain, and the swinging, interactive dynamic underscores the Trane connection.

Have you used the DG1000 on any albums yet? I used it for everything on '''The 16 Men Of Tain''' . I simply didn’t need to use anything else. I realized that this could be the beginning of a whole new thing, something that amplifiers might be able to do in the future that they’ve never been able to do in the past.

"The interpretation of my original music can be played in so many different ways, almost like different kinds of styles," he remarks. "And as I began playing with Gary Novak and Dave Carpenter a couple of years ago, I could hear that the interpretation of it was pushing into a different direction. And it sounded really kind of natural. So I basically wrote the material that was on this record with that in mind, because I knew that Gary Novak’s interpretation is a different kind of thing from the way that Gary Husband’s interpretation of it would be. He plays with a lot of energy but he can also play pretty soft, and I was enjoying that. [Novak] has a pretty amazing way of just making it feel good. It feels better than it does with other guys even though you can’t really put your finger on it."

"We played everything together. But it used to be that you’d go into the studio and be terrified that you might play something you liked, but somebody else would hate their track so you couldn’t use it. So now I just go in there and let what happens happen. Usually I just keep doing it until the other players get it dead right. And if I like what I’ve played I’ll keep it, if not I can do another solo."

==[[Allan Holdsworth interview (Abstract Logix 2004)]]==

AH: It’s essentially a trio record featuring Joel Taylor and Ernest Tibbs. The working title is Snakes and Ladders. I’m working on recording it at present. No, there’s no particular concept as such. I would say its closer in terms of the music to 16 Men than Hard Hat Area. Beyond that, when it’s done I guess you can tell me.

MM: I would hope some program directors would give you more than thirty seconds of the first tune from albums like None Too Soon, Flat Tire, or '''16 Men Of Tain''' .

[[Category:Solo albums]]