Customer Reviews

Sand

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Alan is one of the most underestimated guitarplayers in the world. He never had a really breakthrough and ..... ohh my God how wonderful he plays.
By the way Carlos Santana ever said in an interview he was jealous about the beautiful sustain Alan makes. Alan has a unique sound that you can recognize between all the other guitarplayers and makes him unique. One of the things that someone makes a great musician.

This was the FIRST CD I ever bought. Really. At the time I owned Metal Fatigue, IOU, Road Games and Atavachron (Which I used to torture my ex-wife, she hated Holdsworth's music). That said, I appreciate Allan in many ways besides the obvious.

Sand is a journey of the mind. Of course, I feel this way about most of Allan's catelogue. I approached this album without "guitar god" in my mind. I went with composer, musician, martian as my base to listen from. I was and still am astounded by this album. "Why only three stars, Danbo?" some would ask. Well, for me, Allan's music is personal and I understand that not everyone can grasp the tones, notes and images Allan creates. For me it's great, essential. For others, I only hope they try it and, even more, I hope they "get it." Allan's music is not for the masses, at least in today's narrow minded music view. It's music that is an acquired taste and demands unusual concentration.

There are many highlights among this collection. Distance vs. Desire is wonderful and aptly fits it's title. Purely Synthaxe, with washes, sweeping chordal lines and flute-like soloing. It's among my favorite and most heart-felt Holdsworth tunes.

Clown is among the favorites of Allan's fans, as is Pud Wud. Strong statements of a new instrument struggling for a voice and acceptance of music fans. Allan wanted to be recognized for his compositions, not guitar greatness. The notes spark, flash and fire like a summer lightning storm, then swell, ebb and flow like an ocean tide. Each note is like a drop of rain on hot flesh, soothing and refreshing.

Try out All Night Wrong (bare and unadorned) or Metal Fatigue (guitar essential) then slip into the warm Sand. You may find some mental medication.

I had the pleasure of seeing Allan play in a small jazz club back in I think it was '02. It was a beautiful set and Allan kept me mesmerized with his incredible artistry. I love watching a true master perform, especially when he makes it look so effortless. Holdsworth is one of the guitar gods in jazz and fusion. I think a few of the other reviews mentioned that this was his first album featuring the synthaxe. That may well be...I didn't follow it that closely. All I know is that this is a beautiful little jazz/fusion album. It features Allan's brilliant work on the synth-guitar. It's a very short album, only about 34 and a half minutes. The compositions are great, uniquely Holdsworth. there's not a clunker in the bunch. and I think one of the reasons it's one of my favorite Holdsworth albums is because it's entirely instrumental. Far too often, Allan ruins what could have been a perfect album by throwing some singer with unnecessary, inane vocals on one or two songs, sometimes more. thankfully, he didn't ruin this album with vocals, it's just pure Holdsworth with some drums and bass and an occasional light keyboard work. it's a real fine fusion album featuring the synthaxe. Of course, that synthaxe often sounds more like a keyboard than a guitar. that can be a good thing, depending on your mood. I wish there was more of Holdsworth's original signature guitar sound on this album. There are great moments on this disc where Holdsworth's guitar has that unique guitar sound that only AH can reach. but there could've been more of those moments here. still, this is a fine, fine disc! Allan is a pleasure to listen to, a delight to watch...and he's a very nice man to meet and hang out with after the show, even when he forgets to buy cigarettes and he's bumming them from you all night. In short, this is a short but fine album....i do recommend it....and Allan, you still owe me half a pack of smokes!

To the first guy who posted-I have to concur that this was my very 1st bought cd also-period!

I read about this album in a guitar magazine when it first came out and how all this hoopla had begun to surround this amazing guitarist after his brief stint with the legendary EVH. Many major guitarists was talking about him at that time, as if he was "the new thing" because Eddie Van Halen was telling eveyone about this largely unknown virtuoso, which Allan had been in the music game constantly since '69.

Back in '87, when I first bought the CD (I still have it and play it every now and then), I can see what the other professional guitarists were talking about- I thought what the hell is a "synthaxe"? I began to research this then new technology, which supposed to emulate synth sounds by playing through a guitar-like instrument. Allan was the first professional musician to take this new technology to the level it was taken...and the results are simply astounding. I was completely blown away when I first heard the recording, and played it many,many times thereafter. I also thought-is this the future of electric guitar?? Becuase at that time, I thought the fresh innovative Allan's use of the synthaxe was going to be the beginning of the end for the guitar as we know it to be. Thank goodness that didn't happen-GREAT cd though!

I am guessing on the length of this CD. In my mind, Sand is one of Allan's best works ever! There is excellent use of the Synthaxe guitar with the encasings of a dynamite band. Allan, at the time of its release, explores new territory just outside of hard prog... but not really a commercial effort such as Avachron. This album stands out from his many wonderful records as being one of the most inventive releases with excellent flows and textures... and ofcourse, AWESOME playing by ALL! Fantastic spin!

People who are not into jazz music often talk of this genre going round in circles, that its artists play self-indulgent and tuneless noodlings which are unpalatable for fans of rock and pop music. Those people usually find Allan Holdsworth's '80s output and his work with prog-rock supergroup U.K. very interesting and innovative, mainly because Holdsworth managed to avoid empty musical gymnastics and overlong guitar solos in favor of kicking riffs and a completely new style which sounded unlike anything that preceded it. Now, 1987's "Sand" sees Holdsworth leaning more towards abstract electronica and giving up the vocal material and jazz-rock arrangements of earlier albums, a not unexpected thing, perhaps, since "Atavachron" certainly hinted at the things to come by introducing the Synth-axe guitar, an instrument whose sound appears more like a cross between violin and keyboard. That said, it's still difficult to pin down "Sand" stylistically -- Holdsworth's best records always seem to exist outside of any accepted musical formulas while providing a minimum of accessibility even for the uninitiated listener -- yet this album ends up sounding very fresh and kind of cool at the same time. The way all the tracks on "Sand" build is rather similar to much electronic music (imagine a jazzy version of Tangerine Dream), but in place of the monochrome, slow-motion style usually associated with this musical avenue, a dynamic and unpredictable impetus predominates. Not a great deal or something groundbreaking seems to happen in any of these six pieces, although they constantly change and mutate during their course in a subtle and melodic, yet all-engrossing manner. Holdsworth's spacious production is dynamic and relaxing at the same time, so this album works very well as something either concentrated on or left running as background music. The 5 1/2-minute title track sets the scene with its synth-like, airy chords which are suddenly joined by dense drum patterns, ominous bass pulses and dark-sounding undercurrents of electronic washes -- a fascinating demonstration of 'urban cyber-jazz' with a variety of instrumental touches and imaginative melodies. In contrast to most other tracks here, "Distance vs. desire" totally ignores traditional rhythms and relies of layers of peaceful Synth-axe soundscapes; it's the least impressive and most repetitive piece on the album, but nevertheless has something to offer. Thankfully, things become much more abstract and compelling with the 7-minute "Pud Wud", which opens with field recordings taken from a playground, then alternating several instrumental sections and solos for the individual musicians before one instrument after the other is stripped away and the piece disappears. The path changes again with the heavily echoed, industrial drum loops and subharmonic touches of "Clown", mixing that with incredible chords and solo sections by Holdsworth before abruptly returning to massive drum patterns and light atmospherics. "Bradford Executive" also manages to hold attention during its 8 1/2-minute length; it begins with bell-like signals and crackling static, adding mimicked vibraphones and rather carnivalesque elements which provide a launching pad for the longest guitar solo on the album. The playful "Mac Man" closes the album on a more rhythm-heavy note by using some sequences which were generated by a Mac Computer, later accompanied by strong guitar screams/washes from Holdsworth and some melodic Synth-axe chords. Some of the these sounds bring to mind Tangerine Dream's mid-'80s work. In conclusion, if you have a predilection for music which is excitingly different from the run-of-the-mill modern jazz, there isn't a better place to go than "Sand": It features explorations to see what can be done with a guitar/bass/drum arrangement, pushing forward into previously unknown territories and avoiding conventional approaches to melody and rhythm with remarkable dexterity. Well now, this is an absolutely worthwhile album, although it should be said that it's actually much too short, with only six tracks spanning a little over 35 minutes. What about re-releasing "Sand" and "Atavachron" (or any other of Holdsworth's early solo albums) on one disc? Think about it.

Aside from Holdsworth's obvious guitar virtuosity, any person with any kind of musical training or background MUST appreciate this innovator's unique approach to chord progression and musical (as opposed to avant garde) application of modal scales. This man travels where few dare tread with a true gift of "melody" soloing. Also pleasing to the curious ear is his use of the Synthaxe and other synth rythm instruments.