Customer Reviews

Abracadabra

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a Holdsworth fan. I've pretty much grabbed up everything he's done. This disc instantly became one of my favs. The open feel to this album makes for good background music and should appeal to even those persons who can't get a grip on Allan's other work. Allan's playing is relaxed and free. I think he's under less pressure when he is not overly in control of the whole recording process, which I believe is the thing he's been missing on a lot of his own discs. Elton Dean plays some soulful sax which can be tense and moody.
Great disc, how about more?

I don't generally like Allan Holdsworth. Nor do I usually like jazz/rock. So I'm really suprised at how much I've enjoyed this disc.

I think it's primarily because alto sax and saxello player Elton Dean finds himself in a context where his innate melodicism comes to the fore and his declamatory, expressivist tendencies are properly situated. For me, this constitutes his finest playing on record, and I've heard him in quite a lot of settings, including lots of his recent extended avant-garde outings.

Holdsworth, too, seems more interested in melodic and rhythmic nuance than mere pyrotechnics. The other players, Hugh Hopper (bass) and John Marshall (drums) consistently provide engaging rhythmic support. Not revolutionary but hugely satisfying.

A combination of early and late model Soft Machine, in which Allan Holdsworth remembers how to play jazz, Elton Dean remembers how to play melodically, John Marshall remembers how to play fusion, and Hugh Hopper shows he never forgot any of it.

This record is good and REALLY features Holdsworth's guitar comping skills and Elton Dean's Sax. The writing on this record are VERY simular to some Soft Machine classic songs and Hugh Hopper songs, but this is done more subtlely.

For me, it is a bit to cliche' sounding and does not have "staying power". I will be interested to see if they do another CD. On this one, it starts with, "Seven Formerly ". It is kind of cheesy with a lot of anticipation for Allan's solo. This record COULD have been so much, but it falls slightly flat. Still a worthy spin.