The best documentary of Holdsworth's early music and history I've seen to date. Thank you for your hard work and diligence in putting this together with such dedication and sincerity...nothing less than what his music deserves.
Love this video. It takes me back to the day in 1982 when I bought this album in a record store in Austin, Texas and the clerk let me sit down in a chair and listen to it with headphones right then and there in the store, I was so anxious to hear it. That never happened before or since. I remember sitting there with headphones on with tears in my eyes because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, that this kind of playing was possible. Never forget that day.
Fantastic doc!!!! Thank YOU!! I was incredibly blessed to be at that packed Roxy show when Alan and Eddie jammed. Everyone knew that was a historical moment! The reaction of the entire crowd from the first song could only be described as SHOCK AND AWE!!❤❤❤
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! This album was my introduction to the genius of Holdsworth when I was just 17. As a professional career musician and record maker, I cannot overestimate the inspiration and fire I have drawn from his music, but especially this album. I can't imagine how difficult it was to put this information together, but finding all this out after 35 years of studying and memorizing every note of this masterpiece heightens what it means to me that much more profoundly. What a gift you have given us!
Allan Holdsworth is our Shakespeare, DaVinci, and of course Tesla all in one and I got to meet him and see him many times. Thank you, grateful !!!! EDIT : I forgot to tell you what a WONDERFUL job you did on this documentary. It is so thorough, and passionate. I can see it was made with real admiration, and not just something to do.
Gawd, I knew Allan had struggled but this video really brought it home to me how close he came to giving it all up. Thank goodness he and the band persevered. Even after all this he was never really understood by the cookie cutter music industry. Nevertheless he managed to produce an outstanding body of work that will stand the test of time. I count myself very lucky to have witnessed his incredible brilliance on a number of occasions. RIP Maestro.
I met Allan when he played with Gordon Beck at a small club in Edinburgh around 80/81, must have been less than 50 people at the gig. He was astonished that I knew about his music and the people he had played with and he did tell me the same story about considering selling all his gear and packing it all in. Think the only thing that stopped him must have been the Eddie Van Halen patronage and Warner Bros deal, although once he got there it never worked out as planned. I met him a couple of other times, he was a real gent and one of the best musicians this planet will ever see. RIP, the man who changed guitar forever.
@@kevthebass It's well worth watching the video about the making of Road Games too. As much as I and thousands of Allan fans appreciated Ed's public praising of his hero, Ed's dark side came out big time, and his total lack of understanding of Allan's music became apparent, along with his massive and ridiculous ego trip, basically feeling himself entitled to impose his own vision of what he thought Allan ought to be doing, and he and Ted Templeman became Allan's biggest obstacle to achieving his own vision, although Allan ultimately prevailed, thank goodness.
Thank you for making this splendid programme! IOU remains my favourite AH album and I still remember the sonic shock I felt when I first heard it. I had very little money at the time and to pay £10 for an album in 1983 was a tough decision that I have never regretted. I still have that original vinyl. In late 1981 I was lucky enough to see Allan play in Maidstone, Kent with Gary Husband, Gordon Beck and Jeff Clyne! (Gary is the only one still with us...) After the gig, which was excellent - I remember White Line in particular, as an instrumental! - I got the chance to talk with Allan, who indeed was about to quit the scene and take a job as a fork lift truck driver. He actually said "I'm tired of banging my head against a wall, I've just got this gig in America to do and that's it.. " An unbelievable genius and a humble, perhaps even tortured artist. Thanks again, this is so great!
Wow thanks so much! So incredible you saw him at such an important time in his career, he is a true trooper and really worked hard and all his success in the 80s and acclaim was so well deserved
When the original IOU album came out, I was already a fan knowing Allan from UK and the Bruford band which was my favorite at the time. I saw a single copy at the best record shop in my home town and didn't the money on me. When I returned it was gone never to return. I had to wait for the red cover reissue to hear it. I was fortunate to see probably as much as anyone under very intimate circumstances. I moved to Los Angeles in 1986. His favorite spot to gig was The Baked Potato, which he visited at least twice a year. That place is the size of a shoe box. Gary came out here twice and was amazing. Most often it was Chad on drums.
I was at one of those first IOU gigs in San Fransisco in '82. It brings tears of joy to my eyes to realize that I was a part of Allan's triumphant arrival to America as a band leader after years of struggle as a side man. Thank you for putting this heart felt documentary together.
We all were excited by his fluid soloing, but we had no idea he could compose like THAT! The music he contributed to Ponty, Bruford and Gong, did not prepare any of us for hamonic sophistication that Allan was capable of in a keyboardless drum, bass and guitar band. I bought the black IOU album at the gig.
Gary was like a more contemporary Tony Williams, just as jarring, inside and explosive, but with a more rock familiarity. He hit hard and did things no one else thought of powerfully, but with a level of music. He really hit hard! didn't know UK opened for VH in 78. Wild.
@@rubyjones01 Gary is AMAZING !!!!! Very humble guy, too. I asked him how he liked playing with my other favorite band, Level 42, and his answer was, "It was fun."
Great retrospective on a great artist and debut album. I was so blessed to be able to see IOU in Baltimore MD during this time all those years ago. The audience was small but the impression I was left with was HUGE and unforgettable. Allan Holdsworth and this band in particular were amazing indeed. An inspiration for so many others that followed after.
Road Games came out in 1983, one year after IOU. Allan himself was not happy with the production of it where he was overruled by Templeman. But I think it is really very good.
Thank you so much for making this! Great video, i had no idea of all the struggles and hardship Allan had to endure. Heard the album many decades ago when i was 14 and it still amazes me.
Excellent job! Thank you so much! I was one of many that saw those early IOU gigs in SF. Allan has no equal as a composer or guitarist. You have done his legacy justice here.
This album was jaw dropping when it came out, and remains so. That longevity- holding up as well as it has- testifies to it's legendary greatness. For me- of all his entries, this one is THE ONE. I'd seen Allan with Tony, but the incarnation of IOU was a leap forward in his guitar evolution. The band is as one, with each member superbly talented on their instrument. All tracks are interesting- no dead air. When I first heard the Williams vocals, I thought..what? He sounds like Tom Jones! But it worked! The harmony is so idiosyncratic - I wonder if Jones could handle it, let alone anyone else-but Paul soared thru the demands. Not everyone gets what this recording was about, but those of us that do- really do. Thanks for the posting.
Amazing work, congratulations! Mixed in two days, makes this album even more unique. Through this making-of, you gave Allan the respect and recognition he deserves. Thank you.
Excellent video! I remember seeing the IOU band in Birmingham playing this material around 1981/1982. I wasn't sure of what to make of it at the time as it sounded so different to anything else, but it's certainly stood the test of time. Amazing compositions and course, superlative playing!
Many many thanks for this long overdue deep dive into IOU. This album was a nexus in time and music - a zero AD or CE so to speak. I first learned of IOU in a Guitar Player magazine album review around 1981, and having already loved Enigmatic Ocean and One Of A Kind, I tried it on a whim. It utterly changed my world. There will never be another Allan Holdsworth.
I met Allan many times. Had a beer with him once. We talked about cycling. I saw him perform for one week straight in Tempe, Az back in 1982. That’s where I bought my copy of IOU. I was part of the Holdsworth cult! Didn’t find out later that EVH was a fan! I wish I would have went to that Roxy show! Thanks for uploading!
@@fantasticoadidas thank you my friend! The Allan Holdsworth story is just a testament to the lengths people will go to express themselves in their art!
@@rubyjones01 Amazing he was, Allan Holdsworth. He opened up my mind to accept lots of difficult things to learn (while listening) and also lots of difficult decisions. To lots of people his music is 'weird', well, let all of us Allan Holdsworth listeners be 'weird' then, I don't care for a second. Please keep on going with your excellent video's, love them !
Love your video of the making of IOU. What a fantastic documentary. Attended very first IOU tour in San Francisco (club called The Stone). Quite an honor to become friends with Allan through the early '80s till '92, prior to leaving California. Saw Allan perform close to 30 gigs between '82 through '92. I recorded a song last year called "Egyptian Eyes." Tribute to his great inspiration throughout the main part of my career. Cheers...subscribed. 😻
EXCELLENT. Ruby. You scared me a bit at first. But the info was so dead on that with the first 5 minutes it was realized you are seriously one fantastic journalist. You've done a justice to someone that permanently changed guitar, writing and production. Please do more.
I remember being in high school and having to specially order this from the local record hut. And as you may expect my contemporaries in HS looked at me like I had antlers growing out of my forehead when I'd play it for them. As far as I'm concerned it was one of the best albums he ever made.
Me too! I was 16 when it came out. I found it at a Tower Records in a nearby large city. I flipped out like I'd found gold. I even played the album for my H.S. Jazz Ensemble teacher and he just stood there speechless.
I stupidly sold my vinyl mail ordered copy of IOU in the late 80's cause never had space in the very small places I live in, and needed sell off my records. I regret this very very much, although I have IOU back in CD format. This record is still way ahead of it's time, remarkable in every aspect! Monster Album
Wow. Much work and love has been put into this, I can see! Great video, perfect narration, excellent effort IMO! Hopefully many new ears will get to appreciate Allan's music thanks to this, too!
Stunning video and fantastically narrated! It's a shame that there's actually less info available out there on his albums from Atavachron onwards. While we know so little about the making of, say, Sand or Hard Hat Area, I suppose we can move towards the point where all his tracks are transcribed and charted. I'll try to release another transcription this month, and everyone's looking forward to the massive video John Vullo is soon releasing on all things Holdsworth.
Thank you so much! I agree so much! Hopefully if more videos are made like These more info may come to light, atleast I really hope so! I love John’s videos and wowed many guitar player friends with his top 10 hardest Holdsworth chord videos 🤣 Well done on your transcriptions!! They’re amazing my friend! Keep up the good work!
@@rubyjones01 It feels like Holdsworth scholarship really is becoming a bit of a thing- I heard a mention of someone currently doing a PhD on his harmony, there's the occasional masters dissertation out there, and I saw an an amazing piece of visualiser software somebody had programmed, showing the moving harmonic centres of a Holdsworth track in real time. Sadly none from UK academics - clearly he's still received better overseas than here. Keep up the good work too!
Great video and I learned so much about AH and IOU. I discovered his music while listening to early Bruford records and the first AH LP I picked up was Metal Fatigue. After that I was hooked.
It has taken me years to get into Allan's music, and I'm still having to take his music in slowly - on a song by song basis - but it's been worth the effort. Plus, you've made me re-evaluate Paul Williams. I had assumed for some reason that vocals had been forced on the album by a producer. It also breaks my heart to hear how much hardship Allan went through during his life.
Wow, That was awesome!!!! What a story..I was one of those fans in NYC that grabbed everything i could from him, We even had a cover band playing his songs! (Not very well, but , hey I became a professional musician afterwards) Thank you so much for this!
This is a fantastic achievement, and well appreciated by this old died in the wool Holdsworth devotee! Thank you so much for telling this incredible story of the greatest electric guitar player ever to walk the Earth!
I love Dis Recud!I bought dis in San Leandro, Cali,back in 88,listen to it all the time.Heavy rotation in my collection,from IOU to Sand,good stuff!Just saying,thanks for anything on The Master!
Thank you so much…his music has spoken to my soul more deeply than any for years. Thanks for the taking the time 😊I can imagine videos from his other albums too…also what or where is Enby?🙂
Thanks for the nice video! Here's my Allan gig experience. I went to see him as a youngster, must have been late 70s, in a club in London. I think it was in Oxford Street, maybe the 101 club. There were only 20 or 30 there, talking over the music etc. I remember Allan getting irritated. I also remember seeing him drinking a beer or two! He played as you'd expect and there were maybe 8 or 10 guitarists sitting a few feet from him. A few years later (maybe 1984) I was at music school myself, and he had moved to USA but was playing a gig in a smallish place in Old Street, London. I said to a friend, "come and see him play, there won't be many there"...... We couldn't even get in, the queue was really long, they took our money and said watch from the foyer on a monitor! I then saw him a few years after in Glasgow at the Renfrew Ferry. Did anyone else go to any of these gigs?
Thank you so much! What an incredible story! I’ve loved hearing all these stories about Allan and his career and in a way it’s helped me get even closer to understanding him! Sadly I was just 16 when he passed and didn’t even hear his name mentioned until I Heard brufords Hells Bells for the first time age 17, it definitely changed my life and opened my eyes to both my favourite drummer and guitarist at the same time!
I bought this Album at one of those first three shows at the Roxy in LA when it came out. It and the show were completely ear opening. Including Gary Husband's incredibly unique drumming and Paul Carmichael's bass playing. Truly a seminal album 🎸
Wow. I can't say anymore than what all the other comments have been saying. A nicely detailed synopsis of his early years leading to IOU. I didn't know about him selling his Gibson for a plane ticket. I feel a little guilty hearing how hard it was personally when all you hear is the beauty in his playing even as a sideman. I was listening recently to his solo on "Halfway House" from "The Unique Concert" album and thinking... So beautiful. Cheers for this.
Thank you Peter! I agree, there’s a great interview with John Wetton from 78 where he mentions Allan being tired of being “wheeled out on stage with all these different bands to do a solo” and that sums up perfectly his sideman output for me! Thank you for watching my friend!
Wow!!! This is an absolutely fantastic documentary in every possible way, from the research to the writing and editing, you've done our beloved late maestro an enormous service. Very well done indeed, my friend, I heartily applaud your work and now looking forward to watching the one about Road Games! You mentioned you're a drummer, by chance do you have any of your music out there to enjoy?
By far my favorite album by Allan. Having struggled with the book Reaching for the Uncommon Chord, I learned the complexity of his playing. This documentary uncovered so much detail of which I was unaware. Beyond the instrumental wizardry, I couldn't understand why I gravitated to the album. It was the ebb and flow of the time based on how it was recorded. Thank you for your work.
Very nice video on a period of Allan's development that was always so mysterious and interesting. That IOU record had legions of guitarists either burning/selling their guitars or doubling and tripling down their practice regimens.
Thank you so much for putting that together, I really enjoyed it and just subscribed here. Even for huge fans like myself, you excellent research highlighted a number of things I never knew. Also, a tip of the hat to you for your writing here. Don't know if your an published author, but it wouldn't surprise me a bit. Cheers.
I got to open for Alan and Steve mores of the Dixie dregs in Dallas doing his IOU tour , the time of my life . I’m a bass player the other two were Gerry peak and Jeff Berlin. Alan was nice and very humble, got to say thanks and shake his hand and yes they were big , what a memory, peace Alan.
Awesome history and things I never knew... just subbed your channel love to see a follow up with his later years involving Chad Wackerman and Jimmie Johnson Gary Husband great musician also played for the awesome Level 42 and who got Holdsworth to play on their Gauranteed album.
Dear Ruby, Thank you so much for this. Heard when I needed it the most. Peace and Love Jesse. P.S. I own one of the original black-covered IOU albums signed by Allan.
Amazing tribute, thank you ❤️🔥 I remember seeing him live here in Ottawa Canada when I was 16 in the early 80’s. EVH had turned us on and I watched in awe and delighted confusion.
Lucky enough (blessed, really) to have seen Allan in the 80s at the Soft Rock Cafe in Vancouver. A small 200 seater and my brother-in-law and I were front row centre. We met Allan afterwards who was a complete gentleman and even let my brother-in-law play his Charvel (I didn't have the guts! lol) I was talking with with AH's manager afterwards and he said [paraphrasing] "There's this kid from Texas Allan really loves and wants to bring him on the road with us". That kid was Eric Johnson. RIP, Maestro
When that album first came out, it was mail order only. That's how I got it after hearing Allan with Bruford's and Tony Williams' albums. What blew my mind on I.O.U. was the unveiling of Allan's chordal thing; you never really witnessed that on the other people's albums that he played on.
Agreed! That’s the big leap with this album! Like we knew he was a soloing genius but apart from maybe the intro to Mental Medication and Nevermore intro by U.K. we had no idea about Allan’s chordal genius and songcraft
I saw Allan play the IOU material in a London pub with his trio around 1980. It was clear he was a genius the like of which had never been seen before & would never be seen again. Yet the pub was barely full & he couldn't get a record deal as you mention 🤔 I really wish I'd had some spare money at the time as I'd gladly have have offered him some financial support to promote his music. I met Gordon & Dick Knight when they fitted the same type of stainless steel frets to my strat as they'd fitted to Allan's. Nice chaps. I like the info you give out in this vid. Though ironically allans wonderful music in the background is a little distracting when listening to your commentary
Brilliant Historical account of the making of a rare but excellent album ......Gary & Allan gave each other the improvisational latitude to be fully creative. I would have thought that a lot of the modern Pro Tools recording technology Allan would probably have seen as a return to 'JIGSAW MUSIC' as he called it with its non continuous live performance cut/shunt and paste assembly techniques.
![Gambale and Holdsworth [Featuring Brett Stine]](/img/1.gif)
The best documentary of Holdsworth's early music and history I've seen to date. Thank you for your hard work and diligence in putting this together with such dedication and sincerity...nothing less than what his music deserves.
Thank you my friend!
Excellent presentation. Learning about Allan is like learning about the evolution of the human race…he was sent for our advancement.
This is really good!!! Thank you so much for doing this. You really did justice to Allan’s work!
Thank you so much friend ☺️
Love this video. It takes me back to the day in 1982 when I bought this album in a record store in Austin, Texas and the clerk let me sit down in a chair and listen to it with headphones right then and there in the store, I was so anxious to hear it. That never happened before or since. I remember sitting there with headphones on with tears in my eyes because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, that this kind of playing was possible. Never forget that day.
Oh wow! What an incredible story! I love that for you!
I can imagine hearing it for the first time back then must’ve been amazing
Fantastic doc!!!! Thank YOU!!
I was incredibly blessed to be at that packed Roxy show when Alan and Eddie jammed. Everyone knew that was a historical moment! The reaction of the entire crowd from the first song could only be described as SHOCK AND AWE!!❤❤❤
Do you remember what song they played?
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! This album was my introduction to the genius of Holdsworth when I was just 17. As a professional career musician and record maker, I cannot overestimate the inspiration and fire I have drawn from his music, but especially this album. I can't imagine how difficult it was to put this information together, but finding all this out after 35 years of studying and memorizing every note of this masterpiece heightens what it means to me that much more profoundly. What a gift you have given us!
Thank you so much!!
Allan Holdsworth is our Shakespeare, DaVinci, and of course Tesla all in one and I got to meet him and see him many times. Thank you, grateful !!!!
EDIT : I forgot to tell you what a WONDERFUL job you did on this documentary. It is so thorough, and passionate. I can see it was made with real admiration, and not just something to do.
Thank you my friend! Very envious that you got to meet him!
@@rubyjones01 Many times ! Along with the other guys in the band, too. Just regular NERDS.
Gawd, I knew Allan had struggled but this video really brought it home to me how close he came to giving it all up. Thank goodness he and the band persevered. Even after all this he was never really understood by the cookie cutter music industry. Nevertheless he managed to produce an outstanding body of work that will stand the test of time. I count myself very lucky to have witnessed his incredible brilliance on a number of occasions. RIP Maestro.
Definitely! Great stuff my friend! Sadly I was just 16 when he passed and didn’t get chance to ever witness the maestro in full flight!
I met Allan when he played with Gordon Beck at a small club in Edinburgh around 80/81, must have been less than 50 people at the gig. He was astonished that I knew about his music and the people he had played with and he did tell me the same story about considering selling all his gear and packing it all in. Think the only thing that stopped him must have been the Eddie Van Halen patronage and Warner Bros deal, although once he got there it never worked out as planned. I met him a couple of other times, he was a real gent and one of the best musicians this planet will ever see. RIP, the man who changed guitar forever.
@@kevthebass It's well worth watching the video about the making of Road Games too. As much as I and thousands of Allan fans appreciated Ed's public praising of his hero, Ed's dark side came out big time, and his total lack of understanding of Allan's music became apparent, along with his massive and ridiculous ego trip, basically feeling himself entitled to impose his own vision of what he thought Allan ought to be doing, and he and Ted Templeman became Allan's biggest obstacle to achieving his own vision, although Allan ultimately prevailed, thank goodness.
Thank you for making this splendid programme! IOU remains my favourite AH album and I still remember the sonic shock I felt when I first heard it. I had very little money at the time and to pay £10 for an album in 1983 was a tough decision that I have never regretted. I still have that original vinyl. In late 1981 I was lucky enough to see Allan play in Maidstone, Kent with Gary Husband, Gordon Beck and Jeff Clyne! (Gary is the only one still with us...)
After the gig, which was excellent - I remember White Line in particular, as an instrumental! - I got the chance to talk with Allan, who indeed was about to quit the scene and take a job as a fork lift truck driver. He actually said "I'm tired of banging my head against a wall, I've just got this gig in America to do and that's it.. "
An unbelievable genius and a humble, perhaps even tortured artist. Thanks again, this is so great!
Wow thanks so much! So incredible you saw him at such an important time in his career, he is a true trooper and really worked hard and all his success in the 80s and acclaim was so well deserved
When the original IOU album came out, I was already a fan knowing Allan from UK and the Bruford band which was my favorite at the time. I saw a single copy at the best record shop in my home town and didn't the money on me. When I returned it was gone never to return. I had to wait for the red cover reissue to hear it. I was fortunate to see probably as much as anyone under very intimate circumstances. I moved to Los Angeles in 1986. His favorite spot to gig was The Baked Potato, which he visited at least twice a year. That place is the size of a shoe box. Gary came out here twice and was amazing. Most often it was Chad on drums.
I was at one of those first IOU gigs in San Fransisco in '82. It brings tears of joy to my eyes to realize that I was a part of Allan's triumphant arrival to America as a band leader after years of struggle as a side man. Thank you for putting this heart felt documentary together.
Wow! Thank you so much my friend! I bet those gigs were magical, how did you first hear of Holdsworth and what were those gigs like?
We all were excited by his fluid soloing, but we had no idea he could compose like THAT! The music he contributed to Ponty, Bruford and Gong, did not prepare any of us for hamonic sophistication that Allan was capable of in a keyboardless drum, bass and guitar band. I bought the black IOU album at the gig.
@@SkidMark_Music5575 definitely! Even on Holdsworth penned tracks like Nevermore, we had no idea about the true extent of his chord mastery!
Gary was like a more contemporary Tony Williams, just as jarring, inside and explosive, but with a more rock familiarity. He hit hard and did things no one else thought of powerfully, but with a level of music. He really hit hard! didn't know UK opened for VH in 78. Wild.
I love Gary’s playing so much, he is a big influence on my drumming for sure, there’s just so much joy in his playing
@@rubyjones01 Gary is AMAZING !!!!! Very humble guy, too. I asked him how he liked playing with my other favorite band, Level 42, and his answer was, "It was fun."
Thank you, Ruby, for this time travel.. very well done. passion never dies.
Thanks very much really enjoyed the video, got to see him play live just the once, on home turf at, Leeds Irish Centre.
I’ve been lobbying for a movie while his contemporaries are still alive
There’s so much to his life story.
Bravo!!
Thank you for making this. I have been a fan of Allan since I heard him in 1985 (Metal Fatigue). I was blown away, and still am.
Great retrospective on a great artist and debut album.
I was so blessed to be able to see
IOU in Baltimore MD during this time all those years ago. The audience was small but the impression I was left with was HUGE and unforgettable. Allan Holdsworth and this band in particular were amazing indeed. An inspiration for so many others that followed after.
Road Games came out in 1983, one year after IOU. Allan himself was not happy with the production of it where he was overruled by Templeman. But I think it is really very good.
The most thorough and complete video on Allan's best album. Thanks so much for your work, really appreciated!
Thank you so much my friend!!
Thank you so much for making this! Great video, i had no idea of all the struggles and hardship Allan had to endure. Heard the album many decades ago when i was 14 and it still amazes me.
Amazing video. Thank you for making it. Such an important tribute to a legend
Excellent job! Thank you so much! I was one of many that saw those early IOU gigs in SF. Allan has no equal as a composer or guitarist. You have done his legacy justice here.
Wow thank you so much! Those gigs must have been something really special!
Fantastic. Thanks for making this video.
This album was jaw dropping when it came out, and remains so. That longevity- holding up as well as it has- testifies to it's legendary greatness. For me- of all his entries, this one is THE ONE. I'd seen Allan with Tony, but the incarnation of IOU was a leap forward in his guitar evolution. The band is as one, with each member superbly talented on their instrument. All tracks are interesting- no dead air. When I first heard the Williams vocals, I thought..what? He sounds like Tom Jones! But it worked! The harmony is so idiosyncratic - I wonder if Jones could handle it, let alone anyone else-but Paul soared thru the demands. Not everyone gets what this recording was about, but those of us that do- really do. Thanks for the posting.
Thank you my friend! I can’t imagine how exciting it must’ve been to hear this when it first came out!
Amazing work, congratulations! Mixed in two days, makes this album even more unique. Through this making-of, you gave Allan the respect and recognition he deserves. Thank you.
Thank you so much my friend! Mixing an album in two days like that must’ve been a nightmare
Excellent video! I remember seeing the IOU band in Birmingham playing this material around 1981/1982. I wasn't sure of what to make of it at the time as it sounded so different to anything else, but it's certainly stood the test of time. Amazing compositions and course, superlative playing!
That was great...thanks for putting that together...
Many many thanks for this long overdue deep dive into IOU. This album was a nexus in time and music - a zero AD or CE so to speak.
I first learned of IOU in a Guitar Player magazine album review around 1981, and having already loved Enigmatic Ocean and One Of A Kind, I tried it on a whim. It utterly changed my world.
There will never be another Allan Holdsworth.
Anyone knows what happened to that white Gibson SG ?
This is a must keep album...every few months when you listen to it gives you the same ground breaking wow feeling all over again.
What a great video. I never new much of this information. Thank you so much!
thank you my friend!
I met Allan many times. Had a beer with him once. We talked about cycling. I saw him perform for one week straight in Tempe, Az back in 1982. That’s where I bought my copy of IOU. I was part of the Holdsworth cult! Didn’t find out later that EVH was a fan! I wish I would have went to that Roxy show! Thanks for uploading!
Superb work, thank you!
Hands up to you Ruby. I did not know lots of these backgrounds. Learned lots of new stuff and more of what honest music is about. Many thanks !
@@fantasticoadidas thank you my friend! The Allan Holdsworth story is just a testament to the lengths people will go to express themselves in their art!
@@rubyjones01 Amazing he was, Allan Holdsworth. He opened up my mind to accept lots of difficult things to learn (while listening) and also lots of difficult decisions. To lots of people his music is 'weird', well, let all of us Allan Holdsworth listeners be 'weird' then, I don't care for a second. Please keep on going with your excellent video's, love them !
@@fantasticoadidas thank you my friend! The weirder the better
Wondered job. Beautiful video with so much information!
Love your video of the making of IOU. What a fantastic documentary. Attended very first IOU tour in San Francisco (club called The Stone). Quite an honor to become friends with Allan through the early '80s till '92, prior to leaving California. Saw Allan perform close to 30 gigs between '82 through '92. I recorded a song last year called "Egyptian Eyes." Tribute to his great inspiration throughout the main part of my career. Cheers...subscribed. 😻
EXCELLENT.
Ruby. You scared me a bit at first. But the info was so dead on that with the first 5 minutes it was realized you are seriously one fantastic journalist. You've done a justice to someone that permanently changed guitar, writing and production. Please do more.
Thank you my friend
What were you scared about?
thank you for such complete journey!
Excellent Ruby!!
What an articulate and fantastic review.
Thank you. This is an excellent, in depth presentation. Bravo!
I remember being in high school and having to specially order this from the local record hut. And as you may expect my contemporaries in HS looked at me like I had antlers growing out of my forehead when I'd play it for them. As far as I'm concerned it was one of the best albums he ever made.
Me too! I was 16 when it came out. I found it at a Tower Records in a nearby large city. I flipped out like I'd found gold. I even played the album for my H.S. Jazz Ensemble teacher and he just stood there speechless.
I stupidly sold my vinyl mail ordered copy of IOU in the late 80's
cause never had space in the very small places I live in, and needed sell off my records.
I regret this very very much, although I have IOU back in CD format.
This record is still way ahead of it's time, remarkable in every aspect!
Monster Album
Pretty much anything about Allan gets my vote. Thanks.
Oh, you've clearly done your research. Well done. This was great.
...the genius album..my first and fav..Allan Holdsworth album..bought in black cover..1983.Cheers for the great doc from Australia.
Thank you my friend!! I agree, my favourite too, just seems so raw and energetic
Another great video! Thank you Ruby!
Thank you my friend! Apologies I’ve not yet replied to your message! I will speak soon
Thank you, that was fantastic !
Wow. Much work and love has been put into this, I can see! Great video, perfect narration, excellent effort IMO! Hopefully many new ears will get to appreciate Allan's music thanks to this, too!
Thank you so much my friend!!
Just come across this. Wow just wow!! I have saved this love it so much!! Hope you do another bit of Holdsworth x
Awesome video .. God bless Allan Holdsworth !!
Stunning video and fantastically narrated! It's a shame that there's actually less info available out there on his albums from Atavachron onwards. While we know so little about the making of, say, Sand or Hard Hat Area, I suppose we can move towards the point where all his tracks are transcribed and charted. I'll try to release another transcription this month, and everyone's looking forward to the massive video John Vullo is soon releasing on all things Holdsworth.
Thank you so much!
I agree so much!
Hopefully if more videos are made like
These more info may come to light, atleast I really hope so!
I love John’s videos and wowed many guitar player friends with his top 10 hardest Holdsworth chord videos 🤣
Well done on your transcriptions!! They’re amazing my friend! Keep up the good work!
@@rubyjones01 It feels like Holdsworth scholarship really is becoming a bit of a thing- I heard a mention of someone currently doing a PhD on his harmony, there's the occasional masters dissertation out there, and I saw an an amazing piece of visualiser software somebody had programmed, showing the moving harmonic centres of a Holdsworth track in real time. Sadly none from UK academics - clearly he's still received better overseas than here. Keep up the good work too!
@@reubennb2859 wow that is incredible!!
Thank you my friend ☺️ I am excited to see and hear your new transcriptions
Thank you for a wonderful presentation ❤
This was fantastic! Thanks for putting it together.
Thank you friend ☺️🎼
Wow thank you so much. RUclips recommendations are finally good for something ❤
Great video and I learned so much about AH and IOU. I discovered his music while listening to early Bruford records and the first AH LP I picked up was Metal Fatigue. After that I was hooked.
Thank you for this video!👏👏👏
Fascinating!!! Thank you! I was at the Roxy gig when VH showed up, it was certainly my transition from VH to AH!!! Still love them both:-)
Thank you! Oh wow! That must be a priceless memory seeing that amazing moment
It has taken me years to get into Allan's music, and I'm still having to take his music in slowly - on a song by song basis - but it's been worth the effort. Plus, you've made me re-evaluate Paul Williams. I had assumed for some reason that vocals had been forced on the album by a producer. It also breaks my heart to hear how much hardship Allan went through during his life.
Thank´s for this documentary about an album that changed my life! .
Excellent, that was very interesting and enjoyable. A great tribute, well done and thank you.
Thanks, I saw Allan a couple times in 82 as well as many times in later years. First time was at The Golden Bear. What a fun time that was.
Wow, That was awesome!!!! What a story..I was one of those fans in NYC that grabbed everything i could from him, We even had a cover band playing his songs! (Not very well, but , hey I became a professional musician afterwards) Thank you so much for this!
Thank you my friend!!
Brave lad!
What a fabulous story and superb presentation! Thanks for all the hard work you put into it, Ruby!
This is a fantastic achievement, and well appreciated by this old died in the wool Holdsworth devotee! Thank you so much for telling this incredible story of the greatest electric guitar player ever to walk the Earth!
Thank you my friend! I hope to make one of these documentaries for every single Holdsworth album
@@rubyjones01I loved the road games documentary you did too! Really appreciate your work! ❤❤❤❤🎸🎶🤘😁
@@Gregorypeckory thank you my friend!
This is so unbelievably good, we can't thank you enough!! Huge bravo!
I love Dis Recud!I bought dis in San Leandro, Cali,back in 88,listen to it all the time.Heavy rotation in my collection,from IOU to Sand,good stuff!Just saying,thanks for anything on The Master!
Great work on telling Allans history so well thank you!
Thanks for this. Very very cool.
Thank you my friend!
This is fabulous work - thank you.
Great documentary 👏 👍 👌 keep it up. Best wishes from Los Angeles California 🙌
Thank you so much…his music has spoken to my soul more deeply than any for years. Thanks for the taking the time 😊I can imagine videos from his other albums too…also what or where is Enby?🙂
Thank you professor! Enby is short for Non-Binary, which is my gender identity!
thank you for making this video which really does justice to the genius and the incredible efforts made to carry out such a grandiose project
Thanks for the beautiful video and history of the great Allan !
Excellent , thanks
Thanks for the nice video! Here's my Allan gig experience. I went to see him as a youngster, must have been late 70s, in a club in London. I think it was in Oxford Street, maybe the 101 club. There were only 20 or 30 there, talking over the music etc. I remember Allan getting irritated. I also remember seeing him drinking a beer or two! He played as you'd expect and there were maybe 8 or 10 guitarists sitting a few feet from him. A few years later (maybe 1984) I was at music school myself, and he had moved to USA but was playing a gig in a smallish place in Old Street, London. I said to a friend, "come and see him play, there won't be many there"...... We couldn't even get in, the queue was really long, they took our money and said watch from the foyer on a monitor! I then saw him a few years after in Glasgow at the Renfrew Ferry. Did anyone else go to any of these gigs?
Thank you so much! What an incredible story! I’ve loved hearing all these stories about Allan and his career and in a way it’s helped me get even closer to understanding him! Sadly I was just 16 when he passed and didn’t even hear his name mentioned until I Heard brufords Hells Bells for the first time age 17, it definitely changed my life and opened my eyes to both my favourite drummer and guitarist at the same time!
Cant wait to see the next episode. This so good.
Thank you my friend! Here’s the next part of this series on Road Games ruclips.net/video/6zSCmgfdXm8/видео.html
I bought this Album at one of those first three shows at the Roxy in LA when it came out. It and the show were completely ear opening. Including Gary Husband's incredibly unique drumming and Paul Carmichael's bass playing. Truly a seminal album 🎸
Wow. I can't say anymore than what all the other comments have been saying. A nicely detailed synopsis of his early years leading to IOU. I didn't know about him selling his Gibson for a plane ticket. I feel a little guilty hearing how hard it was personally when all you hear is the beauty in his playing even as a sideman. I was listening recently to his solo on "Halfway House" from "The Unique Concert" album and thinking... So beautiful.
Cheers for this.
Thank you Peter! I agree, there’s a great interview with John Wetton from 78 where he mentions Allan being tired of being “wheeled out on stage with all these different bands to do a solo” and that sums up perfectly his sideman output for me! Thank you for watching my friend!
Wow, crazy details otherwise unknown. I listen to AH all the time and yet I feel like I need to listen even more now. Thanks Enby.
Or should I have said thanks Ruby?
Wow!!! This is an absolutely fantastic documentary in every possible way, from the research to the writing and editing, you've done our beloved late maestro an enormous service. Very well done indeed, my friend, I heartily applaud your work and now looking forward to watching the one about Road Games!
You mentioned you're a drummer, by chance do you have any of your music out there to enjoy?
Thanks so much! I do, here’s a link to my bandcamp! rubyjones01.bandcamp.com
Beautifully done! Thank you so much for putting this all together. Shiit, I had no clue he played violin too!
By far my favorite album by Allan. Having struggled with the book Reaching for the Uncommon Chord, I learned the complexity of his playing. This documentary uncovered so much detail of which I was unaware. Beyond the instrumental wizardry, I couldn't understand why I gravitated to the album. It was the ebb and flow of the time based on how it was recorded. Thank you for your work.
Thank you my friend!! There’s just a piece of true magic in his music!
Very nice video on a period of Allan's development that was always so mysterious and interesting. That IOU record had legions of guitarists either burning/selling their guitars or doubling and tripling down their practice regimens.
Love Holdsworth. But never really knew his story at all. Fascinating stuff. Well done!
Thank you my friend
Thank you so much for putting that together, I really enjoyed it and just subscribed here. Even for huge fans like myself, you excellent research highlighted a number of things I never knew. Also, a tip of the hat to you for your writing here. Don't know if your an published author, but it wouldn't surprise me a bit. Cheers.
I got to open for Alan and Steve mores of the Dixie dregs in Dallas doing his IOU tour , the time of my life . I’m a bass player the other two were Gerry peak and Jeff Berlin. Alan was nice and very humble, got to say thanks and shake his hand and yes they were big , what a memory, peace Alan.
Wow incredible stuff! Peace
Awesome history and things I never knew... just subbed your channel love to see a follow up with his later years involving Chad Wackerman and Jimmie Johnson Gary Husband great musician also played for the awesome Level 42 and who got Holdsworth to play on their Gauranteed album.
Great work, very interesting background information and - makes better understanding for AH style and musical journey.
Very informative and inspiring! Thanks!
Great commentary - thanks! ❤️
Dear Ruby, Thank you so much for this. Heard when I needed it the most. Peace and Love Jesse. P.S. I own one of the original black-covered IOU albums signed by Allan.
Amazing tribute, thank you ❤️🔥 I remember seeing him live here in Ottawa Canada when I was 16 in the early 80’s. EVH had turned us on and I watched in awe and delighted confusion.
Thank you so much!
Wow that must’ve been amazing! I first heard of him when I heard Bruford’s hells bells, still blows me right away every time
Great documentary. I haven't got a clue that Allan struggled so long to make ends meet before he could enjoy sufficient appreciation as a musician.
fantastic video, really beautifully put together!
Thank you my friend!
Lucky enough (blessed, really) to have seen Allan in the 80s at the Soft Rock Cafe in Vancouver. A small 200 seater and my brother-in-law and I were front row centre. We met Allan afterwards who was a complete gentleman and even let my brother-in-law play his Charvel (I didn't have the guts! lol)
I was talking with with AH's manager afterwards and he said [paraphrasing] "There's this kid from Texas Allan really loves and wants to bring him on the road with us". That kid was Eric Johnson. RIP, Maestro
Wow!!! I love this! Can’t wait to tell my guitar friends that even then Allan was a fan of Eric’s playing!
Is there a part 2 to this??
I have no words. ❤
When that album first came out, it was mail order only. That's how I got it after hearing Allan with Bruford's and Tony Williams' albums. What blew my mind on I.O.U. was the unveiling of Allan's chordal thing; you never really witnessed that on the other people's albums that he played on.
Agreed! That’s the big leap with this album! Like we knew he was a soloing genius but apart from maybe the intro to Mental Medication and Nevermore intro by U.K. we had no idea about Allan’s chordal genius and songcraft
That were grand.bloody marvellous in fact.
I saw Allan play the IOU material in a London pub with his trio around 1980.
It was clear he was a genius the like of which had never been seen before & would never be seen again.
Yet the pub was barely full & he couldn't get a record deal as you mention 🤔
I really wish I'd had some spare money at the time as I'd gladly have have offered him some financial support to promote his music.
I met Gordon & Dick Knight when they fitted the same type of stainless steel frets to my strat as they'd fitted to Allan's.
Nice chaps.
I like the info you give out in this vid. Though ironically allans wonderful music in the background is a little distracting when listening to your commentary
A lovely thought I'd have done the same!
The best I’ve ever heard first heard 73 Tempest sadly missed, but his music still makes me happy and sad and feelings that words aren’t good enough,
Brilliant Historical account of the making of a rare but excellent album ......Gary & Allan gave each other the improvisational latitude to be fully creative. I would have thought that a lot of the modern Pro Tools recording technology Allan would probably have seen as a return to 'JIGSAW MUSIC' as he called it with its non continuous live performance cut/shunt and paste assembly techniques.
Thank you soooooo much!!!