Bruford - One of a Kind
Bruford - One of a Kind
no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone
Should have put an asterisk there as I too hate the vocals; left off the IOU album here due to irritating vocals. Great music of course.Originally Posted by MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER
Atavachron has my favorite piece, Non-Brewed Condiments and his Secrets album's City Night's track is also essential listening.
"Henry Cow always wanted to push itself, so sometimes we would write music that we couldn't actually play – I found that very encouraging." - Lindsay Cooper, 1998
"I have nothing to do with Endless River. Phew! This is not rocket science people, get a grip." - Roger Waters, 2014
"I'm a collector. And I've always just seemed to collect personalities." - David Bowie, 1973
I love his raw sound on the Tony Williams albums.
seconded!
Believe It! especially, but Million Dollar Legs is good too
then there's Ponty's Enigmatic Ocean as well
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
I also used to dislike Paul Williams vocals on IOU, Road Games and Metal Fatique, BUT, lately I'm really digging what he did on those albums.
At least he doesn't sound like a girl.
no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone
If you like the Sythaxe stuff on Sand, you gotta get Atavachron, that was his first (and best) album with the Synthaxe.
I think his best solo albums are Metal Fatigue and i.o.u.
As far as work with others, his stuff with Tony Williams and Bruford are great. The first U.K. album is damn great, too.
Can anyone who has seen him on this tour offer up a setlist?
I never heard this before. Holy shit! This smokes!
Yup it does, but for me the vocals were even more of a gag reflex experience than Paul Williams on the 1st Tempest record...wonder if that was the SG that John Etheridge snagged from him.
Sorry to hear about Allan's health problems; jeez!
Aw c'mon, Dale; you've seen me this decade! But yeah, hopefully we'll see each other at this show!
Most here will tell you his solo stuff isn't as good as his sideman work, but I'm not one of them. I think Wardenclyffe Tower has some of his most brilliant solos ever and some great tunes. Another favorite is Then!, a live album from '92 (I think). It's absolutely burning!
Thanks for the recommendations everyone! It is much appreciated.
I foresee some expensive weeks ahead, as I track down more of Allan's discography.
Thanks Ernie. I think it was hearing your work with Bad Dog U that prompted me to go back and listen to Hard Hat Area by Allan a couple weeks ago. Some of the music from your album reminded me of Mr. Holdsworth, and that was very cool. I hope to pick up a copy of Bad Dog U in the near future as well.
btw, that unreleased track that you put up on Soundcloud is very nice. I've really enjoyed listening to it. Thanks for sharing it with us!
That's very flattering indeed, thanks! I've certainly listened to Holdsworth a lot and perhaps a tiny bit of that comes out in what I do, but honestly, my playing is kindergarten level to his doctorate level. Even the stuff of his where I can understand what he's doing harmonically, I could never do technically in two lifetimes of trying. Then there's all that other stuff where I haven't a frickin' clue what he's doing! Even John McLaughlin said something along the lines of, "if I had any idea of what he's doing, I'd steal all of it!"
Here's a track from "Wardenclyffe Tower:"
And here's one from "Then!:"
Last edited by No Pride; 08-20-2014 at 05:29 PM.
Thanks for the videos! That live track is killer.
While I can appreciate your modesty, to be honest, I would be ecstatic if I could play the guitar like you do. I'm still learning my way around the piano/keyboard, and have messed around with bass guitar a little bit, but the guitar itself is incredibly daunting to me. Jazz and fusion have become favorites of mine in recent years, but I'm miles away from being able to actually play any of it.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't be so modest.
Seriously, while Bad Dog U reminded me of Allan Holdsworth, it's definitely not in a derivative or "copycat" manner; just reminiscent enough, with its own style. Finding out about it was a pleasant surprise, and had I known about you guys sooner I would have already bought your CD.
On the subject of the thread: The first thing I had ever heard Allan play on was Book of the Dead by K2, back in 2006. The fluidity of the guitar playing sounded quite unlike anything else I'd heard before, and the melodies were striking. At the time jazz/fusion was bit intimidating to me, so regrettably I didn't delve into his solo stuff until much later. If anyone hasn't heard that K2 album, I would recommend it. It's symph-prog, with some very cool guitar (obviously), keyboards by Ryo Okumoto, and some beautiful violin by Yvette Devereaux. It's interesting to hear Allan playing in that kind of context (although perhaps not so strange, considering he was in U.K. at one time too).
SOMA is another 'Holdsy out of context' album... Neo Prog with vocals
is the K2 instrumental by chance?
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
Nope. It has peter gabriel sounding vocalist.
My progressive music site: https://pienemmatpurot.com/ Reviews in English: https://pienemmatpurot.com/in-english/
What is SOMA? I'm not familiar with the acronym. lol
That album has Shaun Guerin on vocals, who does a very good job. His voice is reminiscent of Peter Gabriel in a natural way, and he steers clear of the vocal histrionics that so many "Gabrielesque" singers can tend toward.
Sadly, Shaun died a few years back. He was also a very talented musician, and played drums for a band whose name I can't remember now. I've got some of his solo stuff, and it's nice.
I'm not that modest, just realistic. I've been playing for a long, long time and I've gotten enough encouragement and support from musicians I have a lot of respect for to know that I'm pretty good. But Holdsy is light years beyond "pretty good;" his playing is just at a level that's practically inhuman! Having read many interviews with him, I know he's just a flawed human with more insecurities than most, but his playing is "otherworldly." I first heard him on Tony Williams Lifetime's "Believe It!" and well... I couldn't believe it! Couldn't believe anybody could play guitar like that! And he has continued to evolve over the decades. It's not just his bionic chops or his extremely advanced harmonic conception; it's that he created a style that's so unique and innovative that he sounds like he's never listened to (let alone be influenced by) another guitar player in his life (though I know he has)! To me, he has raised the bar of what can be done with the guitar in the same way that Charlie Parker and John Coltrane did with the saxophone. In each case, it wasn't just total mastery of the instrument, it was a fully developed approach to improvisation that had never previously been conceived of.don't be so modest.
On the subject of the thread: The first thing I had ever heard Allan play on was Book of the Dead by K2, back in 2006. The fluidity of the guitar playing sounded quite unlike anything else I'd heard before, and the melodies were striking. At the time jazz/fusion was bit intimidating to me, so regrettably I didn't delve into his solo stuff until much later. If anyone hasn't heard that K2 album, I would recommend it.
Re: K2 - Book of the Dead: I have it, but didn't care for it much, except for AH's contribution, of course!
That it does! Interesting how there was a little bit more of something resembling "rock lexicon" in his playing back then. He was once asked if he purposely avoids playing any blues/rock clichés and he said, "in a word, yes!" But it seems to ring true more today than it did back then.
Man, would I have loved to hear TW's Lifetime live!
Last edited by No Pride; 08-21-2014 at 12:27 PM.
Just got my ticket for the Oakland Yoshi's show Sept. 4!! Woo Hoo!!
Is anybody going to the performance at Reggie's in Chicago on Wednesday, September 24th?
Yep!
Part two - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbuFMyZof0s
Much obliged for both links!
"Henry Cow always wanted to push itself, so sometimes we would write music that we couldn't actually play – I found that very encouraging." - Lindsay Cooper, 1998
"I have nothing to do with Endless River. Phew! This is not rocket science people, get a grip." - Roger Waters, 2014
"I'm a collector. And I've always just seemed to collect personalities." - David Bowie, 1973
It's just the band name on the cover
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
Isn't it a Brave New World reference?
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