Sand

Allan Holdsworth | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Relativity Records
• ASIN: B000003BIK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #364,259 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Sand

2. Distance vs. Desire

3. Pud Wud

4. Clown

5. The 4.15 Bradford Executive

6. Mac Man

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Alan Holdsworth is an "unsung hero"......, September 3, 2000

By 

"saucy_g" (Stanwood, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sand (Audio CD)

This is an excellent recording by Allan Holdsworth, allthough not necessarily my favorite. I'm thrilled to see that he has a new offering this year. I first discovered AH when I was about fifteen (about fifteen years ago) and have forever since been moved and astounded by his playing. Unfortunately he has never been "discovered" in my opnion aside from guitar enthusiasts and "real" music lovers; Not even all of his titles are listed here. ( There are more albums featuring AH which are not listed here , i.e., with I.O.U ; and of special note his recordings with UK, which can be found by searching for UK under artist name ). I am sad to see AH compared in any way to the likes of Edward Van Halen as well as the fact that any notoriety he has gained has been due to such exposure. AH's playing style, musical sincerity and originality, and superb technique will not likely be fully appreciated until long after his time; which he is, and always has been, well ahead of. His use of modes and scales is not only amazing, but in fact original in the sense that he often uses six note scales that are actually a blend of two 8 note scales giving him his "wide open" and "airy" sound and making his work technically difficult to duplicate. Having had the opportunity to see him live on several occasions it is clear that he is well respected within the Jazz / Fusion community playing with names such as Stanley Clarke, Billy Childs, Airto Purim, Chad Wackerman, etc. His live shows were some of the best I've ever seen and if you think his recordings are good try watching him improvise a solo a few feet away from you! To me AH is definately one of the great "unsung" musical hero's of our time.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An artist of classical proportions, March 14, 2000

By 

"steven1961" (Santa Monica) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sand (Audio CD)

I don't like electric guitar playing. Generally, I find the tone (given by most who play the instrument) very piercing, hard, and lacking expressive depth as a violin or cello would have. After years of listening to Holdsworth I still can not figure out whether he is simply a much greater electric guitarist than anyone I've ever heard or whether he has transended the instrument itself. Whatever the case, the experience of listening to his art moves and elevates me to a profound place that I've known only in some classical music. The compositional quality of his playing and the expressive maturity of his technique make such pieces as "The 4.15 Bradford Executive" seem almost structurally perfect as if not one component of the piece was improvised. Also, the special, so called "trademark", tone he achieves with the guitar seems to me at times to compare with the expressive power and range of the human voice while yet inhabiting a very exclusive musical color domain of its own. I think "Bradford" is such a stand-out piece (may be my favorite Holdsworth track of all his work) that the rest of the work on the album may pale a bit in comparison--though, there is much to enjoy here. I wouldn't hesitate a second to pay double the cost of the CD for just this one piece.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An artist of classical proportions, March 15, 2000

By 

"steven1961" (Santa Monica) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sand (Audio CD)

I don't like electric guitar playing. Generally, I find the tone (given by most who play the instrument) very piercing, hard, and lacking expressive depth as a violin or cello would have. After years of listening to Holdsworth I still can not figure out whether he is simply a much greater electric guitarist than anyone I've ever heard or whether he has transended the instrument itself. Whatever the case, the experience of listening to his art moves and elevates me to a profound place that I've known only in some classical music. The compositional quality of his playing and the expressive maturity of his technique make such pieces as "The 4.15 Bradford Executive" seem almost structurally perfect as if not one component of the piece was improvised. Also, the special, so called "trademark", tone he achieves with the guitar seems to me at times to compare with the expressive power and range of the human voice while yet inhabiting a very exclusive musical color domain of its own. I think "Bradford" is such a stand-out piece (may be my favorite Holdsworth track of all of his work) that the rest of the music on the album may pale a bit in comparison--though, there is much to enjoy here. I wouldn't hesitate a second to pay double the cost of the CD for just this one piece.