Holdsworth was one of my heroes; when I was a kid I found his "Velvet Darkness" and Dire Straits first album on 8 track in the cutout bin. Scrambled my brain between "all the notes" and "just the right notes, sparingly" and that contradiction continues to this day.
I met Allan after a gig at the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA. As he graciously signed my copy of "Reaching for the Uncommon Chord" I tried to stammer out that I loved his music and the work he put into it. He looked a little glum and quietly replied "thanks" as he was apparently uncomfortable and pretty self-critical. As he was signing next to a photo of him with his Ibanez signature model (which I had two of at the time), I asked him about it and he cheered up as he enjoyed talking gear more than his art. He said "the first prototypes that Ibanez sent me were great, but the production models were so bad I didn't want my name on them. I still have one though; I use it to prop my studio door open on windy days..." I sold mine shortly thereafter. Wish I had kept one though.
My wife, who loves music, never really understood Allan's music from recordings and it bored her to tears. When she saw him live at the Iron Horse she realized that he was on a different plane and searching for something that most folks don't understand. She was amazed by his skill and musicality. He had a vision, and it was spectacular to see him chasing it. She still can't listen to his studio recordings though. I've got a few live dvds here that I might make her sit through if she's willing.
