Believe It (album): Difference between revisions
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[[File:1975 believeit.jpg|right|200px]]"Believe It" is a 1975 album by [[The New Tony Williams Lifetime]], that features Allan on guitar. He also wrote two tunes. The music is quintessential jazz-rock. All band members contributed tunes. Two tunes in particular have received attention among Holdsworth fans: "Fred" is a signature tune of Allan's, featuring a relatively straightforward, but also quite catchy melody and harmony. "Proto-Cosmos" by Alan Pasqua would be played as the encore of many of Allan's shows. "Red Alert" would also be played live, in particular in the later part of Allan's career. Around half the album was originally recorded as a demo, live in the studio. Allan was not so much a fan of the recording itself, but he cherished his time with Tony Williams, as it allowed him great musical freedom. He would also retain close ties to Alan Pasqua throughout his career. | |||
==Track listing== | |||
{|class='wikitable' | {|class='wikitable' | ||
|+Tony Williams | |+[[The New Tony Williams Lifetime]]: Believe It (1975) ([[Allan Holdsworth Discography|D]]) ([https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mkUKJ9PhWJoBDY9eMf6tEhCqgANsFwesU YT]) | ||
! | ! | ||
!style="text-align:left;"|Track title | !style="text-align:left;"|Track title | ||
| Line 9: | Line 11: | ||
|1. | |1. | ||
|Snake Oil | |Snake Oil | ||
| | |Newton | ||
|6:30 | |6:30 | ||
|Guitar solo 4.36-6.30 | |Guitar solo 4.36-6.30 | ||
| Line 15: | Line 17: | ||
|2. | |2. | ||
|Fred | |Fred | ||
| | |Holdsworth | ||
|6:48 | |6:48 | ||
|Guitar solo 3.42-5.37 | |Guitar solo 3.42-5.37 | ||
| Line 21: | Line 23: | ||
|3. | |3. | ||
|Proto-Cosmos | |Proto-Cosmos | ||
| | |Pasqua | ||
|4:02 | |4:02 | ||
|Guitar solo 0.24-1.37 | |Guitar solo 0.24-1.37 | ||
| Line 33: | Line 35: | ||
|5. | |5. | ||
|Wildlife | |Wildlife | ||
| | |Williams | ||
|5:22 | |5:22 | ||
|Guitar solo 0.46-1.43 | |Guitar solo 0.46-1.43 | ||
| Line 56: | Line 58: | ||
|} | |} | ||
'''Allan Holdsworth''': Guitar<br> | |||
'''Tony Williams''': Drums<br> | |||
'''Tony Newton''': Bass<br> | |||
'''Alan Pasqua''': Keyboards | |||
=Summary of quotes on "Believe" It= | =Summary of quotes on "Believe" It= | ||
Holdsworth's guitar work on "Believe It" showcased his spectacular form within The New Tony Williams Lifetime. | Holdsworth's guitar work on "Believe It" showcased his spectacular form within The New Tony Williams Lifetime. | ||
| Line 76: | Line 70: | ||
Despite his own critical view of his work on "Believe It" and the passage of time, Holdsworth recognized the importance of this period in his career. He met remarkable musicians like Tony Williams, Alan Pasqua, and Tony Newton during this time and appreciated the opportunity to play with them. | Despite his own critical view of his work on "Believe It" and the passage of time, Holdsworth recognized the importance of this period in his career. He met remarkable musicians like Tony Williams, Alan Pasqua, and Tony Newton during this time and appreciated the opportunity to play with them. | ||
Holdsworth's association with "Believe It" and his subsequent experiences with The New Tony Williams Lifetime played a pivotal role in shaping his career and his approach to recording and performing with the guitar. | Holdsworth's association with "Believe It" and his subsequent experiences with The New Tony Williams Lifetime played a pivotal role in shaping his career and his approach to recording and performing with the guitar. ''[This summary was written by ChatGPT in 2023 based on the quotes below.]'' | ||
=Quotes on Believe It= | =Quotes on Believe It= | ||
==[[Terry Theise’s electric guitar top ten (Guitar magazine 1976)]]== | ==[[Terry Theise’s electric guitar top ten (Guitar magazine 1976)]]== | ||
He is currently working in The New Tony Williams Lifetime, and is in spectacular form on their "'''Believe It'''". The solo on Wildlife is his most cautiously deliberate, and it is interesting to study his phrasing in a less busy context. But his amazing lead on Red Alert is one of those performances where you laugh out loud at the furious virtuosity of it all. So few people seem to be aware of his talent will concede that a Holdsworth solo has less to say to the lay listener than a Santana solo. He may just be one of those musician’s musicians, a consensus which at least is more indicative of quality than either the critic’s or the public’s. And if you were neither a connoisseur nor an aspiring connoisseur you wouldn’t be reading this series. So check him out. | He is currently working in The New Tony Williams Lifetime, and is in spectacular form on their "'''Believe It'''". The solo on Wildlife is his most cautiously deliberate, and it is interesting to study his phrasing in a less busy context. But his amazing lead on Red Alert is one of those performances where you laugh out loud at the furious virtuosity of it all. So few people seem to be aware of his talent will concede that a Holdsworth solo has less to say to the lay listener than a Santana solo. He may just be one of those musician’s musicians, a consensus which at least is more indicative of quality than either the critic’s or the public’s. And if you were neither a connoisseur nor an aspiring connoisseur you wouldn’t be reading this series. So check him out. | ||
==[[Player Of The Month (Beat Instrumental 1978)]]== | ==[[Player Of The Month (Beat Instrumental 1978)]]== | ||
It was in Lifetime that he finally discovered what he wanted out of music. They recorded two albums for CBS, the first of which ("'''Believe It'''") he regards as some of his best work to date. "I felt freer in there than I’d felt before - not just free to play, I mean free to suggest things. It was a collective thing. But there were all sorts of problems with that band financially, so that in the end, through one thing and another, it petered out. Then I came back, and just got the gig with Gong. I’m not quite sure how it happened." | It was in Lifetime that he finally discovered what he wanted out of music. They recorded two albums for CBS, the first of which ("'''Believe It'''") he regards as some of his best work to date. "I felt freer in there than I’d felt before - not just free to play, I mean free to suggest things. It was a collective thing. But there were all sorts of problems with that band financially, so that in the end, through one thing and another, it petered out. Then I came back, and just got the gig with Gong. I’m not quite sure how it happened." | ||
==[[Allan Holdsworth (Guitar Player 1980)]]== | ==[[Allan Holdsworth (Guitar Player 1980)]]== | ||
Along with Williams, bassist Tony Newton and keyboardist Alan Pasqua, he recorded two albums - '''Believe It''' and Million Dollar Legs - and toured in 1975 and ‘76. After bad management drove him away from that ensemble (at one point during a tour he ended up stranded in San Francisco with neither money nor a place to stay and had to pawn his guitar to get back to England), Allan recorded his first solo album, Velvet Darkness. | Along with Williams, bassist Tony Newton and keyboardist Alan Pasqua, he recorded two albums - '''Believe It''' and Million Dollar Legs - and toured in 1975 and ‘76. After bad management drove him away from that ensemble (at one point during a tour he ended up stranded in San Francisco with neither money nor a place to stay and had to pawn his guitar to get back to England), Allan recorded his first solo album, Velvet Darkness. | ||
==[[The Innocent Abroad (Musician 1984)]]== | ==[[The Innocent Abroad (Musician 1984)]]== | ||
Allan remains happier with the first of his two Lifetime LPs, '''Believe It''', which was freer and less genre-tied than the subsequent Million Dollar Legs. | Allan remains happier with the first of his two Lifetime LPs, '''Believe It''', which was freer and less genre-tied than the subsequent Million Dollar Legs. | ||
==[[The Unreachable Star (Guitar World 1989)]]== | ==[[The Unreachable Star (Guitar World 1989)]]== | ||
Johnson, remembering the despair in Allan’s face when he told the guitarist that he’d listened to a tape of '''Believe It''' on the drive down from L.A., obliges: "We’ll change that!" | Johnson, remembering the despair in Allan’s face when he told the guitarist that he’d listened to a tape of '''Believe It''' on the drive down from L.A., obliges: "We’ll change that!" | ||
| Line 105: | Line 93: | ||
==[[No Secret (Guitar Extra 1992)]]== | ==[[No Secret (Guitar Extra 1992)]]== | ||
Q: Let’s go back a little bit. After hearing Clapton and being a fan, did you then pursue getting equipment like that, and buy a Les Paul?
| Q: Let’s go back a little bit. After hearing Clapton and being a fan, did you then pursue getting equipment like that, and buy a Les Paul?
| ||
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==[[Once Upon a Lifetime (Jazz Times 2010)]]== | ==[[Once Upon a Lifetime (Jazz Times 2010)]]== | ||
Williams and Holdsworth went together to check out Newton on a big-band gig at Carnegie Hall. The pianist in the group happened to be Alan Pasqua, who made a favorable impression on both of them. Williams called a rehearsal at S.I.R. Studios in Manhattan, and a band was born. “We started rehearsing new tunes and then a few weeks later we were playing at the Bottom Line,” says Holdsworth. “Shortly after, we did '''Believe It''', then did a couple of tours and followed up with Million Dollar Legs.” | |||
=Links= | |||
AH Archives: https://www.facebook.com/AllanHoldsworthArchives/posts/193864924120742 | |||
Ed's blog: http://threadoflunacy.blogspot.no/2017/06/5-tony-williams-lifetime.html | |||
Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/The-New-Tony-Williams-Lifetime-Believe-It/release/969987 | |||
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mkUKJ9PhWJoBDY9eMf6tEhCqgANsFwesU | |||
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Believe_It_(album) | |||
[[Category:Discography]] | [[Category:Discography]] | ||
