What blows me away about Holdsworth is your jaw is on the floor listening to his insanely perfect legato technique, then you realize his chords are as equally astounding and unorthodox, then lastly the realization that all of that was means to the end , which is extremely sophisticated and MUSICAL songwriting. Imo, the world has yet to catch up to his very advanced musicality.

Holdsworth was a genius. A guitarists guitarist. I had the opportunity to meet him. He was so kind, humble, and very down to Earth.

Van Halen, Vai, Satriani, etc...all concurred that Holdsworth was the Lord of Guitar.

Allen didn't die, he just went home to whatever insane planet he came from!

I saw Allan 15 times from the 80's till he died. Talked with him every single time, had dinner with him several times...many beers shared, many laughs, a humble giant. We became friends. He didn't like talking about his playing, he'd rather talk about effects and amps or anything else than him. I had the same experience with Larry Coryell, whom I saw with John Mclaughlin in 1978 that honestly made me pick up the guitar and play...I didn't get to meet him in 78, but after that, I spoke with him every time I saw him, had drinks and dinner with him and his band.

Dave Carpenter, RIP, a monster on bass. I used to go to school with him and played a lot of baseball with him before he followed his dream of playing music for a living, and becoming a bass legend. Combined with Allan it doesn't get any better than that!

Allans is in the same creative league as Beethoven or Coltrane. Period.

I'm convinced Holdsworth was an alien who had these mystical powers to hypnotize you with his playing

There isn't anyone like Allan Holdsworth. Besides his legato, his harmonic stretches are amazing.

I met Allan Holdsworth once back in the early 80s. I was playing guitar through the amp I was having built for me by the same company he used. Suddenly Mr Holdsworth walks in the door!!! Funnily enough I immediately stopped playing. He goes "don't stop,that sounds great!" But I just didn't dare in front of him. Cool guy...loved chatting and 🍺 beer. What a player ..sadly no longer with us.

Upon discovering Allan Holdsworth years ago, I hunted down everything he was every involved with in the 70s. Soft Machine, Tempest, Jean-Luc Ponty, New Tony Williams Lifetime, Pierre Moerlen’s Gong, UK, Bruford, etc. Admittedly, his solo work in the 80s was an acquired taste for me, but now I find it endlessly captivating. Mr. Holdsworth was truly something special and I am glad you now know this pleasure to be found in his music. Speaking of underrated guitarists, Gary Green from Gentle Giant leaps to mind.

Listening to an interviewer ask Frank Zappa who he thought was the most skilled guitarist alive and Zappa answering by saying Alan Holdsworth turned me on to Alan in 1979 , I saw Alan play in Fusion legend Jean Luc-Pontys band and was blown away ,I've been a super fan ever since , Alan's phrasing is truly unique .

So much tenderness in Allan’s music and compositions. I always think that gets missed. I don’t listen to shred guitar, but I always have time for Allan.

After almost 40 years trying to understand and learn from Allan's music, I think I finally got a valid explanation ! He is a transdimensionnal being, throwing glimpses of other realities in ours. Way more enlightened than we are, that's why nobody really understands what's going on. His music is a gift as well as a doorway to grow. We can just be thankfull to be, in some way, custodians of his heritage.

My fav Allan Holdsworth period is when he was with Bruford.... unbelievable!!! The most amazing tone and playing I've ever heard....

Welcome to the club. It doesn't get any better than Holdsworth.

I love that other-worldly quality his music has. It feels like watching a sci-movie from the eighties or something.

Very glad you recorded this "first reaction" video. I first heard a.H. in about 1981 an d was blown away. I didn't know how much work he put into his independent and original study of the guitar. He put in years of study analyzing the neck and fretboard in order to work out a completely free means of constructing chords and modes that later became his signature style(second nature). He literally forgot all about the basics of guitar chords in order to build something that fit his big hands better.

Allan improvised, he didn't play licks. He tried not to go back or forward 3 notes in a scale. He isn't cool or flash - he looks like a school's Geography teacher playing in a band with some accountants. He is unique and will never be emulated.

His chord melodies are only *slightly* less difficult than his solos. He also was a tall man and had inhumanly large hands and reach on the fretboard. It's almost criminal how good he was. I did a cover of Water on the Brain, Pt. II on my KZfaq channel. It took a long time to get it down. There's no crazy solos on it but it is up there with the more difficult things I've tackled.

Yorkshire’s Finest. RIP brother Alan! My intro to him was the 87 album “Sand” which I first heard as a Van Halen loving 15 yr old. After a confused but intrigued first listen (the bass is doing so much!) I became an instant fan on the second! He inspired me to pick up the guitar.

Longtime AH fan here. Enjoyed your reaction! One thing I feel I gotta point out: while so much attention is (obviously) placed upon his groundbreaking Coltrane-seque sheets-of-sound legato solos, AH had a REALLY unique and advanced harmonic sensibility - even for fusion. "Alien" Holdsworth really had an otherworldly approach to music - compositionally as well as technically. Truly one of a kind...

Welcome to the club, mate. Been a Holdsworth fan since Metal Fatigue in the 80's. Nobody else like him. Even have it in my KZfaq playlist. No big hair. No spandex. No flying V. Just pure talent.

All of us have been there, life before and after learning about Allan Holdsworth. A guitar instructor introduced me to Allan's playing. This excerpt is from Allan's wiki page: Holdsworth was cited as an influence by a host of rock, metal and jazz guitarists such as Eddie Van Halen,[2] Joe Satriani,[3] Greg Howe,[4] Shawn Lane,[5] Richie Kotzen,[6] John Petrucci,[7] Alex Lifeson,[8] Kurt Rosenwinkel,[9] Yngwie Malmsteen,[10] Michael Romeo,[11] Ty Tabor,[12] and Tom Morello.[13] Frank Zappa once lauded him as "one of the most interesting guys on guitar on the planet",[14] while Robben Ford has said: "I think Allan Holdsworth is the John Coltrane of the guitar. I don't think anyone can do as much with the guitar as Allan Holdsworth can."

I wouldn't even dare to categorize his music into the "jazz-fusion" category. That is the music of Allan Holdsworth, and it is beautiful!

The absolute king of kings of electric guitar playing so off the scale (wahey!) showing us the human potential when we allow ourselves to be ourselves rather than a conditioned drone. Great vid too!

Congratulations dude. Welcome to the club.

You don't need to be a guitar player to realize Allan is absolute next level. Incredible, really.

I was blessed to see AH in concert at least 6 times. I miss him much. When both EVH and Steve Vai proclaim AH as the GOAT listen.

I wish I could go back and listen to all Allan’s synth axe stuff for the first time again. Blew my mind, still does.

Happened to me in 2007. Instant fan after listening to the first track of The Sixteen Men of Tain. I was in shock, I was happy, I was reborn.

There's no gate. In order to fake your way trough some Holdsworthian lead stuff you're gonna want to: -adjust your pick attack so your picked notes and hammer-ons are about equally loud -avoid using pull-offs. If you want to play a lower note, slide down or use a lower string -dial in a decent amount of bass on your amp, roll the treble way off and go easy on the mids too -add some mild overdrive. Roll down the tone and volume knob 'til it sounds about right -perhaps add some compression if your tone lacks sustain (you should be able to manage without though) It also helps if your guitar is set up nicely with some nice low action, etc. I'll be the first to admit that it can be fun to try and mimic the greats... but in the end you're gonna end up sounding like your parodying these musicians unless you actually attempt to study the music itself, naturally. I mean, what's there to say about Allan's incredibly creative approach to chord voicings and scales that hasn't been said already... Buying a Steinberger or whatever and mastering smooth alternate picking will get you nowhere if you don't learn to think like this man on a more musical level

I love those videos (yours AND Allan's.) I saw Allan play in 1988 in college as a freshman for my first hearing. I was into transcribing Paul Gilbert and other Shrapnel artists at the time. It was a life memorable experience because I thought I understood the instrument until that moment when his amp went dirty. It was a good news / bad news realization. I understood I knew basically nothing, and I was inspired.

When I hear the phrase "I teach guitar" and "i've never heard Allan Holdsworth" I begin to worry.

He was one of the greats ! I was very honored to meet him and shake his hand. I have a pic of us somewhere.

You are experiencing one of the most advanced harmonic composers and improvisers of the 20th century. Someone who invented a vocabulary of improvisation that did not exist before him, like coltrane or Michael Brecker or Oscar Peterson. The depth and breadth of his compositional expression is more deep and profound then just this one improvisation. His "legato" is just a way of facilitating the ideas in his head. He always said he wanted to be a sax player. The technique is identified with him but is immaterial as it is just his voice expressing it and is an evolution of his exploration over 50 years. My suggestion for you, as a player and teacher, is to immerse yourself more deeply in the language and history of what you play and teach and then re-visit this process because it will allow you to enter the experience more deeply and speak to it more coherently. Some of your reaction and associations to deep players like Mahavishnu or Trane feels odd in juxtaposition to how you play and it feels a little odd. I am happy for your exploration and find it interesting that it shows up on my feed, and wish you luck on your music journey.

I had the same reaction but I actual watched for the first time live. This was before KZfaq so I had no idea what he looked like. I saw some rather “normal” looking guy in a green wind breaker jacket come up and tune the guitar. I thought he was the roadie. He glanced over at the drummer for about 2 seconds then they dove into the most ridiculous lick where Allan’s hands appeared to defy physics. His hand traveled down the neck and the lick went up 🤯. My music life changed from that point on. I’ve met him twice but to keep things short I’ll just say he’s was very humble.

Probably or arguably best reaction video on tube

Cheers Anthony, and welcome to the possessed. I was listening to Holdsworth in the Soft Machine days and first saw him live at a small San Diego club called the Bacchanal around 77' if memory serves. All guitarists in the crowd hardly a girl. Holdsworth was smoking a cig and seconds from the scariest solo we'd ever heard, and the tension was thick. "God.....he's going to miss his mark!!" was the look everyone had on their faces....and then he stashed that cig up on the head and laid down something none of us had ever heard. At the end of that solo the short guy next to me at the bar elbowed me in the ribs gasping.....and it was Eddie Van Halen. The next year I believe it was, I went to see him with UK at the Santa Monica Civic, opening for Al Di Meola. I was a huge Al fan.....and I swear to God, I felt sorry for him having to follow Allan. HIs body of music is huge, and his collaborations are usually an amazing departure from "the usual" Holdsworth phrasing. (not that that's a bad thing). When It's all said and done, I find myself listening to "Sand"....a lot. I was crushed when he unexpectedly departed, and listen to his music every day. Enjoy the ride.

I am so excited thinking about the journey you've now begun. I listened to Holdsworth for years only knowing of his work from about i.o.u. onward. Then I discovered Soft Machine, U.K., Tony Williams Lifetime, Gong...so much to discover! A composer and musician literally without peer.

I think Holdsworth's most emotional playing could possibly be "Adios a la pasada" on the 78 bruford album. Always gives me chills with the rising, almost organ-like keyboard (and of course Berlin and Bruford speak for themselves).

Holdsworth was the guitarist who influenced me the most. His sound is beautiful (I'm still trying to come close), his style, fluid jazzy modal legato playing so expressive. He was a genius.

Nice! I had the same reaction, jaw drop, in the 1970's when the Tony Williams album Believe It came out, this solo on Fred.... wow. Congrats. Allan has been a lifetime of inspiration, and he will be missed, but his power and beauty will go on forever!

My favourite reaction video on the entire KZfaq. A perfectly appropriate reaction to the musical phenomenon and the instrumental virtuoso that was Allan Holdsworth. The late great Dave Carpenter on bass, who also seemed to be a wonderful and humble human being despite being an absolute monster on his chosen instrument, just like Allan. And I love Gary Novaks playing just as much as that of any other drummer who played with Allan. You nailed it, they were all really in the zone in this clip.

What a legato master he was. When you can frighten EVH, that's saying something. He was a real treasure.

EVH once said he would love to play like Holdsworth if he could figure out WTF he was doing. Saw him love in a small club once and became an instant fan myself. Have you done Shawn Lane or Eric Johnson reviews?

I recently discovered Allen. At 66 I can't get enough. He is amazing. It's hard to listen to anyone else right now except Zappa now and then. Love them both!

"Do I need to say anything?"....EXACTLY... I am not a musician so it took me a while to "get it." I love how musicians "get it" within a few chords.

Yeah, I remember when my A. H. lights turned on, back in 1989 when I heard his album "Secrets", I was just sold. Now, I have all his records. You have to get used to his synth-guitar stuff, but once you accept the sound of that strange, alien instrument, it's all amazing music. He was just not of this earth.

Welcome to the Universe of the Coltrane of guitar, Anthony. Holdsworth didn't like guitar, but was offered one as a kid. He decided to invent his own language and literally "transcended" the instrument so as to make it more horn-like (both in scales and tone). Just like Coltrane popularized the sax/drum duet (his bass-less duets with Elvin Jones are legendary), Holdsworth always enjoyed doing the same. Check out his rendition of Coltrane's "Countdown", or tunes such as "The Drums Were Yellow" from his 2000 Magnum opus, "The Sixteen Men of Tain".

Your reaction at 3:39 is priceless! Great video... (for the record, my AH entry point was Bruford's 'One of a Kind'...) Glad you made the leap.

I instantly became a fan of Allan Holdsworth the moment I first heard his music. Not too long after that, we lost him. Woulda loved to have seen him in concert.

He was awesome wasn’t he?My favorite guitarist of all time!

This guy was amazing. Where he was coming from with his phrasing, and where he was going, is unknowable to someone way down on the skill spectrum like me. He had stuff going on in his musical mind that was his own thing. Others like Van Halen, and Vai, have stated that if they had to choose one guitar player to be called the greatest, it was Alan.

Hi Antoni, Holdsworth was a legend in his own lifetime. He actually redefined the electric guitar. All technically brilliant attempts to copy his playing mostly ended in antiseptic boredom on the part of the listener. I've seen him live 4 times and every time I was just as perplexed as you. R.I.P. Allan.

Utterly unique guitarist. There won't be another Allan.

Great video! Your expressions and reactions were priceless! As a long time Holdsworth fan, I welcome you to the fold. I am sure you are going to get many recommendations, but here a few of mine: Gong - Expresso II, Gazeuse! Bruford - One of a Kind, Feels Good to Me Holdsworth - Metal Fatigue, Road Games, Wardenclyffe Tower, Hard Hat Area Soft Machine - Bundles Jean Luc Ponty - Enigmatic Ocean U.K. - U.K.

I don't know how many times I've watched this? I never get tired of it. I love your honesty and I appreciate your respect for a true guitar God! The best of ALL reaction videos!

I love your reaction to this. Good on ya! I have been following Holdsworth for a long, long time. I have the Carvin Holdsworth model, one with a whammy. The way the notes bloom and then taper like they do is the guitar design. He talked about the way the guitar build affects the note pronouncement in a Carvin promo. You can get some great sustain on it with a hard driven amp.

A truly unique genius. Not comparable to anyone before or since. Sadly missed.

i play guitar for 30 year.... Holdsworth is the only one i can't play any song. His technique and musicality is out-of-this-world.

I'm a not a musician, i don't play any instrument and i know nothing about music theory. A friend of mine who plays guitar gifted me with a couple of tunes from Holdsworth's and i immediately fell in love with his music. I even saw him two times on live stage. Now 20 years have passed and i still listen and enjoy his music from another universe. We will not forget you Allan.

Allen Holdsworth is one of the great guitarists. In the 70's I listened to the band "UK". IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT and BY THE LIGHT OF DAY were some of my favorite tunes. I saw UK at Chicago Stadium way before it was replaced.

Loved the way you blew your nose ON the beat ;) I saw AH live once...one of the warmest gigs I ever saw. A very humble, engaging performer and musically in another world altogether. The drummer is Gary Novak btw - saw him with Chick Corea. Just saying.

Hey Anthony, that was quite funny watching your reaction. I first heard him on the UK album when it first came out. Listen to the intro from Nevermore and Allan's solo at the end, jeez, very restrained but wow, that's when I first realised this guy was way more talented than anything I had ever heard. I think you're missing a trick if you just listen to his soloing, his chord work is so powerful and emotional. I would also recommend listening to the 4.15 Bradford Executive. As for other guitarists.....Fabrizio Leo, Marco Sfogli, Eric Gales, cheers mate.

I was blessed enough to see Allan Holdsworth 3 times. It was a small place called The Baked Potato. He seemed like a cool guy. No one is like Holdsworth. He stands on his own. No matter how many times I’ve seen him, my jaw drops. Amazing player.

That look at the cam when Allen takes of is gold! Sounds like your from Allen's neck of the woods too? Great vid enjoyed that, been a Holdsworth fan forever!

To me, he is like Michael Jordan. He came in and basically reinvented the genre. Not only that, but he raised the standard of quality for other players thereafter. Hes a musician's musician.

I believe from this same concert “ letters of marque “ (Germany 1997 )is a piece that might’ve been even better to start with . He was/ is incredible. His whole thing and how he arrives at it. Autodidact who pretty much invented his own language for cataloguing scales and the chords that come from them; a pandiatonic view; interval structures . He carved a singular path for himself and as a result arrived at something very much his own. He inhabits his own world but can definitely hold his own and place his stamp performing tunes such as as “ inner urge “ . He also got under the hood w gear as well; modifying and outright inventing gear. You see his face and you can see he is making decisions and improvising- not a collection of preplanned stuff. He is deep on all fronts: rhythmic, linear, harmonic. As for others to check out: Ed Bickert ,Nelson veras; Julian lage; Kurt rosenwinkel; Ben monder; Lenny breau; ted Greene ; George van Epps , Barry Galbraith ; Tim miller; Jim hall; mick Goodrick ; Danny gatton; Blake mills; mick Barr ; pat martino Michael hedges; Paco delucia; Baden Powell Guthrie govan; lage Lund , Adam Rogers

Had table chat with Holdsworth. .'85 at Fitzgerald's (Houston). .seen him several times witth UK 78 & IOU.

So happy for you to discover Holdsworth. 😇

Well, there's Allan and the rest. Allan was unique and can't be compared to any other player. So if you heard him for the first time now, there's a huge backlog of listening to do. Chronologically going through the phases in Allan's life, I'd recommend visiting the following milestones: The days with Tony Williams, then the "Enigmatic Ocean" album of Jean-Luc Ponty, with these contrasting guitarists Allan and Darryl Stuermer. Especially the solo on "Enigmatic ocean, pt III" is epic. You can find it on youtube. Then we have the brilliant albums with Bruford ("Feels good to me" and "One of a kind". Next, Allan's solo catalog. I won't highlight any of them, because they're all highlights. Enjoy!

Good vid, there's some great footage around of him with Soft Machine, a band that was a forerunner to later fusion bands, I think mid-70's.

My primary reason for watching AH videos is just to see the 'Oh, sh*t' looks on the viewer's faces. Holdswroth wasn't just on another level, he was on another planet.

I lived in England for two years in 1988. I was in a small guitar shop in London and there it was, a SynthAxe. All I could think was *Holdsworth.....*. Years later when he recently passed away there was just a blurp about it. You had to search for it to find out he had died. Nothing remotely mainstream. I wondered how a musician so talented, revered by so many, the influence of so many monster players and such a monster player himself didn't get a mention. Sad world but it's nice to see he is getting his respect in the community where it matters.

Allan was definitely not a shredder. He was a peerless improviser. He was one of the few guitarists that used technique solely as a means to an end towards his musical goals. He was one of the most important players in the history of electric guitar and that's before we even discuss his music, which was incredible.

I get emotional when i hear his music these days.. one of a kind man... He’s missed.. if you listen closely .youll notice that he emotes playing his guitar very much like John Coltrane did... theres is not much difference ...

I was fortunate enough to experience Alan live around 1984 when he came to BYU.

WOW! I'm from Allan's home town, and this is the first time I've actually watched a video of his playing. WHAT A BEAST!

That was my face about 30 years ago. :)

Love Holdsworth! If you're not familiar him already, definitely check out Shawn Lane as well!

you are amazing Anthony, what a righteous and honest listener lol, thanks

Ha, ha, ha! I am sooo excited at YOU being excited!! Holdsworth is an absolute legend; a player held in the very highest esteem by ANYBODY and EVERYBODY that knows their onions. I saw him live some years ago and whilst it's fair to say he's an acquired taste (some would say that the whole genre of jazz fusion is an acquired taste), there is simply no denying his fretboard wizardry. Such a shame a player of his calibre remains relatively unknown. I know Eddie Van Halen considers him the be the greatest player ever, yet I've heard him say in an interview that he sometimes struggled to pay his rent. When far lesser players are rolling in it... that is criminal!

Watch Shawn Lane, I would recommend "Grey Pianos Flying" or "Tri 7/5" live at MI. The dude is the beast of all beasts, hands down.

Allan Holdsworth was really big..incredible musician!

This guys ax literally sounds like a clarinet!! 😍 Amazing!

I believe an advanced alien race was trying to communicate to us through his guitar.

Hey Anthony, FYI, there's a box set of his stuff available now, you can find it on Amazon. Well worth it if you really want to delve in. I know you were impressed by his solo here but his chordal work is just as amazing once you've study him a bit. He is a giant of our instrument who changed the landscape for what a guitar can do. Happy trails.

Despite being one of the greatest guitarists that ever walked the earth, Allan didn't have a providential pot to pee in, died without a penny to his name. The fans had to pull together to pay for the wake, or so I heard....although an amazing musician, an influential force from headbangers, shredders to avant garde alike, from Van Halen to Frisell, he was very modest about his playing and always covered in self doubt in regard to his musical abilities. Hard to believe yet true......

Turned out that the amp I had built/modified by Hartley Thompson of Sheffield back then was actually one previously owned by Allan Holdsworth!! That made me very proud I can tell you!! I also bought a flight case for it that used to be Allan Holdsworths too!! Sadly don't have either now as this was back in about 1982!! Allan Holdsworth was the most amazing and mesmerizing guitarist ever. I especially loved his playing with Bruford and UK...MIND BLOWING PHRASING AND TONE!!!....

This is a beautiful video & reaction Anthony! It almost made me cry to see your genuine reaction to Allan's wonderful skill!

Wizard Holdsworth. He got his own symmetrical scales which are unsymmetric for rest of us. It sounds jazz and something else. I remember he first wanted to be sax player that says a lot. He changes playing direction(notes) all the time and different note groups. He is so into it I am not. There could be an only one like film Highlander. He was in his own playing world.

I don't think you're going to find a post-Hendrix guitarist that was more of a game-changer for the instrument than Allan. That said, there are a couple more great guitarists that weren't/aren't necessarily game-changers but perhaps envelope pushers. I would suggest (if you haven't heard them)... Ben Monder and Shawn Lane... Enjoyed the vid, thanks Anthony

It's one of the greatest things in life when you first hear him play Kind of blue did it as well as a love supreme and hot rats Subbed to your channel man because I now know how I must have looked when I heard him Last year was devestating when allan chris cornell both died Great video There should be a dedicated channel to people hear or see allan for the first time Good stuff man Thankyou

I am just as stunned and blown away by this as you are... I could never really wrap my head around jazz fusion music although i love listening to it. This was a stunning performance. Allan Holdsworth is pure gold. Rest in peace great man.

Eu sou do Brasil e amo a vibe do Allan, O Allan Holdswhorth foi um Grande Gênio da Mentalidade Guitarristica Fusion, ele tem todo o meu Respeito, sua musicalidade me Influenciou muito, e viajo ao universo quando ouço seu som que será eterno para aqueles que apreciam uma boa música, porque as músicas de Allan é de outro mundo, eu defino o Guitarrista Allan em uma frase: o Gênio Alienigena.

Holdsworth recommendation right here on KZfaq - "Believe It" - Tony Williams Lifetime - Full Album 1975. Insane playing, arguably his best playing on any record.

His work with the band UK on the song “Evermore” is sublime.

When i've discovered Allan few years ago i was blown away. He have an unique style of playing guitar, look like you hear a saxophone sometimes. I'm listening to him when i can't put down my guitar :).

I am happy for you that you found out...Go for "4:15 Bradford Executive", this made him my favourite guitar player for 30 years now.