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Favorite Holdsworth Album
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Poll Question: What is you favorite Allan Holdsworth Album?
Poll Choice Votes Poll Statistics
2 [16.67%]
3 [25.00%]
2 [16.67%]
1 [8.33%]
0 [0.00%]
1 [8.33%]
0 [0.00%]
3 [25.00%]
0 [0.00%]
0 [0.00%]
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Grumpyprogfan View Drop Down
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    Posted: March 04 2021 at 11:45
The universe may never see or hear a guitarist as innovative as Allan Holdsworth again. Eddie Van Halen, Zappa, and many others praised Allan as the best guitarist ever. His work with Soft Machine, Tony Williams, Gong, Bruford, U.K., Jean-Luc Ponty, Chad Wackerman, K2, and others was legendary. 

His solo material was amazing. He could write - not only blazing tunes, but tunes that would bring a tear to your eye. I was lucky enough to see him play live several times in the 80's. Even missed a Yes concert (was scheduled the same day) to see Allan. These are some of his solo works. What is your favorite?


Edited by Grumpyprogfan - March 04 2021 at 16:32
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dougmcauliffe View Drop Down
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I've only heard Metal Fatigue of these, my favorite performances by him have to be Bundles and Enigmatic Ocean, which are two of my favorite Fusion albums ever made, Bundles sitting on top of the podium
The sun has left the sky...
...Now you can close your eyes
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Grumpyprogfan View Drop Down
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^Well Doug. You have some listening to do. You will find some of his best performances on his solo material. Enjoy the journey.
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I'll be watching this thread. Been wanting to pick up some of Allen's solo stuff but I wan't sure where to start. Curious to see what people pick. 
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Good grief, no votes yet? I have half of these. Of those, I'll pick i.o.u.
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Awesoreno View Drop Down
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HOW CAN I PICK???? Road Games, Atavachron, Secrets, and Hard Hat Area are my favorites. I think I'll go with Secrets today, simply because one of my favorite drummers, Vinnie Colaiuta, is on it.
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Awesoreno View Drop Down
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Here's a track with one of his best solos though.
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The hat man picks the hard hat
Dig me...But don't...Bury me
I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive
Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect.
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Manuel View Drop Down
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Hard Hat Area, four very personal reasons, but I love Allan’s music a lot.
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Grumpyprogfan View Drop Down
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The album None Too Soon had no compositions by Allan. Keyboard player Gordon Beck, wrote four songs. Here is one of the other songs on that album. 
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I've always preferred my Holdsworth with UK or Bruford, even with Soft Machine, though he claims to dislike his sound with the band.  I also dig the album that was released without his permission, the CTI label release Velvet something-or-other.  
I like to feel the suspense when you're certain you know I am there.....
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Hard Hat Area! One of my favorites, though they all rule! Was listening to Metal Fatigue just earlier.

"I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021
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Awesoreno View Drop Down
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I feel the urge to mention that Non-Brewed Condiment probably has one of the craziest melodies ("head" in Jazz terms) I've ever heard. 
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Grumpyprogfan View Drop Down
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Originally posted by Argo2112 Argo2112 wrote:

I'll be watching this thread. Been wanting to pick up some of Allen's solo stuff but I wan't sure where to start. Curious to see what people pick.
Eidolon might be a good place to start. A best of album with songs picked by Allan.
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Grumpyprogfan View Drop Down
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Points: 10053 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Grumpyprogfan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 05 2021 at 06:50
Here is one from Atavachron. Allan playing the SynthAxe, his favorite instrument. It allowed him to get more of the sounds he wanted. Unfortunately, the SynthAxe never caught on, the company went out of business, and eventually there were no replacement parts so Allan had no choice but to return to guitar.
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Grumpyprogfan View Drop Down
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Points: 10053 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Grumpyprogfan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 05 2021 at 06:58
Here is one of Allan's slower more heartfelt songs.
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Awesoreno View Drop Down
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Originally posted by Grumpyprogfan Grumpyprogfan wrote:

Here is one from Atavachron. Allan playing the SynthAxe, his favorite instrument. It allowed him to get more of the sounds he wanted. Unfortunately, the SynthAxe never caught on, the company went out of business, and eventually there were no replacement parts so Allan had no choice but to return to guitar.

I mention this track and, like magic, here it is! Don't know why I didn't think to link it.
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AFlowerKingCrimson View Drop Down
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Points: 16187 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AFlowerKingCrimson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 05 2021 at 17:18
I don't know him well enough to vote. I had Wardenclyffe Tower a long time ago and it was good but haven't heard it in a very long time.
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Mellotron Storm View Drop Down
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Tough call between IOU and Metal Fatigue. I much prefer him on other band's albums, especially with Soft Machine and Nucleus .
"The wind is slowly tearing her apart"

"Sad Rain" ANEKDOTEN
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Steve Wyzard View Drop Down
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Holdsworth truly belongs among the greatest guitarists ever, yet as a solo artist he never made an album that stood out head-and-shoulders above the others. All of them have great moments (even the much-reviled Velvet Darkness), yet all of them have misfires or "just an experiment, folks" moments. Some fans hate the songs with vocals, others don't like the synthaxe, others say he's "too jazz" to be prog.

If pressed, I will go with Metal Fatigue for the beautiful "Home", and the epic "The Un-Merry-Go-Round". Even the 3 songs with vocals (especially the title track) are good!
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