Page 4 wo LION'S EYE — May 3, 1984 The Allan Holdsworth: Road Games by Steve Painter Allan Holdsworth is somewhat of an enigma in the music world. Considered by many (including Edward Van Halen and Neil Schon) to be the foremost electro-jazz guitar technician, ‘he is all but unknown to the mass public. His vibrantly velocious soloing abilities have graced the works of such fusion and avant-garde underground groups as U.K, Soft Machine, Jean-Luc Ponty, Gong, and Bill Bruford, among others. Associations with these ‘musicians, far removed from mainstream music, have con- tributed to Holdsworth’s anonymity, but there are basically two other reasons for this situation. One is that he rarely gets a chance to record (he has been featured on only two albums in the last six years!) being he is simply not a big name act. The second reason is that any listner who does not play guitar or at least ‘understand how a guitar is played could never grasp Holdsworth’s technical profi- ciency, stylistic subtlety, and overall innovative approach to fusion. By 1979, Holdsworth became tired of playing in other people's bands and formed a band of his own, 1.0.U. (named so because interest was prac- tically nil when the band was in it's embryonic stage, almost paying clubs to perform) with Gary Husband on drums’ and Paul Carmichael on bass. Call- ing upon veteran British vocalist Paul Williams (no, not the short geeky guy from Hollywood Squares) to provide: what little vocals this in- strumentally oriented trio would need, the resulting album, 1.0.U., became a fascinating masterpiece of modern fusion without becom- ing an over-inflated ego trip. Holdsworth has just released his second solo recording, na six-song EP entitled Road Games. 1.0.U. now consists of Holdsworth on guitar, Jeff Berlin on bass (a veteran of Zap- Eurthymics Touch by Antonette D'Orazio Touch is an excellent follow- up album to Eurythmics 1983 lp Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). Annie Lennox's voice is in top form despite reports that she was having problems with her vocal chords late last year. The music continues to com- bine innovative. synthesizers with traditionals slide guitar. The lyrics, as on the first album, are esoteric, allowing the listener to get a feeling rather than an exact meaning from the songs. On the single, “Here Comes the Rain Again,” Lennox is moody and dark. On ‘Regrets’ she warns, rather convincingly, “I've got a delicate mind/I've got a dangerous nature/And my fist collides with you furniture.” Although endowed with a fast beat, ‘Cool Blue” has menacing undertones. The title seems to fit the mood of the entire album; blue with sub- tle tones of black. For all this seriousness however, Euryth- mics do have a sense of humor; a chorus of voices in the song is heard singing ‘“How could she fall for a boy like that?’ Each time the line is sung, the voices sound more and more like the chipmunks. It sounds funny, but it exemplifies the gossip that so often accompanies, our personal relationships. Not sur- prisingly, the last cut on the album is a song called ‘‘Paint a Rumor.” ? The first’ song on side two, “The First Cut,” is similar to “Cool Blue” in that it has a fast beat. However, ‘The First Cut” is not menacing; instead it simply describes the pain and stark memory of being hurt by a lover for the first time. Perhaps the tune with the darkest and deepest felt images and tones is ‘“‘Aqua.’’ The title seems to refer to a line from ‘““Jennifer’’ on the Sweet Dreams album: ‘‘Jennifer — where are you tonight?/underneath the water.’ In fact, that line ap- pears on the inside sleeve of Touch. Sounds vanish in and out of ‘““Aqua’’ as if the listener is only semiconscious, which is probably the desired effect. It's almost as if Annie and Dave (Stewart, the other half of Eurythmics) are taking you through their own private trip: “Don’t touch me/Don’t talk to me ever again/I don't feel anything/All sensation is closed to me/l saw you put the needle in/l can still see everything.” ‘on this record,” pa, Bruford, etc), and Chad Wackerman on drums (another Zappa alumnus). While the cover depicts a dadist/cubistic version of a guitar fretboard, Holdsworth is more of an im- pressionist offering glistening chordal swirls in broad strokes of watercolor washes. The back cover bears the legend, “There is no synthesizer or keyboards a fact made more amazing by a listen to the title track. Opening with a unison guitar- bass lightning scale run, ‘Road Games’’ leaps into a metallic chord progression with vocals courtesy .of Paul Williams. Drawing stunningly piano-like tones from his guitar, Holdsworth bursts into a solo that virtually shreds speakers. In the background, a two- handed arpeggio ripples with the tone of synthesizer. “Three Sheeta to the Wind’’ launches into a mellow jazz progression of soft, arpeggiated crescendos. Demonstrating his understan- ding of the tension-and-release principles in Holdsworth delicately em- broiders the melody before climaxing in a two-handed har- monic explosion. Misty chords are overlapped by short melodic phrases in “Water on the Brain-Part 11,” a showcase for Jeff Berlin's fluid - bass playing. He demonstrates his virtuosity through the slip- pery bass solo, while Holdsworth’s icily chiming chords beckon in the distance. Appropriately titled, “Tokyo Dream’ overlaps gentle arpeg- gios, amazing orchestral sounds, and street-scenery tex- " tures to produce the opium- soloing, induced imagery of Oriental nightlife. The mercurial solo trickles into an exposition of Holdsworth’s lyrical passion. An abrupt contrast, “Was There?’ (featuring Jack Bruce from Cream on vocals) resolves it’s chaotic, dissonant verses in- to broadly sweeping chords. Ablaze with Hendrixian fission, Holdsworth tucks wonderfully abrasive solos into corners with a wailing urgency. ; The final tune, ‘‘Material Real,” opens with a cloud-like spaciness similar to ‘‘Shallow Seas’’ from Holdsworth’s previous solo outing, 1.0.U. It then leaps into a Jack Bruce vocal with 1.O.U. simply pro- . viding a rhythmic accompani- ment before dissolving in a single ominous chord. Simple Minds: Sparkle in the Rain by Antonette D'Orazio Steve Lillywhite has added Simple Minds to his impressive list of productions. Although the hollow sound that is Lillywhite's trademark has hindered studio albums of bands such as U2, it is well suited to the vast, echoing sound of Simple Minds. The percussion is reminiscent of Larry Mullen, Jr. of U2, and ex- emplifies the muffled drum- ming that Lillywhite seems to like. However, where the per- cussion was not prominent enough on Simple Minds’ last album, New Gold Dream pro- duced by Pete Walsh, it is com- fortably noticeable on Sparkle in the Rain. The music is crisp and cat- chy, but not annoyingly poppy like ‘‘Promised You a Miracle” from New Gold Dream. It is all upbeat except for the beautiful and haunting ‘‘East at Easter,” which contains lines like, “We'll -child . .. go walking hand in hand/We will walk you, walk you little They're gonna lighten up the’ sky...” It is comparable to U2’s “Drowning Man;”’ both’ lead singers, Bono Hewson of U2 and Jim Kerr of Simple Minds, drench the songs with emotion and mystery. The con- stant motion of the music in both tunes is also similar. Simple Minds seems to be a multi-dimensional band. On “Waterfront’’ they offer an in- vitation to ‘‘Step in, step out of the rain/I'm gonna walk on up to the waterfront ... Come in, come out of the rain ...”” And they are surprisingly sentimen- tal: ‘Thank you for the pictures of living ... Some say we'll be - together for a very long time" (Book of Brilliant Things), and “Just my imagination ... You go to my head/With the flames that go higher and higher ... Speed your love to me" (Speed Your Love to Me). Yet, they can be rather explicit as in Street 3 me,” Hassle. They also explore the various aspects, negative and positive, of time in “White Hot Day.” Unlike Culture Club, Simple Minds does it in a more original way. Some people may write off Simple Minds as a mellow, keyboard-based band. However, ‘The Kick Inside of Me,” with its hard, solid rock- ing, heavy baseline, and rough vocals shows Simple Minds’ versatility. Kerr's voice varies from tough, to smooth and clear, while always remaining strong. The final cut on the album is a calming instrumental called “Shaking Off the. Ghosts.” It ties in with “The Kick Inside of Me,” which contains the line “Shake off the ghost inside of and forms a nice contrast. Sparkle in the Rain does not have one week track on it. Sim- ple Minds has grown and im- proved while continuing to give us great music. Immediately following this song is ‘‘No Fear, No Hate, No Pain (No Broken Hearts),” whose introduction leads you to believe it’s going to be just like ‘“Aqua.” Don’t be fooled. The song seems to almost literally break as Lennox’s vocals cut through the music clearly and strongly. She varies her voice .on successive words, through multi-tracking, between oc- taves. This adds a dramatic ef- fect to possibly the best cut on "PPP POPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPOPPPIOOIOOPOIOIYy VIDE 0 GALLER Y 203 E. 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The only cut that is entirely out of place and un- characteristic of not only the album, but the band itself, is “Right By Your Side.” It sounds like “Eurythmics go jungle — yeah!’ Lennox in- cludes monkey sounds and the line, ‘I need to swing from limb to limb ...” Eurythmics have more integrity and intelligence than this. However, don’t let this one song discourage you from getting this otherwise superb album. You can catch Eurythmics in concert at the Tower Theater on ‘Saturday, March 31. Make Smokey’ Birthday Wish Come Irue. “ z A Public Service of This Newspaper & The Advertising Council
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