^ I agree, Holdsy was a perfect fit on the first UK and just about every sideman gig he contributed to!
^ I agree, Holdsy was a perfect fit on the first UK and just about every sideman gig he contributed to!
no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone
What of Johnny Mac's work would you call "accessible"? I think Holdsworth's early/mid 80's records, things like Road Games and Metal Fatigue were his attempt at "accessible" music. I still think something like Panic Stations or In The Mystery could have been a hit, if there had been the budget to make a video, and it could have gotten airplay on MTV and/or VH-1. I always thought the same of Eric Johnson's Tones, there were a couple songs on that record that should have been hits.Originally Posted by JJ88
Then again, maybe it's just as well that Holdsworth wasn't a mainstream success. I get the impression he'd probably been uncomfortable with such things and probably would have been unhappy dealing with the "give us another hit" attitude that invariably accompanies anything like that.
The thing about guitar synths is, most of the time, the guitarist isn't doing anything that could be done on a keyboard synth. Granted, I imagine someone like Metheny or Fripp would need another lifetime to play keyboards the way they do the guitar, and if you're Metheny, you've already got Lyle Mays, so having two keyboardists in the band would be a little redundant.I'm not that keen on guitar synths in general. I kind of have to tolerate them on things like Discipline and Metheny's 80s work, and I think at least they are used fairly creatively.
But I'm not as impressed with "guitar synthesizer" as I was when I was, say 12 years old. When the Roland GR-700 came out, it seemed like a cool instrument and something I'd love to own. But as my interests in music have developed, and the limitations of even today's guitar synths have been revealed to me, they simply less interesting to me than their keyboard oriented cousins (or especially modular synths, which don't even keyboards to get interesting sounds).
Well, clearly McLaughlin had something that connected with more people than Holdsworth did, which was kind of my point. Mahavishnu Orchestra crossed over to a rock audience in a big way.
And if Metal Fatigue is deemed to be more user-friendly (and that does seem to be a general consensus), he's definitely not for me.
Yeah, but that more to do with the era and the acceptance "non-mainstream" music within the rock audience, versus the music actually being "accessible". Certainly, the Mahavishnu Orchestra records I remember hearing had little in the way of hummable melodies or anything that you could tap your foot to.
Well, I just meant that Metal Fatigue had actual songs, with actual melodies, and rhythms that you could snap your fingers to. You really didn't have that so much in Mahavishnu Orchestra. It just seems to me if you were going by record company executive logic, a song like Panic Stations would seem to have more "hit single potential" than Birds Of Fire itself or Meeting Of The Spirits. Maybe Birds Of Fire and Noonward Race were getting airplay on FM progressive rock radio stations, but I don't imagine they were getting spun much on Top 40 radio. Course, I imagine Panic Stations would have been more likely to be played on the early "The Wave" stations, before those stations sank into a state of total smooooooth jazz mediocrity than actual top 40 radio, but I think it's still makes the point.And if Metal Fatigue is deemed to be more user-friendly (and that does seem to be a general consensus), he's definitely not for me.
Of course, we're talking about 1970's logic (when it seemed executives weren't too sure what would work, so they were willing to try anything) versus 1980's logic (when they kinda figured out what was going to generate the most unit shifting, and hence became a bit more conservative about what they were going to throw money at), so perhaps it'
I think if we're getting down to it, I would say it's the fire and raw power in McLaughlin's work which enabled it to connect beyond the 'muso' fringe.
Most of the Mahavishnu compositions are tunes with solos over one or two repeated chords that rock fans can follow within the first listen or two. Not many of Holdsworth's solo pieces are like that.
Even here?
Well, I was responding to the OP's mention of the Synthaxe, Allan's guitar tone is almost always amazing.
Thanks for posting that song by the way. I've having listened to that album in a long time and should dig it out.
Never heard that before (I'm not the "completist" type, not even with my fave musicians and composers); brilliant, as usual!
As far as Allan's accessibility (or lack thereof), one of the things I love about him is that he's an absolutely uncompromising artist, he writes and plays exactly what he wants to without second guessing what people will or won't want. It's basically "this is who I am; you don't have to like it." Personally, I find his music very accessible, but not in a way that people usually associate with the word. It just draws me in bigtime, both on an intellectual and emotional level. You don't hear this said about him often, but I think among other things, he's a very soulful player.
100% in agreement with this.
He always gets credit for his blistering legato lines and rightly so. But I want to highlight his comping, it is very sublime and extremely idiosyncratic. If you notice, when he comps, he always throws away the pick. His conception is generally Modal, but his note choices are ridiculous, completely original, and often off the beaten path, not just the usual collection of grips, and usual stacked thirds .
Incredible, thank you. Never heard this before. I like Allan's tone here. Holy shit I wish I could play those chromatic scribbles all over the place like him, damn! Great stuff.
This guy is such a one-trick pony - sounds like he's practicing arpeggios. No soul, no feel, and pretty much no little-to-no artistic merit. Steve Howe is 1,000x more diverse and will always be a way better player. Definitely lacking taste but plenty of wankery.
And she was only 17 at the time of this recording. Wow.
Winger!!!!
I'm not a Winger fan but I really dig that song -- pop candy!
Impossible for him to be overrated!
His improv skills are otherworldly, his chords are sublime, his uniqueness is off the charts.
As a good friend once said:
"his innovative, unique approach to improv is unmatched. The greatest jazz soloists (Coltrane, McCoy, Brecker, Freddie, etc.), all had predecessors on their respective instruments that they copped licks from and modified with their own voice. There clearly is no guitar lineage leading up to Allan's approach. This freak landed ship with a completely new vocabulary not based on anything that was already established. No blues, pentatonics, bop, post-bop...NOTHING."
And if there were a god, I think it very unlikely that he would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence - Russell
^this is good stuff.
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"And this is the chorus.....or perhaps it's a bridge...."
This is new to me. Absolutely beautiful! Thanks.
Tempest doesn't seem to get mentioned much. the first one with Holdsworth and Paul Williams is a great album! the 73 Hippodrome show with Ollie Halsall is a must have too.
Tempest - Tempest 1973 (full album)
i.ain't.dead.irock
The debut album by Tempest is good but it's an oddity- the term 'thinking man's hard rock' has been applied to it; it is hard to pigeonhole.
I think the album shows Holdsworth playing in a more straight-forward rock style than anything else I've heard from him...hence why it gets overlooked I suppose. There is also a surviving BBC recording of him in the band with Ollie Halsall in a 'twin lead' situation. Halsall took over completely on the follow-up Living In Fear.
why is it an oddity? I don't think they ever intended to sound like Colosseum. Holdsworth has always been an awesome straight up rock guitarist. I think he sounds great on the Tempest album and the BBC recording is the Hippodrome show which was Halsall's first gig with the band. Allan didn't like the idea of twin leads though and left before the second album was recorded.
i.ain't.dead.irock
This probably didn't look right for the people who aren't on the 17 year-old guitar bashing thread, eh?
He might be onto something here. Sadly, I don't see AH getting the recognition that some of those other cats have received. He is truly an island unto himself - a true musical genius that has painted unprecedented colors on the musical canvas. Sorry for the corny metaphor.
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