A retrospective - Allan Holdsworth's 'Metal Fatigue'

Allan Holdsworth is without question one of the most influential and accomplished guitarists of the last 35 years. A legend, a perfectionist, a music pioneer. This is the guitarist who played with legendary progressive rock groups like Tempest, Tony Williams's 'Lifetime', Soft Machine, Gong and UK. He is the sound force of wailing emotion and power on Bill Bruford's 'Feels good to me' and 'One of a kind'.  Many great musicians, irrespective of whether they play guitars, drums or keyboard point to Holdsworth as the master. Back in the 80's Zappa, Santana, Phil Keaggy, Neal Schon and Van Halen all raved about Allan. Thirty years later and professional musicians are still in awe - just ask Alex Machacek, Steve Lukather, Virgil Donati or Derek Sherinian (who has played with many of the great guitarists including Lukather, John Petrucci, Al di Meola, Zack Wylde and Joe Bonamassa).


I have most of Allan's solo albums and main recordings with the bands already mentioned above. I love his playing on all of them even though Allan himself is dismissive of probably three quarters of his own discography, such are his perfectionist tendencies. To me and many other reviewers, even when a composition of his is ordinary, there is something that evokes both excitement and beauty listening to his playing. His playing is often lauded because of his incredible speed and dexterity - but there are more important attributes that makes up his unique sound. His smooth tone combined with the choice of notes and bends gives the guitar an organic sound like as if the instrument has a singing voice. This combined with shimmering bell-like chords presents a unique guitar aural experience that etches patterns on a listener's mind. It's an acquired taste that soon has you longing for more.


So as a retrospective I am going back to the early days of his solo career in 1985 to the album 'Metal Fatigue'.   This may be a quarter of a century ago, yet this album is as fresh and mindblowing as when I first listened to it. I realise that have always been 'in love' with this album. 


Since its release I cannot think of another album that demonstrates the ability of a guitarist to squeeze, wrench and create the wonderful tones that Allan Holdsworth does. This demonstrates how a whammy bar in the hands of an artist can cajole and caress emotion laden sounds from the electric guitar. What Van Halen and Vai have done with the whammy is fun and impressive. What Holdsworth has achieved is artwork of a master. 


It is a short album but four of the six tracks are arguably some of the finest fusion-rock recorded. I use this term loosely as an attempted label for the reader who may not have heard of Allan Holdsworth. This music is hard to define - far too complex for the label rock, yet too distorted and straight to be labelled jazz. 

If you love something then you savour all aspects, so even the striking Francois Bardol artwork of that Judgement-day scrap heap reinforces the album title. The blue neon rays across the cover and Allan's photograph are all supportive of what makes a listener treasure the artistic product - which is more than just a recording. 


I love the production and although AAD, it is a crisp, rich recording. I still think the quality of the drum recording is the best on this album out of all of Holdsworth's 80's and 90's albums. Both Chad Wackerman and Gary Husband are incredibly inventive and adventurous in their respective tom and cymbal work yet supportive of song structure. This album introduced me to these two wonderful drummers and to the phenomenal bass work by Jimmy Johnson and Gary Willis. 


The opening twenty-five seconds of the album are so startling that after many repeated listenings I still have a wry smile and marvel. You are assaulted with an aggressive riff of other-worldly guitar sounds which is then joined by Jimmy Johnson's in-your-face bass and Wackerman's drums. This mesmerising opening leads into a strangely beautiful song with lyrics that perplex sung by Paul Williams.



"Look in my eyes and you will satisfy yourself
So many lives I can describe
Look at the picture of the sanctifying light
So many words to justify


How long? How long can this go on? How long?
It's heavy metal fatigue.
It's heavy metal fatigue."



And as Williams finishes the line with 'How long?' so the opening riff crashes in once again. That opening track finally comes to a blistering halt and the sublime sounds of a person's laughter in a pub juxtaposed against the achingly mournful guitar chords are as gentle as what the opening track is aggressive. 'Metal Fatigue' into 'Home' is a triumph. And the amazing journey continues into 'Devil take the hindmost', a Holdsworth tour-de-force. This track more than any other shows Holdsworth's legato style as the notes cascade off his finger tips in a powerful torrent. 


There are Williams's strong vocals on two of the tracks providing some variety and intrigue but most of the time you are waiting for the guitar to be unleashed. The solos throughout are powerful and beautiful. In some ways it insults Holdsworth's ability to say he 'plays solos' as the guitar is interwoven throughout - a tapestry of sound. Listen again to the first four tracks and realise that no keyboards or synths are used - the wonder of Holdsworth is his stunning chord work that creates this tapestry of sound. 


Indeed the heart of the album is the 14 minute 'The un-merry-go-round', an intricate suite of music with repetitive guitar and drum rhythms over a bed of keyboard sounds played by Alan Pasqua (ex-Lifetime, and the rock group, Giant). Over these rhythms we have the initial crying of the guitar which leads to a lengthy Husband drum interlude - some would say this is a solo but this drum piece is integral to overall composition as it prepares you for the next section. The composition then moves to a slower, gentler ebb and flow leading ultimately to Allan's guitar sweetly soaring. The final section brings in a more sombre mood and the drums build connecting back to the initial timing of the piece. Finally you have just the swell of guitar and the journey ends.


All the compositions bare repeated listening, including the lighter 'In the mystery' and 'Panic Station'.  


For guitarists out there, if you have never heard a Holdsworth album - this is the album to buy. Exciting, beautiful, emotion-laden and so melodic - this is an amazing album that has stood the test of time.


(For any of his earlier recordings, I highly recommend 'Feels good to me' and 'One of a kind' where he plays in Bill Bruford's band with Jeff Berlin on bass. His best progressive rock outing must be the debut album of UK and other solo albums worth getting are 'Secrets', 'Sand' and 'Sixteen men of Tain'. His best jazz offering is the overlooked 'None too soon' with the recently passed away pianist Gordon Beck (friend of Allan's), Gary Willis on bass, and Kirk Covington on drums).