Metal Fatigue (album): Difference between revisions
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[[File:Metalfatigue.jpg|200px|right]]After releasing "Road Games", Warner severed the contract with Allan. However, one of the stipulations of the contract was that Warners would fund a demo for a second album. Allan used that opportunity to record a large portion of the tracks for "Metal Fatigue". Jeff Berlin had left the band, and Jimmy Johnson was recruited as a new band member. Gary Willis also contributed on one track. Gary Husband and Chad Wackerman split the drum duties, while Allan presumably programmed "Mac Hine" himself. Allan's old friend Alan Pasqua makes a guest appearance. Paul Williams sings on two tracks, while Paul Korda contributes lyrics and vocals to "In The Mystery". This would be last album to feature Williams, and vocals would only feature rarely on future releases. | |||
Even with the large number of musicians involved, "Metal Fatigue" is a surprisingly cohesive album. But it straddles a rare kind of musical landscape. The title track is a rock song in format, albeit with very fancy chords, and a short yet blistering guitar solo. "Home" is a delicate instrumental with Allan's last recorded acoustic guitar solo. "Devil Take The Hindmost" is all-out instrumental jazz-rock, with one of Allan's signature solos. "Panic Station" is a pop tune in format, but with a bass solo. "The Un-Merry-Go-Round" is a long instrumental suite, which has jazz and rock elements, but which also belies Allan's inspiration from classical music in its form and some of its harmonies. "In The Mystery" wraps up the album with another bright pop tune. | |||
It is the instrumental tracks which are best remembered, and although it was probably completely natural for Allan to juxtapose pop tunes with instrumental jazz-rock, this would be the last album to try to fuse these market-wise disparate styles. This decision was probably first and foremost dictated by Allan's artistic vision. But he probably also decided it was just easier to focus on instrumental music, as he would have a very hard time breaking through in the pop market. | |||
"Metal Fatigue" was released on the independent label Enigma. Allan had misgivings about the music industry overall, and record companies in particular. Enigma would not interfere with the creative process in any way, and they had reasonably good distribution. However, they did not have the financial muscle to promote the albums. With such an eclectic album, it would probably be hard to promote anyway. But Allan did not profit from his releases. | |||
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|+Allan Holdsworth: Metal Fatigue ([[Allan Holdsworth Discography|D]] - [[Allan Holdsworth Solo Albums|S]]) | |+Allan Holdsworth: Metal Fatigue ([[Allan Holdsworth Discography|D]] - [[Allan Holdsworth Solo Albums|S]]) | ||
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'''Paul Williams''': Vocals (1, 4)<br> | '''Paul Williams''': Vocals (1, 4)<br> | ||
'''Paul Korda''': Vocals on "In The Mystery" | '''Paul Korda''': Vocals on "In The Mystery" | ||
=Summary of quotes= | =Summary of quotes= | ||
