Velvet Darkness (album): Difference between revisions
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[[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 wrote all of the tunes. | [[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 wrote 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 | 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 removed from the market. 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 form as "Shadows Of" on the "Gazeuse" album. | 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 form as "Shadows Of" on the "Gazeuse" album. | ||
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=Track listing= | =Track listing= | ||
{|class='wikitable' | {|class='wikitable' | ||
|+ Allan Holdsworth: Velvet Darkness (1976) ([[Allan Holdsworth Discography|D]] - [[Allan Holdsworth Solo Albums|S]]) | |+ Allan Holdsworth: Velvet Darkness (1976) ([[Allan Holdsworth Discography|D]] - [[Allan Holdsworth Solo Albums|S]]) ([https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k2yntMRbGkZ6mbruDmNBPWNZnYXhr-Das YT]) | ||
! | ! | ||
!style="text-align:left;"|Track title | !style="text-align:left;"|Track title | ||
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Reissue mixed by Mark Wilder<br> | Reissue mixed by Mark Wilder<br> | ||
Produced by Creed Taylor<br> | Produced by Creed Taylor<br> | ||
=Summary of quotes on Velvet Darkness= | =Summary of quotes on Velvet Darkness= | ||
Allan expressed deep dissatisfaction with his 1978 album, "Velvet Darkness," recorded under unfavorable conditions with no rehearsals. He called it a rip-off and an embarrassment, citing thin sound and lopsided balance. He also lamented the lack of royalties due to contract issues and unauthorized releases, stating that the album was never fit for release and was a complete disaster. ''[This summary was written by ChatGPT in 2023 based on the quotes below.]'' | Allan expressed deep dissatisfaction with his 1978 album, "Velvet Darkness," recorded under unfavorable conditions with no rehearsals. He called it a rip-off and an embarrassment, citing thin sound and lopsided balance. He also lamented the lack of royalties due to contract issues and unauthorized releases, stating that the album was never fit for release and was a complete disaster. ''[This summary was written by ChatGPT in 2023 based on the quotes below.]'' | ||
=Quotes on "Velvet Darkness"= | =Quotes on "Velvet Darkness"= | ||
==[[A Disturbingly Normal Genius (Boston Phenix 1976)]]== | |||
Q: Do you think you might do a solo album? | |||
A: I just finished a new album of my own things for CTI, but it turned out really awful ... The whole thing was trundled out in two days without any rehearsal. While we were playing a thing in rehearsal the man with the tape recorder would say you don't have to do any more - that's cool, why don't we move on to the next tune. I didn't see what was happening; I was just trying to go along with it. But after wards I realized I should not even have started it. I had no control over any. thing. Before I went in I was told studio time would be no problem. As it worked out, I couldn't get it done quick enough, and they just didn't seem to care. And they'd have things like tea break at 10, lunch hour, take five at two o'clock and if you're in the middle of a tune, well, too bad. It was really painful. After what happened with Tony it had given me a new goal, something to look forward to, to see if I could get myself together for it. But this album was just bringdown, it was like taking two steps forward and ten back. | |||
Q: This is kind of a strange question, but are you hopeful that people would not buy the album? | |||
A: Yeah, I hope they don't. It's worse than not doing anything at all. I wish it had never happened. Good or bad, everything on that album is first take. Everything. They wouldn't let me do any more soloing. Real nitty gritty. | |||
==[[Player Of The Month (Beat Instrumental 1978)]]== | ==[[Player Of The Month (Beat Instrumental 1978)]]== | ||
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Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/Allan-Holdsworth-Velvet-Darkness/release/3875484 | Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/Allan-Holdsworth-Velvet-Darkness/release/3875484 | ||
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_Darkness | |||
YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k2yntMRbGkZ6mbruDmNBPWNZnYXhr-Das | YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k2yntMRbGkZ6mbruDmNBPWNZnYXhr-Das | ||
[[Allan Holdsworth Discography|'''Discography''']] - <div style='text-align: center;'>''Previous'': [[Million Dollar Legs (album)|'''Million Dollar Legs''']] - ''Next'': [[Gazeuse! (album)|'''Gazeuse!''']]</div> | |||
[[Category:Solo albums]] | [[Category:Solo albums]] | ||
[[Category:Discography]] | [[Category:Discography]] | ||
