10 years ago, I was honored to have had him sit next to me on a flight from LAX to Fukuoka Japan. He was kind of surprised when he sat next to me and I almost passed out, he knew I knew who he was. We talked for hours, drinking, getting drunk, the man was as nice and gentlemanly as it gets. Worshipped the guy, felt so lucky to have met and spend time with him. Sad of his passing, he passed away last year on the same day my father died. It was doubly hard to take on that day. RIP Mr. Holdsworth. It was a privilege. Great musician, great inspiration and a deep warm interesting man, there will be no other.
Absolutely true. But also a man with a severe alcohol problem which cost him his marriage and prevented him from getting anywhere musically in the last 10 years of his life: no new studio recordings and his playing began to suffer. This was all described by his dear friend and longtime band member Gary Husband in a long text shortly after his sad passing. RIP Allan, brilliant genius, appreciated by far too little people...
SWH2012 Yes, when we were on the flight getting smashed, he did tell me about his divorce and how it was stressful physically and emotionally for him, it’s just sad all away around, but he died on the same day as my father which made it that much worse.
As a cyclist, and Allan Holdsworth (also a cyclist) fanatic, this song means so much. Whether or not it was intended, I can hear the struggles and triumphs of a cycling journey through this song. Does music get any better than this?
DECIA .....DE LA GENIALIDAD ABSOLUTA DE ESTE JOVEN INGLES ......mi mayor enfrentamiento a la verdad sonora que esperaba del flujo rockero de 20 años ....un verdadero icono modesto , humilde , humano , pero de otras galaxias ....el queria un sonido proyectado liviano , potente y largo , armonioso , amable , romantico ...pero que atravesara oidos , cabezas , espacios , galaxias .....es un escritor de sonidos para el futuro arraigado en nuestro rock......un genio que se fue .........te extraño allan holdworth ..hoy mas que nunca hay mucho que hacer ...debe haber una lluvia de arte sobre el mundo........un eterno aplauso.
Agree - it's one of the most beautiful pieces of music. In this specific passage that you refer to i always have the impression of a feather-like floating, very much comparable to some passages in Mozart's music - simply unmatchable.
Ever heard anyone play ANYTHING like this on guitar ? I wore this cassette out back in 1990 ....i'd listen and all i could think is WTF !!! He was otherworldly. Would have loved to hear him play these lines on his guitar thru a boogie.
2:40 The entire "Secrets" album has moments where the entire band drops out and "reboots" while Allan goes nuts. I can't think of anyone else who has used this technique, the title track stops and reboots at least twice.
I get what you mean.. and that's one of the reasons why this is one of the few albums of this particular decade which succeeds in not sounding sterilized, but fresh and totally unique (even a lot different from Allan's previous albums).
Absolutely amazing phrasing by Allan! Some of the great moments of this track:Vinnie Colaiuta's drum intro, Allan's quintuplet over two bars at 0:56, as well as Allan's melody over the head, from 3:10 to the end.
2:20 to 3:10 is one of my favorites pieces of music in all the world of music...........and the drum roll at the beginning has to be one of the silliest ever conceived!
I agree, except from a different point of passion: As a juggler, like Allan Holdsworth, I find this song to have a greater meaning. Whether or not it was intended, I can hear the triumphs of maneuvers like the 5 Ball Triple Loop, or 7 Ball DP. Conversely I can also feel the defeat of Drop. Does music get any better than this?
Absolute savagery from mister holdsworth. In songs like these, you can see why shawn lane, frank gambale and many others regarded holdsworth as the GOAT and a genius. Nobody comes close to this type of musicality on a guitar, and please, dont tell me guthrie, guthrie is a holds admirer as well.
Somebody complained that Allan was playing synthax on this particular tune and it never occurred to me because it sounded so incredibly good! 😂🤣😂🤣😂 #RIP Allan! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
on the first 2 tunes...he's ripping the guitar....on City Nights he's playing electric guitar and on Secrets he's playing the synthaxe....he does an incredible job on both instruments.