Allan Holdsworth, Against The Clock: The Best of Allan Holdsworth

Allan Holdsworth, Against The Clock: The Best of Allan Holdsworth

Disc 1 - GUITAR

1. Tokyo Dream (Japan Version) (5:03)

2. Sphere Of Innocence (5:56)

3. Ruhkuhan (5:31)

4. Low Levels High Stakes (9:02)

5. How Deep Is The Ocean (5:28)

6. Nuages (5:38)

7. Devil Take The Hindmost (5:34)

8. Home (5:26)

9. Peril Premonition (4:42)

10. The Sixteen Men Of Tain (6:23)

11. Mr. Berwell (6:08)

12. Looking Glass (4:25)

13. Pud Wud (6:40)

Disc 2 - SYNTHAXE + new tracks*

1. Spokes (3:29)

2. Distance vs. Desire (5:14)

3. Macman (3:59)

4. Against The Clock (4:54)

5. Eeny Meeny (4:37)

6. Secrets (4:20)

7. Bo Peep (3:41)

8. Postlude (5:32)

9. All Our Yesterdays (5:24)

10. Eidolon (4:30)

11. Sundays (3:55)

12. Let's Throw Shrimp (3:26*)

13. Shenandoah (3:15*)

Allan Holdsworth (electric and acoustic guitar, Synthaxe)

Gordon Beck (digital piano)

Dave Carpenter (acoustic bass)

Billy Childs (keyboards)

Kirk Covington (drums)

Steve Hunt (keyboards)

Gary Husband (drums)

Jimmy Johnson (bass guitar)

Gary Novak (drums)

Alan Pasqua (keyboards)

Skuli Sverrisson (bass)

Bob Wackerman (bass)

Chad Wackerman (drums)

Tony Williams (drums) Gary Willis (bass)

Vinnie Collaiuta (drums)

John England (MAC computer)

Rowanne Mark (vocals)

Naomi Star (vocals)

Biff Vincent (octopad bass)

Presented as the "Definitive Allan Holdsworth Retrospective" by Allan's (real!) official site, one is left wondering why the man feels it's time for a retrospective and why he's up 'against the clock'. Let's hope it's nothing too serious! (Relax, it's actually a reference to the incredible amount of time he spends perfecting every aspect of his albums.) In the meantime, Holdsworth continues to be as influential as a guitar god can be in the jazz-rock fusion underworld from where, for some bizarre quirk of fate, he seems never to have climbed into the sunlight enjoyed, nay basked in by those who flock to sample the morsels from beneath his table, John McLaughlin: "If I knew what you were doing, I'd steal everything", Eddie Van Halen: "I can't understand what he's doing", Pat Metheny: "It is a real mystery to me why he is not a household name". It's also a mystery to his hoards of followers that tend to split into two groups, fans of the guitar, and fans of the guitar and synthaxe. Roughly the same can be said of John McLaughlin's fanbase, unconditional fans and those that stopped listening soon after the early Mahavishnu days. What a lot they missed!

Speaking of which, if you are among the frustrated Holdsworth hoard that have been scuppered by Allan's albums going in and out of print then this collection could be your salvation. Holdsworth's own selection from nine albums stretching back over two decades both gives control back to the artist and provides us with an insight of what makes the man tick. It is rightly packaged as being definitive as it is both a starting point for the new listener and an ending point for the veteran, with the reward of a couple of tracks previously available only in Japan. Holdsworth is still very active, in the studio and often performing with many of his mates gathered across the albums represented herein, but he obviously feels that we're due something new and this marks the (time)line.