Buy This For Patto's Voice and Ollie Halsall's Guitar
Chris Ward | Costa Rica | 07/06/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
""Give It All Away" may contain one of the ten best guitar solos of all time-- Ollie Halsall's manic runs up and down the frets are almost completely out of control-- almost. He careens up and down and back and forth and somehow ends up in the perfect place every time. It's a bravura performance on a perfect song. The rest of the album is excellent, but this is my favorite Patto album, and "Give It All Away" stands as their great achievement.
If you liked The Replacements' anarchic energy in the 80s, see what Patto was doing to lay down the foundations in the 70s. This is glorious stuff."
Excellent
William R. Nicholas | Mahwah, NJ USA | 03/24/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Vertigo's Patto needed to prove nothing when they released Hold Your Fire. After the jazzy debut, Patto, in 1970 they had at least artistically made their mark.
Hold Your Fire is far more rock oriented. The songs are condensed. But what really makes this album an early 1970s rock ace is Ollie Hassle's guitar work.
Hassle was quicksilver, but when rock guitar mastery meant accelerated blues, not noise flash. Hassle took those classic blues scales and could rocket quick as Jeff Beck, right side up, upside down, sideways. His approach may seem sleepy now that we have been through Van Halen and 1980s top of the neck flash, but trust me, creatively, Hassle has far more depth.
The tracks here are fantastically written, and if you are ready for a cooker after the subtleties of Patto's debut, this will slam home the goods.
Go ahead. Fire away;"
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1