Everyone focuses on the guitar, and no wonder, but forgets to mention the other instruments and the incredible arrangement. ALL of this is top-notch brilliance!!!
Quote: Originally Posted by Frank Gambale "I saw Allan play last night at the Baked Potato and I must say that, without a doubt, he is truly The Grand Master..." Quote: Originally Posted by Shawn Lane "I saw Allan Holdsworth when I was about 14 in 1978. I never dreamed a guitar could be played like that and that really changed my whole life. If I hadn't had seen Holdsworth I may have just continued to play some blues and rock music and might have even given it up later or something, but when I saw him at 14, that really inspired me to try to play guitar in my own way at another level." Quote: Originally Posted by John McLaughlin "I recall a concert of Allan in London some years ago, and after the performance I went to see him backstage only to tell him that if I knew what he was doing, I'd steal it!" Quote: Originally Posted by Yngwie Malmsteen "Allan Holdsworth also has a strong style. A long time ago, Jens took me to see him in a small club in New York. I had to take my hat off to him." Quote: Originally Posted by Pat Metheny "I totally agree that Allan is one of the greatest guitarists ever - his work on the mid-70's Tony Williams records was revolutionary and changed everything for guitarists everywhere. It is a real mystery to me why he is not a household name. but it really doesn't matter, his contribution is large and i think all musicians know it. Quote: Originally Posted by Steve Morse "His influence is just that he's such a drastic unyielding individual. You know, 'I'm going to do my thing and I'm going to do it the best I can." Quote: Originally Posted by John Petrucci "There's so many great guitar players. Al DiMeola, Alan Holdsworth, Mike Stern, John Scofield, so many great players..." Quote: Originally Posted by Carlos Santana "He has something totally beautiful..." Quote: Originally Posted by Joe Satriani "You know, I should say at the beginning, a big difference between me and Allan is that I built on stuff that Allan pioneered, and in a small way (chuckles) I tried to assimilate a lot of what he did on the guitar technically. So it's very different. His musicianship was so far ahead of mine when I was starting out, looking at books and picking out scales and stuff; Allan was in a stage where he was constantly reinventing guitar, and I was a fan in the audience, you know what I mean? So I'd have to say in all honesty, I've taken from Allan Holdsworth, and tried to figure out, "How can I use what this guy has done to further what I'm trying to say?" Quote: Originally Posted by Steve Vai Steve Vai did an article entitled "Guitar Secrets" - "Pull off and Hammer-on" in Guitar Power magazine in May 1986 and explaining the "legato" technique with examples he says ... "Allan Holdsworth is a master of playing this style." Quote: Originally Posted by Eddie Van Halen "Holdsworth is the best in my book. He's fantastic. I love him." Quote: Originally Posted by Frank Zappa Q: Was there ever a practitioner of the guitar - Hendrix say - that blew you away in terms of being a total original? FZ: "One of the most interesting guys on guitar on the planet is Allan Holdsworth. I really respect his playing."
I feel i am in the twilight zone !!!, I don't understand all the praise, he is boring to me, just playing fast repetitive notes with an iritating and without nuances sound. The guitar player in my band has more personality, carachter than Holdsworth I am going back to listen to some more "real" stuff, like Wayne Krantz, i think you should all do the same !
This is my favourite solo, I’ve spent many Saturday nights with a bottle of wine listening to Alan but this one always gets to me. The technical ability is mind blowing but that’s not the point, it’s the emotion coming through. Alan you are a genius, we miss you and hope you’re doing well in guitar heaven 😢
The story of this track is Holdsworth returning to the UK to visit family and he used to take the 4:15 Bradford Executive from London to of course Bradford. The melodic changes and timing is to signify the passing countryside, streets, roads etc that you would see on a journey until its end. This is a beautiful piece of music.
Isn't it odd, when you are so close to genius, it makes such an impact? I sat in the front row, 10 feet away from Albert Lee, playing Country Boy with Heads, Hands & Feet, at the Marquee, in London. My mates were asking if I was OK, 'cos I couldn't stop laughing at the sheet impossible magic of Lee's playing. I laughed until I was almost sick. I remember every note, after 50 years. F*cking Whamo! It's tattooed on my brain forever.
I had a similar experience, but with Uli Jon Roth, no stage you could just stand there like 10 feet away and watch him just make the Sky guitar sing ! Also he's a great guy and I bought a CD+DVD from his wife ! RIP Mr Holdsworth you are missed.
Being a guitarist for nearly 40 years, I was not as exposed enough to his style throughout my years, but seeing his enormous impact now is a beautiful thing. I have the greatest respect for him as a true musician. His style very much mimics a sophisticated horn player, only he takes it to another level. HIS level. I see it now. It's beyond words. What an enigma he shall remain. Incredible, humble genius he was. May he R.I.P. while we all continue to try and catch up. His music will always continue to be here. He was one of a kind. Play from your heart, mind, and soul. That's all he did. Don't expect everyone to completely understand what you are doing. We're all kinda weird. He knew that much for sure. No other words to describe that talent!
I think Allen was an Alien; he never really cared what anybody else thought; he did his thing with unwavering attitude. The only people that played in his groups were ultra master musicians that set the standard. It was amazing to hear each new album, year after year, these guys set the standard.
This is the only comment I've seen yet where someone compares him to a horn player and I remember flipping through an AH book I found at a music store that asserted when he started out he wanted to play sax but was not good so he picked up the guitar and that's what he was trying to do was make the guitar sound like a sax, and you can really hear it with his synth-axe shit
i can't stop listening to this....speechless...it's like a whole new galaxy has been discovered with its own planets, myriad species and limitless destinies...
Not trying to pick on you, but Holdsworth fanboys say the most ridiculous things. No one else can pull off rests as clean as Holdsworth? You do realize that rests are just not playing? AH was a genius from another planet, but there is no need to make up silly things like this.
This is indeed a "crime" of extreme musicality. 3 lifetimes wouldn't be enough to achieve such musical and technique perfection for most of us. Candy to the ears and soul each time Allan's music's around.
When I listen to Allen, it can be difficult not to feel I have wasted this lifetime, but just to know that I could comprehend what he was doing; and I was eager to hear each new accomplishment; go see him in person; it was a great calm to my life to know I had found a guru.
Yngwie Malmsteen: "I had to take my hat off to him." If this was anyone else this compliment would seem pretty underwhelming but given Yngwie's infamous ego this statement is equal to him stripping naked,setting himself on fire and running down the street with a megaphone proclaiming Allan's genius!
@@Samsgarden - Because the opinion of someone who has achieved something in a given field is worth more than that of a regular guy who has accommplished very little.
Ha ha I agree. Malmsteen usually slates Satriani and other great guitarists, when he reviews their music without knowing the artists performing. There's another interview with Malmsteen on TH-cam talking about Legato. Malmsteen mentions Holdsworth as the master of this, and is almost lost for words (lol) stuttering . Yet another amazing compliment from Malmsteen I'd say. haha.
Allan Holdsworth...such incredible beautiful emotional expression .feel the pain ..feel the joy...there is a god after all...and there is love ...in this cathartic music....sublime...play it again..
This is an object lesson in how to construct an extended improvisational solo. Al's touch, inspirational note choices and rhythm changes are masterful. This is technique and soul combined to make great music.
one of the few guys I listened to that actually brought tears to my eyes... there is a lot of emotion that comes through allans playing... he was always an EXTREMELY humble guy... never wanted to show it but I believe he was extremely emotional about his playing... I still remember he cared so much about what we thought at a guitar workshop I took with him his hands would shake and his playing was off... he gave me a pick of his nylon dunlop grey... hung it on my wall for years. Really great guy made a huge impact on me. RIP allan.
I still remember buying this cd when it came out and lying in bed listening with headphones. I remember this track coming on and thinking, well, this is different. Then this solo piece comes in and my head just melted. It was a feeling like being at a gathering and all of a sudden the most beautiful woman you ever saw walks in and plays with your soul. Blew my 17 year old mind.
Yes, I bought all these albums as a teen- Believe It, UK 1, and the Bruford solos and I would cry my eyes out at the beauty of his solos-and then would play and replay them. I was a self-taught drummer but I knew that I was hearing something transcendent. I still have the same response at 62. Genius.👍
I had a guitar less with Greg Howe many years ago. Greg asked me what I was into and what I wanted to do and I told him , loved his stuff but I really wanted to try to understand Allan Holdsworth. It was like the record screeched to a stop. He said "listen, Allan Holdsworth is from a different solar system! A different solar system!" I think he was trying to tell me something lol
I love Greg Howe and I've heard him channel Allan on occasion, though in very small sample sizes:) I got to see Allan once on the Road Games tour. He played so brilliantly that night and his tones seemed other worldly! So glad the fake I.D. I used that night got me in or I would have never ever witnessed that level of greatness:)
What I find most amazing about Allan Holdsworth (and I've been a huge fan since the late 70's), is that his playing was already incredible in his early years 72-77, i.e., Tempest Soft Machine, Tony Williams Lifetime, all albums I owned and loved. He was already IMO the Greatest Guitar Player in the late 70's. But Allan's playing NEVER STOPPED PROGRESSING, through I.O.U., Metal Fatique, this GEM (Thank You, Amazing Solo), etc.. to my all-time favorite AH period when he did "The 16 Men of Tain." in 2000. AH is a singularity, there will never be anyone like him again. I feel blessed I got to see him play live in NYC in 1982 during the I.O.U. Tour. Thank You for sharing this astonishing work from Allan Holdsworth, "The John Coltrane of Guitar."
Yes, exactly. It's like Jaco who had his fully developed sound already in his teen years. It confirms my suspicions that Jaco and Allan were space aliens who came to earth to show us what was really possible with our instruments.😊
This solo is utterly beautiful. I love all his music, but this is so expressive. And that sound!!! I'm a guitarist, and I've being to get somewhere near his sound for years
Seen him perform live in NYC, and got to chat with him at the bar. Super nice, humble, low-key gentleman - but an Absolute Monster on Guitar. R.I.P. Legend. There will never be another.
Beautiful work, beautiful sound. I have enjoyed his playing for decades. What a wonderful talent, always associated with my most treasured memories. So good it makes me cry, a reaction usually only occasioned by Jeff Beck. Wow.
Words barely speak to the man, the technique, the tone, his fellow band members, compositional and improvisational skills and, the most astounding of all, the sheer will, hard worked and dedication to creating one of the most uniquely personal voices in contemporary music. And this solo is, in my opinion and with the utmost reverence for, a singular example of emotional logic as it applies to improvisational music.His music was and continues to be what comes from surrendering to the Muse. True giving.
Human beings are amazing. Be sure when one does it another will. And continuing to take it farther faster harder higher to be unbelievable until another comes to complete something more amazing. It seems like it is totally unbelievable just as the first time I heard Allen Holdsworth to conceive where it all could go, yet never end. Every note he played is my favorite solo.
When I first heard this song with its themes, I was sitting with my eyes wide like a deer in the headlights. The emotions you feel that seem to hit you as you listen….! Awesome solo!!
Love that song. Just epic.... It takes you to another dimension. Many of his songs do.. With the help of Wackerman, Johnson, Husband, etc. his music made you dream that you were performing like him... Or flying..or space travel. Just incredible.
Wow! Another outstanding “other-worldly” guitar run by the late and great Allan Holdsworth! For me, one of my favorite guitarists, no doubt. Typically, as I listen to the solos, I wonder where he was going at times with sweeping legatos and the moans and groans of his style. But, most of them have a theme or melody that brings me back... that is familiar and comforting, or have a satisfying groove to them. His music sounds and tunes are ageless.
Only had the opportunity to see Allan once. His guitar prowess was always far above human. I was devastated when I heard of his demise. Thankfully, he left us with so many mind-blowing recordings.
utterly stunning, other-wordly guitar playing and composition. One of those performances where you think: 'oh, so that's where everyone else got it from...' Makes me proud to be British :)
I saw the heading - "best solo" - and was about to chip in that my favourite solo of all time is The 4.15 Bradford Executive - and here it is! As with a great Mozart violin concerto, it is impossible to tell whether the overwhelming feeling is agony or ecstasy. I presume the piece is for his father. Even more intense than Fripp's Requiem (on Beat). I first saw Holdsworth with UK in 1978 and had to go to another gig the same week at a different venue, such was my amazement. I heard him on Bruford's Feels Good to Me and Gong's Gazeuse shortly before. The DVDs of Japan '84, Frankfurt '86 and Warsaw '98 are simply wonderful (and you can see how he gets those startling sounds). And if you haven't already, check this clip with Zappa jnr: th-cam.com/video/89SnXVTpVkA/w-d-xo.html. Zappa was not the only guitarist to cite Holdsworth as the best.
No one can play sax lines, mingled with the occasional chime-waterfall tone like Allan. Saw him in 1980 or 81 at the Ripley Theater in Philly. Small club that held a few hundred while he was on his I.O.U. tour. The place was filled with nothing but guitar players with their jaws wide open. His tone that night was like shimmering glass. I still remember........
Nevermore is a tour de force (for the whole band really). In the Dead of night is really iconic tho. If you had to answer the question 'who is this Allan Holdsworth dude and why do people give a shit about him ' THAT would be the song. Perfectly structured and impeccably lyrical (not all of his solos are) it just touches on everything he says musically. IMHO of course
Like all great bands UK were always right on the edge of splintering at any given moment. Wetton and Jobson wanted it to go in a more pop direction - Bruford and Holdsworth wanted to keep it pure - a familiar story. Wetton said later of Asia that it was "the orgasm after years of musical masturbation". Too funny.....
@@enzosmith5371 I actually get kind of choked up when I listen to his reintroduction of the melody from the beginning of the song at the end, totally stunning.
I agree. “In The Dead Of Night” is probably my favorite guitar solo ever. His playing on that whole album is genius and even though he apparently didn’t enjoy the band I think it was a great musical format for him.
This track is my personal favourite. It is a brilliantly constructed musical odyssey evoking a journey from London to Bradford. His expressiveness and tone is extraordinary and it has a deeply emotional effect on me. For me he's touched heights and gone places no other guitarist has ever been. RIP Maestro.
This solo moves me a lot emotionally. Similar to "Low Level, High Stakes" by same genius. No idea why and how, but Allan reaches parts of my brain like nobody can.
I have to say this is my fave Holdsworth solo. I also have to say that as I child in the 70's I imagined that this is what all music would have sounded like by now. I was so very, very wrong.
A great loss. I got to see the great man in NYC a couple of times. Like many of us, he became one of my main inspirations. In fact I bought the guitar he's playing in the above picture, it's an Ibanese AH-10. His approach to guitar was so singular and unique, creating sonic landscapes that you wouldn't have thought could come from a guitarist until he arrived. God bless you Allan. You were truly one of a kind. History will treat you well.
After all these years I am still trying to learn this. I can sing it but man its difficult to play! Holdsworth is one of the main men! Sand in my opinion is the best Holdsworth album.
So many awesome moments within this journey, but what happens between about 1:57 and 2:09 is just jaw dropping. The depth of his ground breaking harmonic understanding and improvisation is historic and should be better appreciated beyond the guitar community, some day hopefully. Much love and gratitude to a man who didn't compromised himself for the big bucks, despite attempts by certain record producers and a few famous financial backers, like EVH, who I think really meant well, but just didn't understand Allan well enough.
Incredible solo and tone... from this side-profile image of him we can see he was a descendant of the "Bell Beaker" civilisation that created great works of pottery in the Neolithic age of Europe 5,000 or so years ago.
@@AJDOLDCHANNELARCHIVE I’m responding to you, I googled what the bell beaker people were and their history and was interested and a bit surprised at the comparison between them and Allan, what are the odds of that?
@@We-all-watched-the-video I just think that Allan (the best guitarist of all time in my mind) looked exactly like the Bell Beakers. Might be coincidence.
I never heard this until a week ago. Now I've heard it 20-25 times. Devil Take The Hindmost was my favorite. for it's sax like phrasing and tones, but now it's been replaced. Thanks for posting.
I also always thought that the only one of this track taken from "Sand" is incredibly beautiful. Allan .. in the 70s you were at least 30 years old ... and today what you wrote at the time is still true. Rip
someone commented on a crazy line that he played and said, "sounds like a space-butterfly just took off on venus." that couldnt be a more apt description... plus this is one of the best photos i have seen of the man. i wish i could get a poster.
Yo no sé si a ustedes les pasa, pero a mí, cada vez que escucho éste solo , me entra un escalofrío por todo el cuerpo que conforme el solo avanza el escalofrío es tan intenso que acabo con los ojos empapados de lágrimas de felicidad y éxtasis.🙏🙏🙏❤
If God could play guitar this is how it would sound and these are the notes we would hear. Sadly, Allan has passed away, and there is no God. So we have to be content Allan made recordings like this. He is timeless and eternal. They will listen to his music for the next 500 years.
His playing was very unique I couldn't yet master the technique of how he plays the guitar. The way to put it he was truly outstanding. RIP Allen, we all love you and your music.
Such an original language. What an amazing musician. Great loss for the world but his legacy lives on. Keep on shredding in the worlds beyond our material earth, Allan.
Frederik Thordendal brought me here. Also, a colleague of mine who is a guitarist. This, to me, is an example of why Holdsworth was great. I hear, jazz, fusion, and metal, all here. And the blues.
@@OskarSylwester many like Catch 33. That's one of my least favorite. Chaosphere and Nothing are my top two. I like the brutality in the sound of those records, lol!
@@holygroove2 I definitely agree, the sound is full, deep, later albums sound a bit flatter, this is not a disadvantage, but it has a different specificity and compression.
What is it with his music just listened to the solo in house of mirrors it always brings a tear to the eye I’m going to assume it’s mostly men who listen to Allan could it be that his playing could have beneficial effects in some way My partner Jan seems a bit bemused with my semi obsessed love and respect for this man’s music andy(bob)yates
1 of the gr8s!!!!! Most emotional player ever!!!! That whammy trick he's doing was a huge influence on Brad Gillis, Oz Fox, Gary Holt, the list goes on & on!!!! Alan is very missed by us in the GTR community!!!!!! RIP Alan!!!! RIP!!! Pun intended!!!!! He indeed RIPPED!!!!!!..... His notes r still sustaining 2 this day!!!!!!
If i didn't read the title, i'd think that this is something from Shawn Lane... and then, it reminded me Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects - Z1 - Reticuli . And i thought that this is something new from them. So these guys just knew about Allan... Great. Great. Great.
![ALLY - OH MY! [ REACTION ] 'Amarin Nitibhon' #ALLY_OHMY #ALLY #allynitibhon #แอลลี่](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nX9qpHjVfbQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Everyone focuses on the guitar, and no wonder, but forgets to mention the other instruments and the incredible arrangement. ALL of this is top-notch brilliance!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Gambale
"I saw Allan play last night at the Baked Potato and I must say that, without a doubt, he is truly The Grand Master..."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawn Lane
"I saw Allan Holdsworth when I was about 14 in 1978. I never dreamed a guitar could be played like that and that really changed my whole life.
If I hadn't had seen Holdsworth I may have just continued to play some blues and rock music and might have even given it up later or something,
but when I saw him at 14, that really inspired me to try to play guitar in my own way at another level."
Quote:
Originally Posted by John McLaughlin
"I recall a concert of Allan in London some years ago, and after the performance I went to see him backstage only to tell him that if I knew what he was doing, I'd steal it!"
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yngwie Malmsteen
"Allan Holdsworth also has a strong style. A long time ago, Jens took me to see him in a small club in New York. I had to take my hat off to him."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pat Metheny
"I totally agree that Allan is one of the greatest guitarists ever - his work on the mid-70's Tony Williams records was revolutionary and changed everything for guitarists everywhere. It is a real mystery to me why he is not a household name. but it really doesn't matter, his contribution is large and i think all musicians know it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Morse
"His influence is just that he's such a drastic unyielding individual. You know, 'I'm going to do my thing and I'm going to do it the best I can."
Quote:
Originally Posted by John Petrucci
"There's so many great guitar players. Al DiMeola, Alan Holdsworth, Mike Stern, John Scofield, so many great players..."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlos Santana
"He has something totally beautiful..."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Satriani
"You know, I should say at the beginning, a big difference between me and Allan is that I built on stuff that Allan pioneered, and in a small way (chuckles) I tried to assimilate a lot of what he did on the guitar technically. So it's very different. His musicianship was so far ahead of mine when I was starting out, looking at books and picking out scales and stuff;
Allan was in a stage where he was constantly reinventing guitar, and I was a fan in the audience, you know what I mean?
So I'd have to say in all honesty, I've taken from Allan Holdsworth, and tried to figure out, "How can I use what this guy has done to further what I'm trying to say?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Vai
Steve Vai did an article entitled "Guitar Secrets" - "Pull off and Hammer-on" in Guitar Power magazine in May 1986 and explaining the "legato" technique with examples he says ...
"Allan Holdsworth is a master of playing this style."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eddie Van Halen
"Holdsworth is the best in my book. He's fantastic. I love him."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Zappa
Q: Was there ever a practitioner of the guitar - Hendrix say - that blew you away in terms of being a total original?
FZ: "One of the most interesting guys on guitar on the planet is Allan Holdsworth. I really respect his playing."
That's a pretty cool compilation. Thanks for that!
No problem. I felt obligated to post it on a Holdsworth video after i found it. He is my favourite guitar player after all.
I feel i am in the twilight zone !!!, I don't understand all the praise, he is boring to me, just playing fast repetitive notes with an iritating and without nuances sound.
The guitar player in my band has more personality, carachter than Holdsworth
I am going back to listen to some more "real" stuff, like Wayne Krantz, i think you should all do the same !
No thanks
ur not ready yet. i hope one day you will appreciate the genius. wayne krantz too
Love how he's been superimposed over a shopping bag.
+Mac One of the best comments ever!!!!
It was like, "Allan, paper or plastic?"
If only it could be recycled
he isnt the small deal type of guy
Jerry Parker - ?
This is my favourite solo, I’ve spent many Saturday nights with a bottle of wine listening to Alan but this one always gets to me. The technical ability is mind blowing but that’s not the point, it’s the emotion coming through. Alan you are a genius, we miss you and hope you’re doing well in guitar heaven 😢
For me too! I love this song so much I allways come back to it.
There is a lot of emotion in Allan's playing and composition. Listen to AH is always a transcendental experience that seems to grow everyday
Me too..this one gets me
The story of this track is Holdsworth returning to the UK to visit family and he used to take the 4:15 Bradford Executive from London to of course Bradford. The melodic changes and timing is to signify the passing countryside, streets, roads etc that you would see on a journey until its end. This is a beautiful piece of music.
Thanks :-)
Happy Me I didn't know this and I grew up in Bradford! How inspiring, thanks for sharing 😊
Wow that is awesome!
What is the story behind his other songs? Mr. Berwell?
Happy Me Painting with the ears. He is to m
Music like Bob Ross is to Art.
john m Did you have to write that?
Every guy who listens to enough AH ends up choosing his ‘best ever’ solo... and no one ever picks the same one!
Ha ha you're right. But i should have pick this one too !
@@florentinballot4155 Same !
I can't blame 'em. Every solo was a masterpiece.
Um, no ....this is the best solo played by anyone on any instrument.....
Devil Takes the Hindmost : )))
I think he left his entire soul in that solo. RIP..
Seeing Allan playing 6 foot in front of me in a small club in Cardiff circa 1982 was one of the most remarkable musical experiences...RIP Sir...
Isn't it odd, when you are so close to genius, it makes such an impact? I sat in the front row, 10 feet away from Albert Lee, playing Country Boy with Heads, Hands & Feet, at the Marquee, in London. My mates were asking if I was OK, 'cos I couldn't stop laughing at the sheet impossible magic of Lee's playing. I laughed until I was almost sick. I remember every note, after 50 years. F*cking Whamo! It's tattooed on my brain forever.
That sounds like The Casablanca Club...Awesome gig too
I had a similar experience, but with Uli Jon Roth, no stage you could just stand there like 10 feet away and watch him just make the Sky guitar sing !
Also he's a great guy and I bought a CD+DVD from his wife !
RIP Mr Holdsworth you are missed.
His best solo, nay the greatest guitar solo in the history of recorded music
UK-In the Dead of Night
R.I.P. Allan! Gone to the stars where he belongs!
Amen to that
I use to travel to NYC to watch him play in small venues. NOBODY could make a guitar sing like Allan.
He earned an entire planet like Chick Corea.
Being a guitarist for nearly 40 years, I was not as exposed enough to his style throughout my years, but seeing his enormous impact now is a beautiful thing. I have the greatest respect for him as a true musician. His style very much mimics a sophisticated horn player, only he takes it to another level. HIS level. I see it now. It's beyond words. What an enigma he shall remain.
Incredible, humble genius he was. May he R.I.P. while we all continue to try and catch up.
His music will always continue to be here. He was one of a kind. Play from your heart, mind, and soul. That's all he did. Don't expect everyone to completely understand what you are doing. We're all kinda weird. He knew that much for sure. No other words to describe that talent!
I think Allen was an Alien; he never really cared what anybody else thought; he did his thing with unwavering attitude. The only people that played in his groups were ultra master musicians that set the standard. It was amazing to hear each new album, year after year, these guys set the standard.
Check out a new kid named Matteo Mancuso! Revolutionizing guitar technique. Unreal! And he does a couple of tunes from Holdsworth as well
Fantastic comment sir
This is the only comment I've seen yet where someone compares him to a horn player and I remember flipping through an AH book I found at a music store that asserted when he started out he wanted to play sax but was not good so he picked up the guitar and that's what he was trying to do was make the guitar sound like a sax, and you can really hear it with his synth-axe shit
@@robbyrob0723 he's not a holdsworth
i can't stop listening to this....speechless...it's like a whole new galaxy has been discovered with its own planets, myriad species and limitless destinies...
Hahaha.
Amazing right your description resonates deeply !!!
I love his uses of rests. No one else could pull them off quite as clean as he could. I wish I could've seen him live before his passing. Bummer.
Not trying to pick on you, but Holdsworth fanboys say the most ridiculous things. No one else can pull off rests as clean as Holdsworth? You do realize that rests are just not playing? AH was a genius from another planet, but there is no need to make up silly things like this.
Utterly magnificent! No flashy playing for it's own sake, instead beautiful unusual scales and chords, immense feel. THank you and RIP Allan.
This is indeed a "crime" of extreme musicality. 3 lifetimes wouldn't be enough to achieve such musical and technique perfection for most of us. Candy to the ears and soul each time Allan's music's around.
Nicolas Espinasse Beautiful and clever comment, Nicolas.
When I listen to Allen, it can be difficult not to feel I have wasted this lifetime, but just to know that I could comprehend what he was doing; and I was eager to hear each new accomplishment; go see him in person; it was a great calm to my life to know I had found a guru.
Yngwie Malmsteen: "I had to take my hat off to him." If this was anyone else this compliment would seem pretty underwhelming but given Yngwie's infamous ego this statement is equal to him stripping naked,setting himself on fire and running down the street with a megaphone proclaiming Allan's genius!
Why people quote other guitarists to offer commendations bemuses me
@@Samsgarden - Because the opinion of someone who has achieved something in a given field is worth more than that of a regular guy who has accommplished very little.
@@JohnPrepuce accomplishments are garbage. Music is everything. Allan needs to learn music not wanking.
@@vanguard4065 Looks like is you the one who needs to learn music
Ha ha I agree. Malmsteen usually slates Satriani and other great guitarists, when he reviews their music without knowing the artists performing. There's another interview with Malmsteen on TH-cam talking about Legato. Malmsteen mentions Holdsworth as the master of this, and is almost lost for words (lol) stuttering . Yet another amazing compliment from Malmsteen I'd say. haha.
What a sad fucking day. Allan Holdsworth, you will be missed by many.
No way man, keep on looking for an AH-eqvivalent in the sax business
Patrik S Preach, Patrik....amazing reply.
Used to love his self-recorded facebook updates on his official page. What a cool guy.
Allan Holdsworth...such incredible beautiful emotional expression .feel the pain ..feel the joy...there is a god after all...and there is love ...in this cathartic music....sublime...play it again..
The true master of Legato. His picking is so economic and noisefree, amazing. It is truly unique.
This is an object lesson in how to construct an extended improvisational solo. Al's touch, inspirational note choices and rhythm changes are masterful. This is technique and soul combined to make great music.
+Fontsman " This is technique and soul combined to make great music. " that's right
One of the simplest and best explanations of AH I have ever read.
one of the few guys I listened to that actually brought tears to my eyes... there is a lot of emotion that comes through allans playing... he was always an EXTREMELY humble guy... never wanted to show it but I believe he was extremely emotional about his playing... I still remember he cared so much about what we thought at a guitar workshop I took with him his hands would shake and his playing was off... he gave me a pick of his nylon dunlop grey... hung it on my wall for years. Really great guy made a huge impact on me. RIP allan.
R.I.P. Allan. I met him during a break at the Baked Potato. What a gentleman, master guitar player, and beautiful human being.
I had the same experience in the same place. Wonderful !
I still remember buying this cd when it came out and lying in bed listening with headphones. I remember this track coming on and thinking, well, this is different. Then this solo piece comes in and my head just melted. It was a feeling like being at a gathering and all of a sudden the most beautiful woman you ever saw walks in and plays with your soul. Blew my 17 year old mind.
wonderful analogy!..a most beautiful woman walks in! !
CD ??? I bought the Album ( vinyl ) when it was FIRST released 1987 !
Who else hears Allan's sound and starts crying ? Especially this solo or ANY of the UK stuff ! I am so sad he is gone! So under fucking appreciated !!
I just cry and cry and cry, because he puts me in touch with my unlimited soul, and I know that.
Why are you so upset?
Did you know him on a daily basis?
His family & close friends might be upset.
Be glad he lived
And for his music that lives on
Yes, I bought all these albums as a teen- Believe It, UK 1, and the Bruford solos and I would cry my eyes out at the beauty of his solos-and then would play and replay them. I was a self-taught drummer but I knew that I was hearing something transcendent. I still have the same response at 62. Genius.👍
@@pobinr He's not crying because Allan died but because of the emotional impact of the music - his playing can move me to tears also
This music comes from outside, outside of space and time, it's like some sort of basic compound that glues reality together.
Allen was an Alien sent to show us how to develop our musical dreams and destiny in a way few others can be described. Prince too.
@@surfyogiPrince? Nah…
I had a guitar less with Greg Howe many years ago. Greg asked me what I was into and what I wanted to do and I told him , loved his stuff but I really wanted to try to understand Allan Holdsworth. It was like the record screeched to a stop. He said "listen, Allan Holdsworth is from a different solar system! A different solar system!"
I think he was trying to tell me something lol
Lol. He was trying to tell you he had no insight into Allan's processes and couldn't teach them to you.
I love Greg Howe and I've heard him channel Allan on occasion, though in very small sample sizes:) I got to see Allan once on the Road Games tour. He played so brilliantly that night and his tones seemed other worldly! So glad the fake I.D. I used that night got me in or I would have never ever witnessed that level of greatness:)
What I find most amazing about Allan Holdsworth (and I've been a huge fan since the late 70's), is that his playing was already incredible in his early years 72-77, i.e., Tempest Soft Machine, Tony Williams Lifetime, all albums I owned and loved. He was already IMO the Greatest Guitar Player in the late 70's. But Allan's playing NEVER STOPPED PROGRESSING, through I.O.U., Metal Fatique, this GEM (Thank You, Amazing Solo), etc.. to my all-time favorite AH period when he did "The 16 Men of Tain." in 2000. AH is a singularity, there will never be anyone like him again. I feel blessed I got to see him play live in NYC in 1982 during the I.O.U. Tour. Thank You for sharing this astonishing work from Allan Holdsworth, "The John Coltrane of Guitar."
Yes, exactly. It's like Jaco who had his fully developed sound already in his teen years. It confirms my suspicions that Jaco and Allan were space aliens who came to earth to show us what was really possible with our instruments.😊
This solo is utterly beautiful. I love all his music, but this is so expressive. And that sound!!! I'm a guitarist, and I've being to get somewhere near his sound for years
Seen him perform live in NYC, and got to chat with him at the bar. Super nice, humble, low-key gentleman - but an Absolute Monster on Guitar. R.I.P. Legend. There will never be another.
Beautiful work, beautiful sound. I have enjoyed his playing for decades. What a wonderful talent, always associated with my most treasured memories. So good it makes me cry, a reaction usually only occasioned by Jeff Beck. Wow.
Words barely speak to the man, the technique, the tone, his fellow band members, compositional and improvisational skills and, the most astounding of all, the sheer will, hard worked and dedication to creating one of the most uniquely personal voices in contemporary music. And this solo is, in my opinion and with the utmost reverence for, a singular example of emotional logic as it applies to improvisational music.His music was and continues to be what comes from surrendering to the Muse. True giving.
Human beings are amazing. Be sure when one does it another will. And continuing to take it farther faster harder higher to be unbelievable until another comes to complete something more amazing. It seems like it is totally unbelievable just as the first time I heard Allen Holdsworth to conceive where it all could go, yet never end. Every note he played is my favorite solo.
Without doubt, at least for me, that this is the best guitar solo I have ever heard.... beautiful and brutal all at the same time.
RIP Allan, you've inspired legions of musicians, including myself. Love you man.
For how great and unique Allan was, he could quite possibly be the most underrated musician on any instrument in the history of music.
came here due to the comment from fb- very beautiful.......I don't know what I'd do without Allan's music. Seriously.
No one else like him, the definition of originality and inspiration. Thank you Allan.
Simply beautiful....
Outstanding skills,but a lot of soul too... Rip Alan. The greatest guitar player of all times....
When I first heard this song with its themes, I was sitting with my eyes wide like a deer in the headlights. The emotions you feel that seem to hit you as you listen….! Awesome solo!!
I mis him...Allan Holdsworth was great and unique as well..r.i.p. dear friend..🙏🙏❤
Love that song. Just epic.... It takes you to another dimension. Many of his songs do.. With the help of Wackerman, Johnson, Husband, etc. his music made you dream that you were performing like him... Or flying..or space travel. Just incredible.
My friend gave me sand on cassette in 94. Changed my life.
Wow! Another outstanding “other-worldly” guitar run by the late and great Allan Holdsworth!
For me, one of my favorite guitarists, no doubt. Typically, as I listen to the solos, I wonder where he was going at times with sweeping legatos and the moans and groans of his style. But, most of them have a theme or melody that brings me back... that is familiar and comforting, or have a satisfying groove to them.
His music sounds and tunes are ageless.
Only had the opportunity to see Allan once. His guitar prowess was always far above human. I was devastated when I heard of his demise. Thankfully, he left us with so many mind-blowing recordings.
I saw him live at a small club in NYC when I was a teenager, but it was like trying to drink all the water coming from a water hydrant.
Love Allan, been listening to that guitar playing since his days with Bill Bruford. Missed, but never forgotten. RIP
utterly stunning, other-wordly guitar playing and composition. One of those performances where you think: 'oh, so that's where everyone else got it from...' Makes me proud to be British :)
I saw the heading - "best solo" - and was about to chip in that my favourite solo of all time is The 4.15 Bradford Executive - and here it is! As with a great Mozart violin concerto, it is impossible to tell whether the overwhelming feeling is agony or ecstasy. I presume the piece is for his father. Even more intense than Fripp's Requiem (on Beat). I first saw Holdsworth with UK in 1978 and had to go to another gig the same week at a different venue, such was my amazement. I heard him on Bruford's Feels Good to Me and Gong's Gazeuse shortly before. The DVDs of Japan '84, Frankfurt '86 and Warsaw '98 are simply wonderful (and you can see how he gets those startling sounds). And if you haven't already, check this clip with Zappa jnr: th-cam.com/video/89SnXVTpVkA/w-d-xo.html. Zappa was not the only guitarist to cite Holdsworth as the best.
No one can play sax lines, mingled with the occasional chime-waterfall tone like Allan. Saw him in 1980 or 81 at the Ripley Theater in Philly. Small club that held a few hundred while he was on his I.O.U. tour. The place was filled with nothing but guitar players with their jaws wide open. His tone that night was like shimmering glass. I still remember........
He lived in a totally different world of harmonic intervals that only he could define them to us mere mortals.
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼R.I.P. 🎼🎵🎶🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🎶🎵🎼
I believe his most iconic solo is "In The Dead Of Night" - UK (1978)!
nearly 40 years and I'm still awestruck ...
Dead of Night is well paced..but his work on 'NEVERMORE' ~~~~ OMG
Nevermore is a tour de force (for the whole band really). In the Dead of night is really iconic tho. If you had to answer the question 'who is this Allan Holdsworth dude and why do people give a shit about him ' THAT would be the song. Perfectly structured and impeccably lyrical (not all of his solos are) it just touches on everything he says musically. IMHO of course
Like all great bands UK were always right on the edge of splintering at any given moment. Wetton and Jobson wanted it to go in a more pop direction - Bruford and Holdsworth wanted to keep it pure - a familiar story. Wetton said later of Asia that it was "the orgasm after years of musical masturbation". Too funny.....
@@enzosmith5371 I actually get kind of choked up when I listen to his reintroduction of the melody from the beginning of the song at the end, totally stunning.
I agree. “In The Dead Of Night” is probably my favorite guitar solo ever. His playing on that whole album is genius and even though he apparently didn’t enjoy the band I think it was a great musical format for him.
7 year Anniversary of his passing and his music still sounds so fresh and way ahead of anyone else!
R.I.P Master Holdsworth
темная материя *Grandmaster*
We miss you Allan....Thanks for your guitar,your hands and music....R.I.P. ..Isee you between clouds playing for the Universe....
This track is my personal favourite. It is a brilliantly constructed musical odyssey evoking a journey from London to Bradford. His expressiveness and tone is extraordinary and it has a deeply emotional effect on me. For me he's touched heights and gone places no other guitarist has ever been. RIP Maestro.
This solo moves me a lot emotionally. Similar to "Low Level, High Stakes" by same genius. No idea why and how, but Allan reaches parts of my brain like nobody can.
Beyond the beyond of anything that went before, anywhere, ever. And it is never going to happen again.
It's sad and beautiful at the same time.
I agree
the most heart felt guitar solo by the genius they call Allan Holdsworth
Great composition ....Allan lives in his music..
I have love Allan's playing for 40 years. His lines are fluid, inventive and have that characteristic musically called "e misterioso".
" Amazing feel and outstanding technique " excellent and accurate definition
Absolutely love this solo.
R.I.P. Allan, so glad you shared your talents with us. Thank You.
Been a fan of AH ever since the '80's, ever since, ' I.O.U. '.
The man never ceases to amaze! :-)
I have to say this is my fave Holdsworth solo. I also have to say that as I child in the 70's I imagined that this is what all music would have sounded like by now. I was so very, very wrong.
Very effective use of sparse notes. Similar emotions are explored in Atavachron, which came out in '86, shortly before Sand in '87.
A great loss. I got to see the great man in NYC a couple of times. Like many of us, he became one of my main inspirations. In fact I bought the guitar he's playing in the above picture, it's an Ibanese AH-10. His approach to guitar was so singular and unique, creating sonic landscapes that you wouldn't have thought could come from a guitarist until he arrived. God bless you Allan. You were truly one of a kind. History will treat you well.
After all these years I am still trying to learn this. I can sing it but man its difficult to play! Holdsworth is one of the main men! Sand in my opinion is the best Holdsworth album.
Allan was the reason I began playing guitar 25 years ago. He's still thrilling every time I listen.
So many awesome moments within this journey, but what happens between about 1:57 and 2:09 is just jaw dropping. The depth of his ground breaking harmonic understanding and improvisation is historic and should be better appreciated beyond the guitar community, some day hopefully. Much love and gratitude to a man who didn't compromised himself for the big bucks, despite attempts by certain record producers and a few famous financial backers, like EVH, who I think really meant well, but just didn't understand Allan well enough.
He’s had so many it’s hard to choose 😊
Incredible solo and tone... from this side-profile image of him we can see he was a descendant of the "Bell Beaker" civilisation that created great works of pottery in the Neolithic age of Europe 5,000 or so years ago.
Holy crap
@@We-all-watched-the-video Yes. Don't know what you're responding to. :P
@@AJDOLDCHANNELARCHIVE I’m responding to you, I googled what the bell beaker people were and their history and was interested and a bit surprised at the comparison between them and Allan, what are the odds of that?
@@We-all-watched-the-video I just think that Allan (the best guitarist of all time in my mind) looked exactly like the Bell Beakers. Might be coincidence.
@@AJDOLDCHANNELARCHIVE I can’t help but feel like you’re arguing with me here, we’re on the same side, I agree with what you’re saying
RIP Allan. Thanks for all your great music.
R. I. P. Allan Holdsworth (15 de abril de 2017).
Gran guitarrista, sin duda...
I never heard this until a week ago. Now I've heard it 20-25 times. Devil Take The Hindmost was my favorite. for it's sax like phrasing and tones, but now it's been replaced. Thanks for posting.
my dad saw him in the mid 80s. cool stuff wish I were there. at least I got to see Rush twice ;)
dude he still plays go to his website, and imho he's the best he's ever sounded
Ive seen Holdsworth live 4 times
Bridget King Alex Lifeson is a big Holdsworth fan.
Mr GShocker n
Unique touch of Allan. Thanks for your talent.
I also always thought that the only one of this track taken from "Sand" is incredibly beautiful. Allan .. in the 70s you were at least 30 years old ... and today what you wrote at the time is still true. Rip
someone commented on a crazy line that he played and said, "sounds like a space-butterfly just took off on venus." that couldnt be a more apt description... plus this is one of the best photos i have seen of the man. i wish i could get a poster.
Mercurial , expansive, abstract, otherworldly...genius.
Yo no sé si a ustedes les pasa, pero a mí, cada vez que escucho éste solo , me entra un escalofrío por todo el cuerpo que conforme el solo avanza el escalofrío es tan intenso que acabo con los ojos empapados de lágrimas de felicidad y éxtasis.🙏🙏🙏❤
Dam that's badass sounds like meshuggah🤘🤘🎸👌RIP Allen legend
I saw Allan play with Jean Luc Ponty decades ago at the Rusty Nail in Sunderland,MA!!! His guitar playing blew us away!!!
If God could play guitar this is how it would sound and these are the notes we would hear. Sadly, Allan has passed away, and there is no God. So we have to be content Allan made recordings like this. He is timeless and eternal. They will listen to his music for the next 500 years.
His playing was very unique I couldn't yet master the technique of how he plays the guitar. The way to put it he was truly outstanding. RIP Allen, we all love you and your music.
World class genius..Rest in Peace
Such an original language. What an amazing musician. Great loss for the world but his legacy lives on. Keep on shredding in the worlds beyond our material earth, Allan.
Loss to the world lol
Why?
Has his music dissapeared?
Lol
Frederik Thordendal brought me here. Also, a colleague of mine who is a guitarist. This, to me, is an example of why Holdsworth was great. I hear, jazz, fusion, and metal, all here. And the blues.
same here, you can hear a lot of Holdsworth influence on the "Sol Niger Within" album
@@OskarSylwester you can hear Holdsworth on the Nothing album as well... basically anything after Nothing.
@@holygroove2 my personal fav from meshuggah, also catch 33. Good obserwation:)
@@OskarSylwester many like Catch 33. That's one of my least favorite. Chaosphere and Nothing are my top two. I like the brutality in the sound of those records, lol!
@@holygroove2 I definitely agree, the sound is full, deep, later albums sound a bit flatter, this is not a disadvantage, but it has a different specificity and compression.
So long Allan... Thank you
Genio total las escalas mas diversas de todo el jazz ni una pentatonia logica Maestro del djent
What is it with his music just listened to the solo in house of mirrors it always brings a tear to the eye I’m going to assume it’s mostly men who listen to Allan could it be that his playing could have beneficial effects in some way My partner Jan seems a bit bemused with my semi obsessed love and respect for this man’s music andy(bob)yates
Just heard the news that Allan Holdsworth passed away today RIP maestro. You can Jam with Hendrix, Miles and Coltrane now!
Hopefully they can keep up ;)
1 of the gr8s!!!!! Most emotional player ever!!!! That whammy trick he's doing was a huge influence on Brad Gillis, Oz Fox, Gary Holt, the list goes on & on!!!! Alan is very missed by us in the GTR community!!!!!! RIP Alan!!!! RIP!!! Pun intended!!!!! He indeed RIPPED!!!!!!..... His notes r still sustaining 2 this day!!!!!!
If i didn't read the title, i'd think that this is something from Shawn Lane... and then, it reminded me Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects - Z1 - Reticuli
. And i thought that this is something new from them.
So these guys just knew about Allan...
Great. Great. Great.
Allan has leveraged blues and Wammy.
Horn gestures and unisons. in the most personal unique unexpected way - freakin amazing as usual.
The horn-like phrasing and tone is incredible - I can hear the Charlie Parker and Coltrane influences here.
There's not one boring note in this solo everything is awesome, Superb Guitar Solo, May the Music of Allan H. live Forever.
So Epic, definitely one of his best. I studied the snot out of this tune.
Amazing untaped talent... The composition on this tune is amazing.
Greatest guitarist ever.imo
genius is the one who invents and creates a style that has never been used before. he and he has no fear to express it only to please a large audience