Customer Reviews

Allan Holdsworth

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I wouldn't say you can learn much of anything from this video. Allan gives some fairly brief explanations about his use of scales and stands next to some diagrams professor style, talking about how useful they are.

The reason to watch this video is for the large amount of footage of Allan while he is playing. Most of which with his band. If you're a fan of his music, then this DVD will go a long way in decoding his chops.

I am, on a good day, an intermediate to advanced player so I can watch him and I can actually understand what he's doing. Sort of. The problem is, is that Holdsworth's chops are so far beyond most guitarists, his approach to music is so "outside the box" and that he seems to have no idea of how advanced he actually is.

For a healthy part of his solos, his index finger stays close to the 10th fret and his pinky stays around 17-19 and they more-or-less just dance around, creating a dizzying array of wide intervallic melodies that go screaming by. He seems to think that this is normal, that anyone who plays guitar can do this, and that his abilities hardly warrant having an instructional video.

So there's a lot going on in his brain that just doesn't seem to occur to him to share or even bother to articulate. So, if you're the kind of guitarist who can learn a lot just by watching someone play, this video is awesome.

If you're the kind who needs an explanation beyond some British mumbling about preferring to not have "licks" then there are probably better videos for you.

I bought it because I'm a big fan of Holdsworth and I just wanted some good footage of him playing. I got that out of it and I consider anything else a bonus.

As usual, the music is not for the squeamish! Having seen him
perform "live", it does not disappoint. Technically & sonically outside the usual, he & his band are both inspiring and antiseptic. His matter-of-fact explanations for his excursions onto the complete fretboard layout of
each chord, vs. just throwing in substitutions, is actually very simple to
comprehend. Of course, his acknowledged different approach to applying it
left me scratching my head - and cursing my hands - but what a great dilemma to have! I would rate it 5 stars if the referred-to booklet was to
be found, either in the jacket or separate package or . . .

Allan Holdsworth, gurú guitarrist, great in all aspects. If you hear and see his performances will realise that He is easily one of best guitarrist in the world ever. He is remembered for his participations in Tony William's Lifetime, UK, Jean Luc Ponty, Bill Bruford, Gong, Level 42, Soft Machine and many others. His style very singular, expresive, creative, his refine technique and speed had been commented by artists such as Eddie VanHalen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Neal Schon, etc...
In this concert in Japan He joined Steve Hunt, Chad Wackerman, Skuli Sverrisson in a great band in a studio performing live classics like "Funnels", "Looking Glass", "the Things You See", "Zone". It's an opportunity to admire Holdsworth's improvisations and his perfect preformance on guitar.

I'm a professional touring guitarist as well as a clinician, and as one that has years of studying under his belt, I find this video to be too much of a departure from any musical language that I know. Some things are applicable to more conventional playing (such as 4 note per string scales and symmetrical playing), but Holdsworth isn't a great teacher. One must work to decipher useful things from this DVD, but for anyone in search of radically new ideas, it is worth the work. For everyone else, there are a few useful tips and scales. As I find with most videos, if you learn only one useful thing from it, it is an incredible value.

I've played guitar since 1984 and since this came out in 92 I watch it every 5 years or so and get something out of it everytime. Just as Allan's music is pretty idiosyncratic, so is this video :). He doesn't talk to you like a beginner, he pretty much explains it as if he were talking to John McLaughlin or Steve Vai - it's just Allan explaining how he sees the fretboard and how he writes songs. There's no "licks", or tricks or warm up exercises, etc...he literally "shows" 10 or 15 scales which he uses and how he thinks of them and how he creates parallel moving harmonies. The scales are not nearly as exotic as you'd think, except for the last few. The best part of this are the performances which have almost no connection to the talking parts. He and his band rip through some songs (which are better that the album versions in some cases) and then he talks some more. Allan also comes across as an extremely honest and humble guy, and stresses that you should find your own voice. I guess that's a very good thing about what he delivers here - he gives you the tools to play like Allan or create your own sound...whereas in an Yngwie video you learn a bunch of Yngwie licks so you can become an Yngwie clone. Bottom line this is a hard video to watch one time and absorb all at once, best to revisit every few years and grasp more each time. Even after learning all the theory stuff, just watching the performances can teach quite alot about solo and group improvisation.

I think that this video is mis-understood. Allen admits that he is not much of an instructor; you should not look at this video as a formal instructional piece, but rather an observational tool. In order to get get instructional value you need to watch and re-watch it and read between Allen's lines. All the scales are given in a nice little package (PDF file) with the DVD. Print out the scales and practice the hell out of them. A lot of Allen does is based on his incredible knowledge of scales; for the rest, as he so casually puts it, "just go for it." If you are the type of person that needs your hand held through things, this might not be a good DVD for you; but if you are self-motivated and don't mind independent studies, then this DVD will be a great addition to your collection.

Another real outstanding DVD of Allan Holdsworth. It shows a complete insight view of the 10 more used scales by middleage Holdsworth (their favorites), as well as its relationship with his enigmatic chord voicings; combining all this visual material with an interesting warmth chat, plus a fantastic live performance in the studio with Chad Wackerman on Drums, Skuli Sverrissen on Bass and his old friend Steve Hunt on Keyboards; here, you can listen and watch full close-up shots of Allan Holdsworth's amazing left hand technique. The performed songs in this little studio jam are:

1. Zone, 2. Proto Cosmos, 3. Funnels, 4. Tell Me, 5. The Things You See, 6. Looking Glass, And 7. House Full Of Mirrors.

Between songs, Allan Holdsworth explains the meaning of each song, why he composed it; and sometimes how to play it. though he clearly explains that he doesn't see himself as a kind of a teacher to talk about all these material, and highly recommends to explore and try to develop a style...

This DVD is a reissue of an 1992 REH Video collection, and shows middleage Holdsworth and his band at their best. Don't miss the opportunity to see this "guitarist of guitarists" at his full musical potential. With this DVD the revolutionary Allan Holdsworth proves again why he is one of the most unique and respected guitarists around. Really out of this world!... Good Luck!

Allan Holdsworth is absolutely amazing, just don't ask him to explain how he does it, because he won't (or can't) tell you. This video is extremely useful in that it allows you to see the fingering of some of Mr. Holdsworth's best tunes, however, a detailed explanation that all of us Holdsworthian afectionatos would dream of getting is not there. Rather, it outlines the scales he uses and then shows you him playing a song. The nice part definitely is the fact that most of the time it shows you a close up of his fingers. So if not for anything else, I would definitely purchase the DVD for at least that, because it might not be an explanation but sometimes demonstrative examples speak louder than explanations ever could.

In my opinion, this is a great insite into the musical mind of the master.
Great video of Allan in the studio with his band, including lottsa closeups on Allan's hands in action. As with most true greats, his humbleness shows during his explanations of how he thinks of chords and scale composition which, for me, is opening doors in how I rethink the guitar.
The only downside of this DVD is that not all of the video material is transcribed in the attached .pdf file. Also, the page layout is such that there are only two stalves per sheet, making printing out the solos an arduous task. I would recommend purchasing Allan's 'Just for the Curious' to obtain more transcriptions (with some duplication) for more songs from this DVD.Allan Holdsworth

I am a long time A/H fan and am always searching for new ways to enjoy his unique approach to guitar, and music in general. When I saw this DVD offering on my recommended list, I thought I had finally found an opportunity to figure out just what it was that I was hearing on all these cd,s, vinyl, etc that I had been mesmerized by for so long.
Well, this is an amazing way to see, and hear Allan play and talk about what he does, but it makes my brain hurt if I try too hard to grasp what the *^#&! he it talking about. Easier to just let it settle into my subconcious a little at a time, and enjoy it without necessarily understanding why. Some great insights into the mind of A/H, and some fantastic live recordings of him and the band.