Allan Holdsworth

[James]

Allan Holdsworth is widely regarded by fans and contemporary musicians as one of the 20th century's most prominent guitarists. He is one of a handful of musicians who has consistently proven himself as an innovator in between and within the worlds of rock and jazz music. Many of music's best-known instrumental masters cite Holdsworth as that rare and shining voice—a legendary player who continues to push the outer limits of instrumental technique and the electric guitar's range of tonal and textural possibilities. Particularly during the 90s, Holdsworth has enjoyed the recognition so many musicians strongly feel he deserves, given that he has developed his career outside the big label mainstream and has consistently produced his own recordings with complete creative control since the mid-80s. Despite the uncompromising nature of Holdsworth's predominantly genre-defying solo projects, he's no stranger to all-star jazz festival line-ups or large venue rock audiences. Musician Magazine placed Holdsworth near the top of their "100 greatest guitarists of all time." There's never been a shortage of media attention or acclaim for Holdsworth's accomplishments and originality.

Beyond his ability in improvising mercurial solos and sculpting the guitar's voice into an ever-expanding range of textures and colors, Holdsworth has dedicated his energies to develop many different aspects of guitar technology. This has included new "baritone" variations of the instrument, his own custom 6-string designs (one most recently manufactured by Carvin), the invention of electronic components for the recording studio, and exploring the possibilities of guitar-based synthesizer controllers. Holdworth's ability to improvise over complex and challenging chord voicing's always reveals a deep emotional base and a strong, imaginative personality that is as instantly identifiable as any among Holdsworth's generation of guitar and jazz masters.

http://www.therealallanholdsworth.com/allansbio.htm


https://www.youtube.com/v/QEXKO_N1u4Mhttps://www.youtube.com/v/nchw5246Llghttps://www.youtube.com/v/OeGutZBG9tY
https://www.youtube.com/v/3ZSINN45AnIhttps://www.youtube.com/v/_QZm8CTFCvEhttps://www.youtube.com/v/4mEm_Yp7UJo
https://www.youtube.com/v/HREyuwkmxoghttps://www.youtube.com/v/6a6n84bu_W0https://www.youtube.com/v/v0SmR1RjlAQ

[escher]

Definitely one of the greatest and most original guitarists ever, altough his success seems confined to the guitar world.
I wonder if he has discovered the guitar with the infinite sustain (I can't remember what model was) that seems something built thinking to him.

[James]

Definitely one of the greatest and most original guitarists ever, altough his success seems confined to the guitar world.

Allan is a great artist & innovator, explorer of uncharted territories.

His musicality is amazing .. his music is mind numbingly complex but so deep and beautiful.

Sadly, the music field is one where this kind of innovation is grossly misunderstood and the benefits to the general public are negligible in terms of a "hummable" melody.

[ibanezmonster]

Definitely one of the greatest and most original guitarists ever, altough his success seems confined to the guitar world.
I wonder if he has discovered the guitar with the infinite sustain (I can't remember what model was) that seems something built thinking to him.

I looked into that and now there are pickups (like sustainiac) that allow infinite sustain. I have an ebow which does the same thing, but had no idea there were pickups for this. Definitely will have to get these eventually.

[escher]

I looked into that and now there are pickups (like sustainiac) that allow infinite sustain. I have an ebow which does the same thing, but had no idea there were pickups for this. Definitely will have to get these eventually.

I have an ebow too, but as you perfectly know it allows to play just one note at once. I knew about those pickups (maybe I'm wrong but I remember Steve Vai using a sustainer fernandes), but I was referring to (I've remembered what it was) the moog guitar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Srf-wk-jhHo

that seems exactly what Holdsworth was looking for when he decided to use the synthaxe (I'm a big fan of synths but I've never liked it).
It has also a breath controller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnVMYPy7a8Y

Really, someone has to give one of those instruments to him and say "Hey Allan, take this, look what you can do with it"

[James]

https://www.youtube.com/v/8I7NBoP27TQ
https://www.youtube.com/v/X07gDIfR1z0

https://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/allanholdsworth

[Mirror Image]

Not a huge Holdsworth fan as I find his playing a lot of times too emotionally cold and just technical for it's own sake. I have found his best work is outside his own solo albums where he isn't really contributing much in the way of composition. His work with UK and on Jean-Luc Ponty's Enigmatic Ocean remain the highlights of his career for me. He's obviously talented, but he seems more interested in noodling on the guitar than making substantial music IMHO.

*Before James throws a temper tantrum, I have more than credibility to back up my assertions. I have heard probably 90% of his solo albums and have heard him work in countless groups throughout the years.

[James]

I find his playing a lot of times too emotionally cold and just technical for it's own sake. [...] he seems more interested in noodling on the guitar than making substantial music IMHO.

*Before James throws a temper tantrum, I have more than credibility to back up my assertions. I have heard probably 90% of his solo albums and have heard him work in countless groups throughout the years.

Can most folks hear, appreciate and understand what he's doing? I think not. Most people hear a bunch of notes and write it off, they prefer his guest appearances which at least put him in a context where comprehension is easier, and of course I love his work with Ponty and Williams too but that was over 30 years ago.

Unfortunately, most of the planet reaches for the lowest possible standard, and are intent on applauding and perpetuating mediocrity and baseness. It's a triangle of intellect stemming down from the innovators and thinkers down to the masses. It's true we can't all be experts in all fields but we can raise our level of education so that we can tell the difference between what really is an important contribution and advancement of human endeavor verses regurgitation of cliches and hackneyed drivel in a new wrapper.  ... and the pop market is intent on making it's audience younger and younger because kids that age don't have a clue and so the corporate greed feeds itself by polluting precious young minds. Kids don't know any better....but adults should!

I see how you are on this board and IMO I think it is too early for you to 'trust your ears'.

[Mirror Image]

Can most folks hear, appreciate and understand what he's doing? I think not. Most people hear a bunch of notes and write it off, they prefer his guest appearances which at least put him in a context where comprehension is easier, and of course I love his work with Ponty and Williams too but that was over 30 years ago.

Unfortunately, most of the planet reaches for the lowest possible standard, and are intent on applauding and perpetuating mediocrity and baseness. It's a triangle of intellect stemming down from the innovators and thinkers down to the masses. It's true we can't all be experts in all fields but we can raise our level of education so that we can tell the difference between what really is an important contribution and advancement of human endeavor verses regurgitation of cliches and hackneyed drivel in a new wrapper.  ... and the pop market is intent on making it's audience younger and younger because kids that age don't have a clue and so the corporate greed feeds itself by polluting precious young minds. Kids don't know any better....but adults should!

I see how you are on this board and IMO I think it is too early for you to 'trust your ears'.

I don't have to be an intellectual to understand Holdsworth and what he's doing on the guitar. I've been playing the guitar for 20 something years. My point is his music doesn't really invite the listener into his sound-world and I can understand why as he's a niche guitarist. He only appeals to people who like that kind of thing, which is a very small percentage of listeners. I just don't hear any heart in Holdworth's playing. Shawn Lane, however, is the man. He could rip the guitar apart, but always had an emotional core within his playing. Lane has a certain musicality that Holdsworth doesn't. He certainly was more musical and lyrical.

As for the 'trust your ears' comment, I think you should really face the mirror when you say that, I mean you put Stockhausen (one giant mediocrity) up on a pedestal and you have the audacity to make the claim it's 'too early to trust my ears'. Complete and utter BS, James.

[James]

I don't have to be an intellectual to understand Holdsworth and what he's doing on the guitar. I've been playing the guitar for 20 something years. My point is his music doesn't really invite the listener into his sound-world and I can understand why as he's a niche guitarist. He only appeals to people who like that kind of thing, which is a very small percentage of listeners. I just don't hear any heart in Holdworth's playing. Shawn Lane, however, is the man. He could rip the guitar apart, but always had an emotional core within his playing. Lane has a certain musicality that Holdsworth doesn't. He certainly was more musical and lyrical.

As for the 'trust your ears' comment, I think you should really face the mirror when you say that, I mean you put Stockhausen (one giant mediocrity) up on a pedestal and you have the audacity to make the claim it's 'too early to trust my ears'. Complete and utter BS, James.

See. Your typical modus operandi - ignorant comments. You are the man when it comes to them.

Holdsworth is a world-class player, and you'll be hard pressed to find a player as innovative, musical and as lyrical as he. 

Leagues beyond shredders like Shawn Lane.

Shawn Lane on Allan Holdsworth ..

I saw Allan Holdsworth when I was about 14 in 1978. I never dreamed a guitar could be played like that and that really changed my whole life. If I hadn't had seen Holdsworth I may have just continued to play some blues and rock music and might have even given it up later or something, but when I saw him at 14, that really inspired me to try to play guitar in my own way at another level.

[Mirror Image]

See. Your typical modus operandi - ignorant comments. You are the man when it comes to them.

Holdsworth is a world-class player, and you'll be hard pressed to find a player as innovative, musical and as lyrical as he. 

Leagues beyond shredders like Shawn Lane.

Shawn Lane on Allan Holdsworth ..

I saw Allan Holdsworth when I was about 14 in 1978. I never dreamed a guitar could be played like that and that really changed my whole life. If I hadn't had seen Holdsworth I may have just continued to play some blues and rock music and might have even given it up later or something, but when I saw him at 14, that really inspired me to try to play guitar in my own way at another level.

All of this coming from someone who put himself in exile here on GMG. You're simply a coward and your kind is the very reason why classical music, or any kind of music for that matter, gets a bad name in the first place. You're a self-serving, conceited, know-it-all (but you actually don't know anything), arrogant prick. I really wished you had left the forum for good, but we all should be so lucky.

P.S. I really don't care what Lane said about Holdsworth or any other guitarist for that matter, Lane was his own man and there was a heartbeat behind his playing unlike Holdsworth's mechanical, lifeless pyrotechnics.

[James]

All of this coming from someone who put himself in exile here on GMG. You're simply a coward and your kind is the very reason why classical music, or any kind of music for that matter, gets a bad name in the first place. You're a self-serving, conceited, know-it-all (but you actually don't know anything), arrogant prick. I really wished you had left the forum for good, but we all should be so lucky.

P.S. I really don't care what Lane said about Holdsworth or any other guitarist for that matter, Lane was his own man and there was a heartbeat behind his playing unlike Holdsworth's mechanical, lifeless pyrotechnics.

Blah, blah, blah. YOU dropped into my thread with your typically ignorant comments, not the other way around. So don't be crying when you've been schooled. Man up.

[7/4]

Allan is one of my musical heros...maybe he could be a more prolific composer, but that's not what he's really all about. 

[Scion7]

As Jon Hiseman said, he's at his best when he's playing least.

Look up the first TEMPEST album, the one that starts off with the Gorgon track.
There is also a bootleg live CD of TEMPEST on tour with both Holdsworth and Ollie Halsall (his soon to be replacement) in the band.

Also the Ian Carr album "Belladonna"

and

SOFT MACHINE-Bundles

and finally the first BRUFORD (band) album, "One of a Kind" ......  his playing is sublime here, like on the first Tempest album.

All of these are better than his own solo albums.  Of those, the first is the best - "Velvet Darkness".

[James]

As Jon Hiseman said, he's at his best when he's playing least.

Look up the first TEMPEST album, the one that starts off with the Gorgon track.
There is also a bootleg live CD of TEMPEST on tour with both Holdsworth and Ollie Halsall (his soon to be replacement) in the band.

Also the Ian Carr album "Belladonna"

and

SOFT MACHINE-Bundles

and finally the first BRUFORD (band) album, "One of a Kind" ......  his playing is sublime here, like on the first Tempest album.

All of these are better than his own solo albums.  Of those, the first is the best - "Velvet Darkness".

This is utter tosh.

Those albums, where he is a mere sideman don't capture what he is about .. certainly not his own personal harmonic world and musical outlook/logic. Lifetime's Believe It! is the best from the 70s, showcasing his brilliance as an improviser with a voice/personality .. and anyone with ears to hear will know that the solo albums TRULY capture his essence/personality as an artist more than all else AND that he increasingly became a more refined and sophisticated composer/player over-time. Not to mention finding musicians for form bands that better suited his thing.

[Scion7]

Sorry, but you are mistaken.

The first TEMPEST album was mainly composed by him, and he's certainly the musical leader.

He's an integral part of the BRUFORD band, which is a GROUP, not a solo album.

I can't believe I left off Tony Williams New Lifetime albums, "Believe It" and "Million Dollar Legs."
Not to mention the first UK album!!!!   I'm losin' it.

That's what you get for posting with a headcold.   

Anyway, as I said, those are easily his best works, his soloing is precise and dynamic.

[James]

Sorry, but you are mistaken.

The first TEMPEST album was mainly composed by him, and he's certainly the musical leader.

He's an integral part of the BRUFORD band, which is a GROUP, not a solo album.

I can't believe I left off Tony Williams New Lifetime albums, "Believe It" and "Million Dollar Legs."
Not to mention the first UK album!!!!   I'm losin' it.

That's what you get for posting with a headcold.   

Anyway, as I said, those are easily his best works, his soloing is precise and dynamic.

I'm not mistaken ..

However you want to slice & dice it Tempest is not a mature work, .. that and Bruford are hardly representative of his thing. Not even close.

Anyone with ears can hear that his vocabulary & abilities as a musician grew tremendously and continued to evolve .. he surrounded himself with better players too.

[James]

The first TEMPEST album was mainly composed by him, and he's certainly the musical leader.

This is wrong .. he wasn't a core member and 5 of the 8 tracks were co-composed with the 2 core members (Hiseman/Clarke) on a tertiary capacity. I can barely listen to the album myself .. it wasn't till Lifetime (Tony Williams) that his true personality began to emerge in a stronger way (i.e. Fred) .. also better illustrating his jazz roots. Bruford was a step back, and Bill was the principal leader, composer, artist. U.K. (Wenton/Jobson) was also a weaker affair to Lifetime. Allan himself hated his debut recording, it wasn't a proper release. With the exception of Lifetime's Believe It .. it all greatly pales to what was to come, and all of it features very little from Allan as a writer. So yea .. not truly encompassing of his entire vision/voice.

[Scion7]

Incorrect - he was an EXTREME core member.
I saw this band live.  Allan nodded each time to Jon when he was ready for him to count off the number.
He was the composer of the guitar riffs which made the songs, except for one number by bassist/keyboardist Clarke.
His soloing on this album was concise and direct to the gut.  Excellent album in every way.

Bruford was a wonderful, incredible album - Allan was a key component of the band.  After he left, there wasn't much interest.
UK's first album was magnificent.

I.O.U. didn't get a proper release on a major label, and I came back to that one after the disappointing ROAD TIME came out - immediately there was a sense of loss in Allan's composing - he still played as great as ever, but those records on down the line were much less interesting.

[James]

Incorrect - he was an EXTREME core member.

Not really .. and he isn't too fond of the material. It was what it was, certainly not representative.