Allan Holdsworth 1974

[Achilles]

A full year before 1975's Kiss Alive made every kid want to be Ace.

The dude knows nothing but alien scales and he's got about a million chords in his back pocket, so a lot of his music was simply too weird for a lot of people, but from a pure technical standpoint some of the licks he works into this solo are just in-human. It's one thing for your brain to come up with that stuff in a micro-second but for your fingers to just pull it off with such speed and fluidity........

 

[FuzzyAce]

He's one of the players that just grows on you the more you listen, at least for me anyways. Playing and composition.
Just brilliant and totally original.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

I never sat down and listened to Allan. After Stanley Jordan last night I'm on a fusion kick. Keep it coming!

 

[Achilles]

I never sat down and listened to Allan. After Stanley Jordan last night I'm on a fusion kick. Keep it coming!

The solo in this song is simply THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME.
I'm not spoiling it at all.
You'll see.

 

[Achilles]

He knew how to write epic songs too.

 

[FuzzyAce]

This is one of my favorites.

 

[mbenigni]

The solo in this song is simply THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME.
I'm not spoiling it at all.
You'll see.

I hadn't heard that in many years. Even more amazing than I remembered.

 

[Achilles]

I hadn't heard that in many years. Even more amazing than I remembered.

I have to re-visit him every few years after the latest batch of YouTube killers make the rounds.
He's never been surpassed for me to this day. First heard him on easily his most popular album, UK.

Even after guys like McLaughlin and Dimeola this was a complete game changer.

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

One of my fave Allan things...



Me doing the solo to Atma Anur covering In The Dead Of Night...

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

@Achilles are you hip to Ollie Halsall?

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

And this!

 

[Eagle]

This is sublime;

 

[Eagle]

 

[Eagle]

If you want to understand the kind of things he played there is no better place to start than Dani's video series.

this one just for example but look at all of it.

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

If you want to understand the kind of things he played there is no better place to start than Dani's video series.

this one just for example but look at all of it.

And this

 

[FuzzyAce]

This is sublime;

Yes it is. I have that album on a regular rotation.

 

[Eagle]

And this

The series I linked is a collaboration with Brett and uses the book as a basis . But yes that is about as much as there is.

 

[Eagle]

I met Allan three times over the years. Once about gear and on one occasion he was up for a chat (in the bar) about his approach and how he was sick of people playing bebop licks regurgitated from the past and how you should sound like yourself . The last time just a quick acknowledgement at a gig but I couldn't hang around after.

 

[Achilles]

I met Allan three times over the years.

I had him ask me in front of a Boston club to please get off of his car so he could move it.

 

[la szum]

I always felt like he was like a John Coltrane on a guitar. Fucking brilliant!!