Allan Holdsworth - Live at The Birchmere, Alexandria, VA, October 7, 1992. Allan Holdsworth - Guitar Gary Husband - Drums Steve Hunt - Keys Skuli Sverrison - Bass Thanks to Gary Fick for this footage.
People don't talk enough about Allan's incredible time. I've listened to him for over 40 years and I've never heard him out of the pocket. And I mean, as deep in the pocket as any funk or r&b musician. Just masterful control and awareness of where the groove is and above all, where the 1 is!
"Where Is One"? LOL! In an interview way back he said he had a custom metronome device of some sort that could do 5, 7, etc. clicks per beat, man how I wanted something like that. Now we can have apps on our phones that do this. Allan was so forward thinking not just in his thoughts, but also in bringing those thoughts into physical hardware.
6:48-6:54 It absolutely blows my mind how he was able to make that transition out of the atonal section into the melodic passage. Especially at that speed, just unreal on every level. Maybe the greatest musician of the past 100 years, an absolute genius.
In the entire lifespan of the human race, however long that's going to be, I don't think anyone will ever be as good as Allan (and still be musical). What a beacon of light for guitarists!👍
@@ThinPicks I think you might be right hahaha. I’ve seen some of the best players alive (guys like Gambale, Govan, Matteo Macuso, Max Ostro, Josh Meader, etc) take guitar technique to places it’s never been before, but in terms of pure musical beauty and genius, I don’t think anyone has touched Allan Holdsworth. If there’s any guitarist (or musician in general) that I wish I could understand the process of (how their musical mind works), it would be Allan, no question. 😁
The reaction of the crowd after the first section made me emotional, the recognition he deserved in full affect. Saying Allan is the GOAT is not enough, I love this mans art. R.I.P. master of masters, Legend, miss you man
Sick solo from Hunt........ but you kind of get the feeling like Allan was thinking, "Oh Ya....check this out" Just the way he starts his solo is like ......insane. He was schooling.
I just can't think in my life without Allan Holdsworth. This music takes me to the 80's listen Metal Fatigue and change my mind forever. Metal Fatigue Album changes my love for the music. This I am sure. Thanks Allan Holdsworth. Thanks Garfnart.
what can we say? guitar playing of another planet?. there will be no one other than allan holdswoth to rule the planet. it's unbelievable what he plays. not of this earth. the ultimate emperor.
I'm so glad this guy insisted on doing his own thing. It's absolutely ridiculously brilliant. Off the scale unique personal expressive technical Mastery all round.
The degree of Alan's solo improve here is beyond the human race, AND he wasn't even looking at the fret board. I cannot ever handle what he just did there, notice all his notes ended to suit the chords? even after blowing to the highest degree?
Allan Holdsworth is mind-bending, alternate- reality inducing, I have been a fan since Tony Williams Lifetime in 1975. I went to see him live 1st row with I.O.U. in 1982 at the Bottom Line in NYC, its still the greatest astonishingly mind-numbing solo playing I have ever seen, and I've seen all the greats. But this solo is of another galaxy! The only other players who approach AH's "mind-bending" technique and creativity in playing (albiet in a different style) are Danny Gatton, and this fairly unknown guy Roy Marchbank. Although for me, Allan will forever be on a world of his own. R.I.P. Alan, you stood above them all.
I saw that tour in Cleveland. My buddies band opened for Allan. After his set he sat on the floor in front of the stage with me waiting for Allan to play. He tells me "I got to play Allan's guitar, you can't see air under those strings!" Both he and I were into modding our guitars for low action, so that was life-changing coming from him. Then we both knew we were on the right track because all the big guys back then said things like, my action is high, I like to fight the guitar. No! Not the way of the GOAT!
I was attending MI back in 84/85, and Allan showed up and did a show during the year. It was awesome! On top of that, he was just kind of walking around the school afterwards, so I had the opportunity to chat with him for a few. He's a super nice guy, which is always refreshing. God bless him for staying modest, when he could certainly be a dick if he wanted. In fact, he's modest almost to a flaw. Many wer into him back then. Allan was the poster child for legato playing and really, he still is.
Joe Ma , since you know Ann Arbor, I saw Allan at The Ark in Fall of 1992. Was able to get the get the sound man to let me hand-deliver a fan letter to Gary during the set break. Ended up hanging out with the whole band while they ate cottage inn pizza and drank beer. Allan and all the guys were super kind and laid-back and accommodating. It was one of my favorite musical memories ever.
I had the pleasure of meeting Allan Holdsworth on my 25th birthday back in 1993. Just me, Allan, and keyboard player Steve hunt in the room. I was so nervous but Allan's (and Steve's) relaxed and gentle personalities soon made me feel like I was talking to two old buddies of mine... well, almost - because I was sort of having a chat with two musical gods of sort, you know? :-) Of course I still have my signed copy of Metal Fatigue well kept in my shelf. :-)
So for guitarists, 5:22 is where Allan induced reality starts with a mind bending descending run, and then just doesn’t let up! This is Allan at his best! The non stop ferocity of this solo is really quite a lesson in pacing, awareness of the song and intensity. Like my friend who sent this to me wrote; “That intro to his solo is insane. Absolute mayhem then landing on the payoff note!” As always, AH’s improvisation is stupefying. Imagine all that improvisation, and never really sounding trite, stale, awkward or predictable... AH makes it great, yet challenging to be an electric guitarist.
Let's be clear: Chad Wackerman - child prodigy soon recognized by Zappa. Allen Holdsworth - Van Halen heard him, told the record company to give him a contract. These guys are the greatest of their era, rare folks compare. And so much fun to see live! And to even see on UTUBE!
Let's be clear; Holdsworth did what he did and was going to do regardless of Eddie Van Halen. The record contract of which you speak was a pathetic joke. It was a huge thorn in Allen's side for a couple of years, partly thanks to the fact that Eddie trying to "help" his hero was more about Eddie trying to elevate his own ego rather than actually helping. His help included insisting that Allan let him solo on Allan's record, which of course, thank goodness, Allan was far too wise to allow.
Just search for "Shawn Lane", here and you'll find many amazing performances. Allan appreciated him too. They are nothing alike, but Shawn was phenomenal in his unique, brilliant way. He was inspired by Holdsworth, but went his own way, which is as it should be.
Allan once walked into a bass lesson I had when I was just starting out... (and I never really got *that* good even after lessons). To say I was intimidated is an understatement.... I had no idea my teacher was so well connected....
Wow. Allan at the top of his powers. Solo starts 5:22 - after he let the keyboarist ramble a bit too long. Kinda funny in a way - in any other group - the keyboardist would be a monster - and Allan just explodes in response with the most insanely over-the-top solo that just floats without any effort. The man was an alien visitation.
OK, this may sound like an exaggeration, but I'm sincere (and I've been a musician for >40 years, so I feel qualified to offer my opinion). I think that Allan was very inspired by Steve's soloing, which was mind-bending in its own right. Very original, and demonstrated great knowledge of music and a facility for improvisation and speed that you don't often hear. But then, Allan starts to play, and I get why Steve's facial expression was what it was just before wrapping up his solo. I'm sure that Allan didn't mean to bury him, but... just no words for the intensity, brilliance, uniqueness and outright speed of his improvisations. How the (@*#&$% did a guitarist play all of this, music like NOTHING ELSE ever done, and faster than a keyboardist while only using 4 fingers on a fretboard?!??! I was lucky enough to see him play 4 times. He'd blast out riffs that gave me goosebumps, occasionally bring tears to my eyes... and he made it look effortless. I don't think there will ever be another like him. So much knowledge lost when he passed away. Like a mini-Library of Alexandria of musical possibilities.
@@jonhowell5014 Oh man, I totally agree! I thought Steve's solo was exemplary and Allan simply felt inspired to let 'er rip when his moment came! I saw this group but with Wackerman on drums around this time, and the high musical camaraderie between Allan & Steve is obvious. They actually opened with this song (one of my favorites) and it was sheer musical bliss from then on.
it's so weeeird because this is right around the reh video.... so, steve hunt has a really neat solo, real nice. then allan comes in. allan just rips the shit out of the solo section
I love slower players too; it's all music. Some of my favorite great slower players are Bill Frisell, Adrian Belew, and Jeff Beck. Allan told me he likes Frisell, for what it's worth. Shawn was far more than fast; he was an absolute powerhouse whose phrasing was astonishing. Speed with trashy phrasing is nothing, but Shawn was a musical genius. His playing with some of the greats of India earned him a widespread, devoted following in India; they made a bigger deal of him than the US.
It's interesting. I was listening to some pretty early Holdsworth yesterday and he was doing stuff like he does here at the beginning of his solo -- very fast abstract arpeggiating -- and it sounded So much like Shawn Lane. I really can see AH's influence there, even though, as you say, Shawn Lane was his own kind of genius.
@@Oenloveslife Agreed; Shawn called Allan "the best", echoing EVH's quote, "the best in my book". Shawn also talked about how Allan's mind blowing unique approach inspired him to realize that he could do something truly unique and great too, taking the inspiration without trying to copy Allan!
@gregorypeck I have almost all of Allan's recordings (certainly all of his solo works) and all of Shawn's records too! We are so lucky to be living at a point in history where we can do easily access unbelievably great music and live videos of great musicians. AH is utterly in a league of his own, but then again, so is Shawn! Rolling Stone's recent "Top 250 guitarists of all time" has...NO Holdsworth or Shawn Lane (or many other greats), ergo that list is barely worth the paper it's written on 😁
@@Oenloveslife Rolling Stone publishes some of the finest and most important political stories out there. For music coverage, they have long been just a mouthpiece of the pop music industry and stenographers of sales figures; in other words they cobbled together that lame ass list just using sales figures and pictures of people with a guitar strapped on, that if memory serves, had Kurt Cobain as something like the 16th greatest guitarist of ALL TIME! It's beyond absurd. Not one Hindustani raga master was on it, and I guarantee everyone who has been studying ragas for 6 months can smoke Cobain in their sleep, same thing is true of every Flamenco guitarist; arguably they smoke almost everyone! I am pretty sure Vincente Amigo wasn't included, so all the rockers who wrote great hits but played guitar at a very rudimentary level that they naturally included because they think a great guitar player is someone who sells lots of recordings and looks credible posing with the guitar. Of course it could only be a pathetic joke to true music lovers. I agree with you about Allan and Shawn; obviously geniuses and each one of a kind; the same is true of John McLaughlin imo. Lucky as listeners for sure! Lucky as humans? Not really; we're watching the greed of the richest people that have ever existed, morbidly rich, enough to buy governments, are finishing up their omnicide and the children we see today are very likely going to die young in a gut wrenching and unimaginably violent extinction event, and it's just getting underway right before our stupid uncomprehending faces (speaking of humanity as a whole-profoundly stupid yet hilariously arrogant species that we are). It's not fun or amusing watching us descend into destroying ourselves. The music is a welcome respite, but the overarching reality is that we're living in a dystopian society that is consuming itself and causing unfathomable suffering for much of the world; it just hasn't gotten to us privileged people yet, but it's coming and nobody will be calling us lucky to have picked the moment of humanity ending as our time to live.
@gregorypeckory I agree wholeheartedly with all you've said here. The Holocene's rate of species extinction (and increased suffering of all living beings) is off the charts, and is all due to the unending greed and willful ignorance of homo idioticus -- the rationalizing species. We've had ample warning from scientists about the finiteness of resources and similar expressions of deep concern from thoughtful compassionate folk about inequality and unsustainability forever it seems. How many times can our hearts break before they're broke for good? How can democracy survive the onslaught of religiofascism? How ecosystems survive under the ever increasing pestilence of human ugliness? All that said, I am SO glad to have this music and art easily accessible, from Bach to Bachman Turner Overdrive, Chopin to Chris Duarte, Sweelink to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hindemith to Holdsworth, Toumani Diabate, Abdullah Ibrahim, Trilok Gurtu. That RS list is a near total travesty, having almost nothing to do with musicality. No Paco De Lucia??? Please! A hundred folks on that list shouldn't even be there. Sekou "Doight des Diamantes" Diabate? Not in a million years! I am grateful to you for your insights and your obvious heart.
So cool to see these vids - I went to this show. I always remembered that there was a point in the show where Allan just blew me away, with some monstrous hand spread repetitive lick I'd never seen him do before. And here it is, at the 5:40 and 6:44 points. After the show I got to meet him and I thought instead of the usual fan adulation I would ask him what is favorite beer was. Wish I could remember what he said, but it was something from England. Thanks for posting!
It could have well been his local brew: Tetley's Bitter from Yorkshire. Sadly this ale is not what is once was. Or possibly Timothy Taylor Landlord Bitter. These and others were traditionally known as English style session ales. Soft carbonation with a full creamy head and between 3 and 4 abv so you can quaf a few without getting totally hammered.
@ezrhino100 Good to see a comment indicating an open mind. Batio is amazing at what he does, but it really is pretty stiff and specialized. I don't think he should be called a "wanky little joke", but he is not a serious improvisor, nor does he show more than an elementary harmonic vocabulary. Allan's on the other hand, is freakishly sophisticated and rich - almost super-humanly so. Batio is more about gymnastic tricks than musical content.
I just love how his picking technique is completely off the wall, any guitar teacher would have smacked his ass with that wobbly thumb. Just goes to show - the only way - is your own way.
HSS 00100101 , not true. This is the best way to use the pick when you want to have a very soft attack in order to get a fluid legato sound, where the picked notes are the same volume as the hammer-ons and pull-offs. Also it is the most economical way to get from one string to another when doing big intervals. It is different story when you want to pick more notes or do alternate picking and don't use legato that much as Allan does.
Despite Vinnie Colaiuta not being the drummer in question...he sounds amazing with Vinnie. I don't know if you've heard the track they did together: Tsunami. But it's definitely worth checking out, they've got great chemistry.
I know he'd never do it, but I just wish there was 1 live version of this song where he played some of the licks from the recorded solo, just so us mere mortals who have deigned to try and learn it could have an idea of what he's actually doing.
His treatment of the guitar earnest. 90% of players who are even considered good, have the compositional maturity of a three year old. Holdsworth has the X factor.
I wonder what could Allan could have done with all of the modern stuff in music production we have today. He is at his best in this one and it bugs me it is an old tape recording.
Is there anybody capable of duplicating this solo here on RU-vid?You see a lot of people doing duplicates solos of Randy Rhoads,Stevie Ray Vaughan,Eric Clapton,Jimi Hendrix ect...But I'd like to see somebody do this one.I'm sure there's somebody out there capable.Or maybe not.The guy is a genius.Totally dedicated to his instrument and his art.
@Rev31test I understand and used to kind of feel that way about Chad, but eventually realized that Holdsworth likes having a drummer that is as active and loud as the guitar during his solos; in fact, group improvisations is a more accurate term for what Holdsworth and the chaps do than "blowing". or "soloing" over changes. Once you look at it as a group effort, and realize how much the energy of Holdsworth's playing is fed by the drums, you might find you like, or at least accept the intrusion.
@noodlesmealey I'm serious, but I'm not sure what it is you're trying to say to me. I'm going to assume that English is not your first language. "Holy crap" is an expression of amazement or incredulity. "Shed" is short for "woodshed" which is a colloquial term for a place to study and practice music. "Back in the shed" is meant as a remonstrance to myself, to continue practicing. I hope you are having a pleasant day.
Shhh; the trolls might hear you. ;) No matter how great someone is, there will always be detractors, as there are on some of Allan's other videos. (Some idiot posted that he's been listening to Holdsworth for 40 years and his music always sounds like a guy practicing scales in his bedroom; I told him maybe 40 years is enough misery and he should move on, and leave AH for those who hear the music.)
Not only the lord of chords. The soloing is just insane. Above all the great players of today. It will take decades to find a player to reach this level, perhaps charles altura with virgil donati, but he's gone the soft side of jazz and not fusion. nice, but sad.
I think you make a good point. There may be some that can get to the level of Holdsworth in the future, but will they have the courage to follow their musical vision until the end?
@noodlesmealey Dude, he did not say that at ALL. jeffreyburr simply said that Holdsworth is so good that he should go and practice some more, a feeling shared amongst many. Dont be so confrontational man, we are all just here loving Holdsworth... =]
