Search - Allan Holdsworth :: Velvet Darkness

For the Curious

T1PSTN | NJ USA | 03/26/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This record was hurried. This record is unfinished. The musical ideas are unfinished, some seemingly slapped together in order to fill run time. Allan has stated this himself.



If you're looking for another brilliant album by Allan, then this may disappoint. If you're trying to get better perspective on the evolution of his playing, then this album is a good choice.



The guitar sound is much raspier and raw than any other recording by Allan (that I've had the chance to hear.) The mix is raw. The composition is raw. Does any of this translate to the good kind of raw? Like, say, Mahavishu Orchestra's Inner Mounting Flame? Perhaps.



The thing to try to understand while hearing this is that Allan was trying to do something great in conditions that were terrible.



Worth owning if you're curious.

"

Listen This Recording, Holdsworth Fans!

Jeff T. Jesmorh | Mexico City. | 09/03/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"From his personal point of view, Allan Holdsworth rejects this recording and never talk about this or sign it as important part of his discography because the history that is behind. As Allan Holdsworth said: "They wanted us to get hurry and we were put in the red light, with the argue that we will do the mixings afterwards but that never happened, so there was a lot of pressure". But the truth is that is interesting to listen a young Holdsworth with "less virtuosity" and with a light kind of a "Jeff Beck style" in some track solos because he was still in a changing stage of his solo career.



Apart from discusions that the mix and sound of the recording is just good, the thing about this recording is that is not the same as the american version, or at least two songs: The instrumentals "Floppy Hat" and "Kinder" in the american version of CTI with bonus tracks, were changed by two with the same acoustic rhythm guitar of the young A. Holdsworth but with different melodies. The tunes are not the same and since my humble point of view the versions in this japanese realease are the original and best versions of this two tracks. The album was first released in U.K. and America in LP format with the original two instrumentals, but don't believe me just listen to these please and make your own choices... Good Luck!

"