Day: November 4, 2021

Alan Holdsworth the guitarist’s guitarist. A whole lot of players cite him as an influence or an inspiration; such as EVH, Satriani, and Alex Lifeson – so you would think he would have made a decent living from his profession. Unfortunately the opposite was true, and when he died he wasn’t well off. He stuck to his beliefs and explored the guitar like no one else, which took him away from mainstream and commercial success. He was truly a visionary, and this album, I would say, is the most accessible of his catalogue that people of interest could get into.

This album is listed under jazz /fusion, which usually means they don’t know how to categorize it. Surprisingly, there are three out of six tracks with vocals, and my favourite of those is Panic Station. I think the main interest lies in the instrumentals, of which Devil Take The Hindmost is my favourite. His playing sometimes almost rambles, but the speed at which he plays the notes is breathtaking and with such a clean tone. Of course there is all sorts of gadget wizardry on display as well, and some of the sounds here in ’85 would become much popular way later. Shout out to Chad Wackernan, on the tracks he plays on lays down a great groove.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.