Allan Holdsworth – Atavachron

Wow, this kills. I bought this the same day the “Countdown to Ecstasy” UHQR arrived. Both records sound amazing, but this sounds even better! Phenomenal sonics.

well, maybe the synthaxe never caught on after all. what the hell is a synthaxe? well, it's a synth controller shaped like a guitar. a guitar synth that's more synth than guitar. if you listen to this record, you'll hear a ton of it.

that's right - all those archetypal synth solos are actually guitar solos. maybe the problem was that they were archetypal synth solos.

it's one thing to showcase a new instrument, it's another to showcase a new instrument and have nobody know that you're showcasing a new instrument. you'll be forgiven if you walk away from this thinking "gee, allan holdsworth is a great synth player, but who is his guitar player? whoever it is plays some pretty neat stuff, too.....and, wow, what a horn player!". i may laugh. but mr. holdsworth would not be amused.

the most interesting parts of the record are where the non guitars magically morph into guitars. track 2 has such a moment, where what sounds like a reed instrument seamlessly becomes an electric guitar. but these things are so remarkably geeky and subtle that you would again be forgiven for not even noticing.

thankfully, for the average listener, this is a nicely put together jazz record. you don't need to understand what you're listening to to enjoy it. but, do take the moment to recognize that you're listening to a virtuosic musician experiment with a ground breaking new instrument that you've never even heard of.