Allan Holdsworth: Difference between revisions
From Allan Holdsworth Information Center
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==Essential listening== | ==Essential listening== | ||
All of the solo albums released by Holdsworth himself since 1982 are worthy of a listen, although they highlight different aspects of his music. "I.O.U", "Road Games" and "Metal Fatigue" mainly feature a quartet of drums, bass, electric guitar and vocals, and is closer to rock music in form. "Atavachron", "Sand" and "Secrets" feature bass, drums, guitar and SynthAxe mostly, less vocals, and more jazz and classical influences. "Wardenclyffe Tower", "Hard Hat Area" and "The Sixteen Men Of Tain" feature mostly | All of the solo albums released by Holdsworth himself since 1982 are worthy of a listen, although they highlight different aspects of his music. "I.O.U", "Road Games" and "Metal Fatigue" mainly feature a quartet of drums, bass, electric guitar and vocals, and is closer to rock music in form. "Atavachron", "Sand" and "Secrets" feature bass, drums, guitar and SynthAxe mostly, less vocals, and more jazz and classical influences. "Wardenclyffe Tower", "Hard Hat Area" and "The Sixteen Men Of Tain" feature mostly drums, bass and electric guitar, with the latter being decidedly the most jazz-influenced album. "Flat Tire" is a solo album of SynthAxe, with a slightly avantgarde feel. "None Too Soon" is Allan's lone attempt at playing jazz standards, and in spite of some excellent performances is perhaps Allan's least successful solo album. Of the live albums, "Then!" showcases Allan's quartet at its very finest, with "All Night Wrong" showcasing his trio work. The posthumous live albums are all good in their own way, but perhaps not the best introduction to Allan's work, unless you want to watch Allan on video. In that case "Live In Japan 1984" is the best place to start. | ||
With regards to Allan's appearances as a band member or session musician, a few albums are particularly noteworthy. Soft Machine's "Bundles" contained an early iconic guitar solo on "Hazard Profile". "Believe It" by Tony Williams is a jazzrock classic, and includes two Holdsworth tunes. Allan's early work with Bill Bruford and Jean Luc Ponty is also highly regarded, as is Gong's "Gazeuse". Many fans were introduced to Allan through the UK album, although musically it is not very representative of Allan's artistry. His duo project with Frank Gambale, "Truth In Shredding" contains some very fiery solos, as does his album with the Johansson brothers. "40 Reasons" by Chad Wackerman is pretty close to a Holdsworth solo album in its musical direction. Gongzilla's "Suffer" contains many fine solos. Allan's work with Andrea Marcelli is highly recommended. There are many single session tracks worthy of a listen, too many to list all here. | With regards to Allan's appearances as a band member or session musician, a few albums are particularly noteworthy. Soft Machine's "Bundles" contained an early iconic guitar solo on "Hazard Profile". "Believe It" by Tony Williams is a jazzrock classic, and includes two Holdsworth tunes. Allan's early work with Bill Bruford and Jean Luc Ponty is also highly regarded, as is Gong's "Gazeuse". Many fans were introduced to Allan through the UK album, although musically it is not very representative of Allan's artistry. His duo project with Frank Gambale, "Truth In Shredding" contains some very fiery solos, as does his album with the Johansson brothers. "40 Reasons" by Chad Wackerman is pretty close to a Holdsworth solo album in its musical direction. Gongzilla's "Suffer" contains many fine solos. Allan's work with Andrea Marcelli is highly recommended. There are many single session tracks worthy of a listen, too many to list all here. | ||
