Ed Chang - Devil Take the Hindmost, the Otherworldly Music of Allan Holdsworth: Loose Cog Edition

If Yoda had played guitar he would have sounded like Allan Holdsworth. Similarly revered by his legendary peers, Holdsworth seems to exist as the sole member of an ageless, mysterious race, speaking in strangely-formed sentences which yet somehow impart a mystical aura of truth about them. And like fine wine or poetry, once one acquires the taste, the music of Allan Holdsworth becomes a never-ending obsession - and even a dependable friend.

The book you are holding is an updated version of A Thread of Lunacy (https://threadoflunacy.blogspot.com/), an online resource which I put together at the end of 2017 devoted to the appreciation and analysis of the Otherworldly Music of Allan Holdsworth. The original introduction (included in the following pages) gives a good overview of how this book works and what it tries to do.

If you page through this book, you will see that this is not a biography of Allans life (no fan refers to the guy as Holdsworth, its just Allan). Instead, the purpose and aim of this book is to take a musical look at each record in Allans varied discography (60 releases and counting) to hopefully share some new ways of appreciating his music for existing fans, and to provide a gateway into Allans sound world for those new to his music. After describing the making of each record (using the words of the musicians themselves wherever possible), I provide analyses of individual songs in order to break down the compositional structures of the songs and to highlight how Allans lead solos function within their contexts. In this way, I hope listeners can further appreciate the beauty of each songs musical framework and the melodic stories told within those frames.

Because this book is designed mostly for listeners (as opposed to being an instructional text for students) there are no transcriptions within and I avoid musical terminology for the most part. My hope is that all music-lovers (not necessarily just trained musicians) can use this book to enrich their experiences with Allans music. In other words, these album breakdowns are travel guides which try to point out the exotic animals and hidden landmarks along the path of each sonic journey.

In general, I also try to keep the proceedings fairly objective and try to point out where things seem to work and where they might not. However, since this merely a Preface, I will break my own rule and gush a bit over a few random nuggets pulled from Allans colorful career for the tl;dr crowd (Too long; didnt read).

Hectors House (from Ian Carrs Belladonna, 1972):

After a few brass stabs from nowhere, this tune gets right down to business with a nasty little riff that would fit on a 70s police drama like Starsky & Hutch or Streets of San Francisco. Just before hitting the minute mark it turns left into a more laid-back groove, implying downtown hijinks of a decidedly illicit flavor. Brian Smith reels off some spiffy soprano sax choruses as the song spirals through some side streets. Finally, after a couple minutes Allans starts his own free-wheeling solo, letting guitar melodies cascade over bassist Roy Babbington and drummer Clive Thackers funk stew. Allan rides the ups and downs of the modulations with ease, stopping here and there to apply a few bluesy phrases during the 3rd minute of the song. Around the 4-minute mark Allan tosses out a spinning top melody which allows the harmony to change underneath while still maintaining the electric momentum of a skidding Cadillac. Although relatively conservative harmonically, this tune already shows that Allans fretboard skills hardly had any limits.

Where Is One (from Allan Holdsworths I.O.U., 1981)

While laying down unearthly guitar solos for more well-established artists, at home Allan was rewriting the rule book on what a rock song could sound like. Although Where Is One absolutely rocks, at its heart this tune has a lot in common with a Debussy piano prelude. It starts off with some classic glassy Holdsworth chords, but this texture is soon visited by (in order): a heavy metal fuzz riff, a whammy-bar take on pedal steel guitar, and a short solo that seems inspired more by Bla Bartk than Eric Clapton. Another thing that this first minute does is inform the listener that, from a rhythmic standpoint, expect the unexpected. When the solo arrives, it surfaces like a mysterious beast rising out of the primordial depths, after which it sways back and forth a bit while getting its bearings. It soon begins to get its footing, and after some playful melodicism it soon heads towards some more enigmatic, questioning figures. Compared to the almost constant freneticism of Hectors House, this solo takes its time, building up energy through a variety of moods and exploratory gestures. Leading up to the 4-minute mark are some thorny, troubling shapes, but then Allan lets some ringing notes hang out there a bit, allowing them to bask in the major key harmony flowing around it. Its a virtuosic performance - yet brought off with seeming ease. This one song has more moods and colors than most entire albums.