My review of Allan Holdsworth's Live in Japan 1984, today at All About Jazz.

The loss of Allan Holdsworth = 7678 in the spring of 2017 remains the passing of one of the most distinctive and innovative guitarists of the past half century. Born in the U.K in 1946, but moving to the U.S.A. in the early '80s, most who are familiar with Holdsworth's work also know how vastly influential he became, almost from the first moments of his mind-blowing appearance on trumpeter Ian Carr's Belladonna[/i] (Vertigo, 1972), but even more so with groups in which he dominated more completely, including relatively short tenures with Soft Machine (1975's Harvest classic Bundled[/i]), Gong (1976's Virgin masterpiece Gazeuse!) and British progressive rock super group U.K. (the superb 1978 E.G. debut, U.K.), alongside slightly longer stints with American drummer Tony Williams' New Lifetime (most notably on its 1975 Columbia debut, Believe It), and British drummer Bill Bruford's first group as a leader, Bruford (documented in Gonzo Multimedia's 2017 box set, Seems Like a Lifetime Ago).

Sadly, however, the very qualities that made Holdsworth's distinct language and approach to tonal colors resulted in a broader reputation and popular acclaim that slowly eroded over the years, despite the extraordinarily high esteem with which he was held by so many six-stringers, ranging from Kurt Rosenwinkel, John McLaughlin and Pat Metheny to Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani and Dream Theater's John Petrucci. By the time of his too-young passing at age 70, he may have, indeed, been a living legend (with an assured spot in the history of his instrument) to those who knew of him and still tried to follow him, but the popular acclaim and commercial success that largely eluded him from the mid-'80s on meant that he passed away far less known than the household name he truly deserved to be.

2017's aptly titled, career-spanning box set, The Man Who Changed Guitar Forever (Manifesto) served as a terrific summation as Holdsworth initially focused on electric (and, occasionally, acoustic) guitar but, later, added other instruments to his arsenal, including baritone guitars and the unwieldy Synthaxe guitar synth. That said, it also highlighted the almost pathological perfectionism that plagued (and seemed to relentlessly intensify over time) Holdsworth throughout his career. One need look no further than the fact that his final studio group recording, the exceptional Sixteen Men of Tain (Gnarly Geezer), was released in 2000 (and reissued in 2003, with two additional tracks, by Globe Music), with Holdsworth working on (but never completing) a follow-up in the seventeen years that followed.

Why was this so? Because Holdsworth's intensely self-critical bent and perfectionist tendencies made it literally almost impossible for him to actually like anything he did. And it's a shame; later in life, the guitarist could often be heard making brief but revealing introductory live comments like "We'll be playing [insert song title]; let's hope I don't screw it up too much." At a powerful 2005 Festival International Jazz de Montréal performance, to a sold-out house, upon telling the guitarist, backstage after the main set had ended, that the crowd was screaming for more, he replied "do you really think so?"

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