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| Allan Holdsworth with a (soft) machine. |
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A brief run-in around this time with American jazz-funk bassist Alphonso Johnson (Weather Report) would have big repercussions in the following years, but 1974 would first find Allan bouncing back into English jazz rock, and a reunion with some old Nucleus mates.
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| Karl Jenkins, Allan Holdsworth, Mike Ratledge, Roy Babbington, John Marshall from BBC Radio 1971-1974 booklet |
"They get the musicians to play somewhere in the afternoon, and the audience are allowed to ask questions about all the different instruments. At the end of that, they have a tea-break, and then the band plays a short set. They called me and asked me if I wanted to do this clinic with the Soft Machine. So I said 'yeah', and I went to do it, and enjoyed myself, and they asked me if I wanted to do some gigs as a guest. And then they asked me if I wanted to join the band..." (3)
John Marshall: " I suggested getting Allan in on it and if it worked out, then great! And if it didn't then, you know, it's only a workshop. It was a perfect situation to see if it worked because you never really know. But it worked out, we all enjoyed it and Allan joined up." - conversation with Sid Smith for "Bundles" 2010 reissue liner notes.
After 4 or 5 clinics with the Soft Machine, Allan played his debut concert as an "official" member of the band at the Roundhouse in London on December 23rd, followed almost immediately by tours of Europe and North America throughout the next year (1974). In the summer, they squeezed in some dates to record the album Bundles, although the LP itself would not be released until several months later in March of 1975.
Melodically, Allan was finally freed from having to "sound like someone else", and seemed delighted to truly explore his lead style at high volume and without the time restrictions of a "song band".
"There was a lot of freedom in the group. Most of their pieces were quite simple harmonically, but they were in odd time signatures, which was something going on at the time. I can’t count anyway, so everything is in '1' to me, but I really dug it. I love Karl, John, Roy Babbington, and Mike Ratledge.... It was a lot of fun. It was in Soft Machine that I really began to develop my own sound." (edited from 4, 65, 75)In fact, his solo on the song “Hazard Profile” (a reworking of Karl Jenkins’ old Nucleus song “Song For the Bearded Lady” from the LP We'll Talk About It Later) was his longest solo on record up to that date. This song was a natural for Allan to stretch out on, as he'd already played an "embryonic" version of this tune on some early Ian Carr Nucleus gigs.
John Marshall reports: "…that take of “Hazard Profile”, the very long one, and the long one of “Bundles”, were just first takes. In fact ,we were very unhappy with the sound. But the performance was so good, especially from Allan, so we decided to use it anyway. There might be an edit here or there, but in fact they're live performances in the studio... Things changed over time. Six months after recording a piece it was quite likely we'd be playing it - not massively different, but significantly different." - Soft Machine: Floating World Live, Aymeric Leroy 2005 liner notes.
In 2010, Marshall added: "...with Allan it's a different kind of thing. He arcs over the top, and you just have to find your place. This is in no way a criticism - it's just the way he plays. But on the 'Bundles' album you really hear him digging in with the rhythm section in places and it's a different kind of playing than you'd normally get from him - and I love that! There's a couple of moments where you just go 'WOW!' He just nails it. Fantastic." - conversation with Sid Smith for "Bundles" 2010 reissue liner notes.
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| Switzerland 1974 |
During the Fall of 1974, Allan briefly took time out to record with an ensemble led by Tony Williams and Jack Bruce in Switzerland (this will be covered in more detail in the next chapter devoted to Tony Williams' groups). 1975 included more European touring with Soft Machine (including a Radio Bremen performance released as Floating World Live) and the long-awaited release of Bundles on Harvest Records (EMI). However, Allan's restlessness would soon take him back to America for his first extended stay.
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Song Analysis and Breakdowns
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| Soft Machine: Bundles (artwork by Reg Cartwright) |
| Soft
Machine: Bundles (1975) Recorded 1974.07.16-18, 23-26 (with guest Ray Warleigh – alto flute/bass flute on "The Floating World") On this album Allan is featured in guitar solos on "Hazard Profile Pt 1", "Bundles" and "Land of the Bag Snake". He also offers a brief, lyrical solo 12-string acoustic guitar piece, somewhat like a Debussy Prelude. |
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| Trk | Title | Dur | Song Breakdown |
| 1 | Hazard Profile Part 1 | 9:15 | (Written by Karl Jenkins) This song takes its main riff from Jenkins’ old Nucleus song “Song For the Bearded Lady” and features a blazing, 6 minute extended guitar solo by Allan. Some earlier live shows actually included a 3rd solo guitar 'chorus'. 0:00: Taped tolling bells. 0:22: Snare roll leads to.. 0:43: Main guitar (doubled)/bass riff, soon joined by broad motif on keyboards. 2:32: Transitional riff developed from main groove. 2:46: Allan's guitar solo over modal vamp variations on main riff rhythm. 4:24: Guitar solo continues: Held keyboards enter with cadence and modulating harmonies. 5:01: Guitar continues: Repeat cadence/modulation, transitional held chord. 5:41: Guitar solo 2nd chorus: Modal vamp with additional ornamental keyboard elements, held keyboard chords. 7:30: Guitar solo continues: Held keyboards enter with cadence and modulating harmonies. 8:06: Guitar solo continues: Repeat cadence/modulation, transitional held chord. 8:45: Transitional riff reprise, final held chord. |
| 2 | Part 2 (Toccatina) | 2:15 | This section highlights Jenkins'
new interest in piano composition. 0:00: Solo piano. 1:05: Repeat, this time with added acoustic guitar counter-melody. |
| 3 | Part 3 | 0:33 | 0:00: Electric keys enter. Suspenseful modulations with lead guitar in top melody (somewhat Jeff Beck-ish). |
| 4 | Part 4 | 1:25 | 0:00: Lumbering heavy riff/groove, intermittent swooshing effects (cymbals?). |
| 5 | Part 5 | 5:29 | This section features Mike
Ratledge in a synth keyboard solo. 0:00: Uptempo groove in compound meter (7/8) with dancing keyboard/sax melody and clean funky rhythm guitar. 0:44: Held keyboard ornament, then keys/sax melody completes. 1:57: Keyboard solo, filtered and panned. 3:48: 3-accent electric guitar motif begins fading in. 4:29: Rhythmic figure extrapolated from the "transitional riff" from Part 1, ending in filtered keyboard chord. |
| 6 | Gone Sailing | 0:59 | (Written by Allan
Holdsworth) Allan wrote this solo 12-string acoustic guitar piece using an alternate guitar tuning. Harmonically, it develops some ideas first explored in 'Igginbottom, Allan's Bradford band from 1969. 0:00: Cascading guitar harmonics. 0:20: Chordal arpeggios, leading to a brief section of rapid chromatic figures, arpeggios, final harmonics. |
| The below tracks flow into one another as one long suite. | |||
| 7 | Bundles | 3:14 | (Written by Karl Jenkins) This song features Allan soloing with a kind of filtered tone over a couple different groove variations. His solo here features some carefully-constructed lyrical figures, shaped by tremolo bar vibrato. A rising lead line leads into the next song. 0:00: Rising harmonies led by electric guitar top line, ending in lively rhythmic figure. Repeat. 0:34: Motoric modal vamp in complex meter, cadential accents, pause. 0:55: Bass drives motoric modal vamp under guitar solo and sustained keyboard harmonies. 1:41: Guitar solo continues over "metric modulation" (beat redistribution) as piano and keys layers leave and then re-enter. 2:59: Reprise of opening rising harmonies (variation). |
| 8 | Land Of The Bag Snake | 3:35 | (Written by Allan
Holdsworth) Allan solos over some modulating harmonies in both lead and clean tones. As in the previous track, his solo generally hews carefully to the underlying harmony, but sometimes erupts into some cascading runs. 0:00: Continued from last track, guitar solos over a midtempo groove with a modulating pedal tone. 1:09: Additional electric piano comping added. 2:30: Bass pulses and sustained organ support a more relaxed groove and a simmering, cleaner-toned outro guitar solo. |
| 9 | The Man Who Waved At Trains | 1:50 | (Written by Mike Ratledge) This song features some lyrical writing for sax over a somewhat "tropical" vibe. 0:00: Glockenspiel kicks off hypnotic "exotica-like" vamp with Fender electric piano chordal ornaments. 0:50: Melody on saxophone and guitar, then brief sax figure. 1:31: Sax/guitar head reprise. |
| 10 | Peff | 3:37 | (Written by Mike Ratledge) Features an oboe solo from Karl Jenkins. 0:00: Propulsive uptempo groove with stuttering snare under Jenkins' oboe solo, processed with varying amounts of echo/reverb. 1:29: Electric guitars drive complex rhythmic groove as sax solo continues and drums ramp up. |
| 11 | Four Gongs Two Drums | 2:31 | (Written by John Marshall) Essentially a drum solo composition with additional metallic percussion. 0:00: Crossfade into solo tuned drums and percussion. |
| 12 | The Floating World | 7:07 | (Written by Karl Jenkins) This song is atmospheric, rhythmic and melodic, all at the same time. The outstanding thing about this piece is the way layers of different lengths are stacked on each other, creating hybrid polyrhythms. It would've fit well on a film soundtrack. 0:00: Distant keyboard harmonies becoming more defined and hypnotic. 0:56: Melody enters on flutes (courtesy Ray Warleigh). 2:45: Keyboard counter-melody enters (flutes drop out). 3:08: Marimba counter-melody joins. 3:51: Flute melody reprise. 5:38: Sustained keyboards surface, as well as celeste and other percussion layers. |
| Soft
Machine: Switzerland 1974 (2015) Recorded 1974.07.04, Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland This release is paired with a DVD concert of this recording, and there one can see Allan beginning to incorporate the tremolo bar into his style. Overall a fantastic concert with brilliant playing all around. |
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| Trk | Title | Dur | Song Breakdown |
| 1 | Hazard Profile | 16:47 | (Written by Karl Jenkins) Jenkins plays sax instead of keyboards here. Allan's guitar tone is a bit cleaner here than on the later studio record. 0:00: Part 1: Taped tolling bells. 0:36: Snare roll leads to.. 0:46: Main guitar/bass riff, soon joined by long tone motif on soprano sax/keyboard. 2:32: Transitional riff developed from main groove. 2:46: Allan's guitar solo 6:31: Transitional riff reprise, final held chord. 7:30: Part 2 (Toccatina): Solo piano composition by Jenkins. 9:43: Part 3: Electric keys enter. Suspenseful modulations with lead guitar in top melody. 10:14: Part 4: Lumbering heavy riff/groove with fuzz bass. 11:38: Part 5: Uptempo funk guitar/bass groove in compound meter (7/8) with dancing sax melody. Held sax/keyboard tones, then keys/sax melody completes. 13:30: Keyboard solo featuring Ratledge. Additional keys and 3-accent electric guitar motif begins fading in. 15:35: Rhythmic figure extrapolated from the "transitional riff" from Part 1, ending in final rave up. |
| 2 | Floating World | 5:15 | (Karl Jenkins) This version features Allan singing Ray Warleigh's flute part as a wordless melody, followed by a brief bass solo (actually brings to mind some of Pat Metheny's later stylistic elements). 0:00: Overlapping keyboard/vibraphone melodies becoming more defined and hypnotic. 1:25: Allan sings the flute melody. 3:45: Bass adds subtle melodic ornamentation and then solos. Keys open out, joined by tambourine. |
| 3 | Ealing Comedy | 4:14 | 0:00: Roy Babbington bass
solo (unaccompanied). 0:55: Roy kicks in the fuzz distortion. 1:49: Roy kicks in the envelope filter. 2:20: Back to fuzz tone for a cadenza. 3:33: Fuzz tone off. |
| 4 | Bundles | 3:10 | (Karl Jenkins) Allan's guitar solo here (and in its conclusion in "Bag Snake") have a somewhat more free-wheeling spirit than in the more "inside" solos he would soon record for the Bundles album release. 0:00: Rising harmonies led by electric guitar top line, ending in lively rhythmic figure. Repeat. 0:34: Motoric modal vamp in complex meter, cadential accents, pause. 0:55: Bass and layered drums drive motoric modal vamp under Allan's guitar solo, joined by sustained keyboard harmonies. 2:07: Guitar solo continues over groove variations, keys re-enter. 2:59: Cadence (Allan here omits the rising lead line found on the album). |
| 5 | Land Of The Bag Snake | 4:28 | (Allan Holdsworth) 0:00: Guitar solo continues over a mid-tempo groove (same tempo as before) with a modulating pedal tone. Additional electric piano comping gradually surfaces. 2:40: Allan switches to his neck pickup for cleaner soloing, as the band gradually opens up. |
| 6 | Joint | 2:21 | (Ratledge/Marshall) Tribal drums and swirling/bleeping synth duet. |
| 7 | The Man Who Waved At Trains | 3:02 | (Mike Ratledge) 0:00: Hypnotic "exotica" bass/hi-hat vamp with electric keyboard ornaments with effects. 2:03: Melody on saxophone and guitar, brief guitar ornament. |
| 8 | Peff | 4:28 | (Mike Ratledge) The sound quality dips a bit here, but is still pretty enjoyable, especially for Marshall and Babbington's interactions. 0:00: Propulsive uptempo groove with stuttering snare/overdriven keys under Jenkins' wailing oboe solo. Drums and bass add various counter-accents (Allan adds a few tremolo bar ornaments near the end). |
| 9 | The Man Who Waved At Trains (Reprise) | 0:21 | (Mike Ratledge) 0:00: Melody reprise on saxophone and guitar. |
| 10 | LBO | 4:46 | (John Marshall) Drum/percussion/tuned gongs solo. |
| 11 | Riff II | 3:08 | (Karl Jenkins) 0:00: Accented rhythmic motif, Roy kicks in the fuzz.. 0:53: Rave up and final accent. 1:16: Applause break. |
| 12 | Lefty | 2:07 | (Encore, collective improvisation, without guitar) 0:00: Textural rolling drums and keys on one pedal chord. |
| 13 | Penny Hitch (Coda) | 5:42 | (Karl Jenkins, from Soft Machine's previous album, "Seven") 0:00: Mid-tempo, somewhat "swampy" vamp supporting keyboard solo. 1:16: Guitar adds some chordal ornamentation with tremolo bar, leading to guitar solo over same swampy modal vamp. 3:56: Guitar makes volume swells as groove dissipates. 4:51: Applause. |
| Soft
Machine: BBC Radio 1971-1974 (2003) Recorded 1974.10.06 (only the session with Holdsworth is listed below) The CD titles are inaccurate on the booklet, but are correct below. |
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| Trk | Title | Dur | Song Breakdown |
| 3 | North Point | 3:00 | (Ratledge/Marshall) 0:00: Metal percussion solo. 0:57: 1st synth enters (improvisation). 1:38: 2nd synth enters. Drums enter. |
| 4 | The Man Who Waved At Trains/ Peff |
5:41 | (Mike Ratledge) 0:00: The Man Who Waved At Trains: Drum roll becomes hypnotic "exotica-like" bass/hihat vamp with electric keyboard ornaments. 0:54: Head melody on saxophone and guitar, brief guitar run, melody reprise. 1:59: Peff: Propulsive uptempo groove with stuttering snare/overdriven keys and subtle guitar comping under Jenkins' wailing oboe solo. Drums and bass add various counter-accents. 5:00: Opening head melody reprise. |
| 5 | Hazard Profile Part 1-5 |
16:57 | (Written by Karl Jenkins) 0:00: Part 1: Taped tolling bells. Keyboard ostinati and snare roll leads to... 1:03: Main guitar/bass riff, soon joined by long tone motif on soprano sax/keyboard. 3:04: Transitional riff developed from main groove. 3:19: Allan's guitar solo. Marshall's drums sometimes goes into double-time. 7:21: Transitional riff reprise, final held chord. 8:17: Part 2 (Toccatina): Solo piano. Reprise includes synth line counter-melody (instead of guitar). 10:30: Part 3: Electric keys enter. Suspenseful modulations with lead guitar in top melody. 10:56: Part 4: Lumbering heavy riff/groove with fuzz bass. 12:12: Part 5: Uptempo groove in compound meter (7/8) with dancing sax melody and clean funk rhythm guitar. Held sax/keyboard tones, then keys/sax melody completes. 13:41: Keyboard solo from Ratledge. Additional keys and guitar ornaments eventually surface, leading to 3-accent motif. 15:58: Rhythmic figure extrapolated from the "transitional riff" from Part 1, ending in final rave up. |
| Soft
Machine: Floating World Live (2006) Recorded 1975.01.29, Bremen, Germany One of the most fascinating things about this late recording is to hear how Allan's lead tone, phrasing and use of the tremolo bar have further developed since the Montreux Switzerland performance from just half a year prior. Allan also contributes a violin solo to "The Man Who Waived At Trains". It's a shame "Hazard Profile" is faded out in mid-solo, but that loss is made up for by extended solos in the latter part of the concert ("Riff III", "Endgame"). Marshall also has an extra-long drum solo here. |
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| Trk | Title | Dur | Song Breakdown |
| 1 | The Floating World | 4:53 | (Karl Jenkins) 0:00: Distant keyboard harmonies becoming more defined and hypnotic. 0:51: Melody enters on recorder (Jenkins). 2:19: Bass and cymbals enter. Bass, keys and guitar feedback add ornamental lines/textures. Lines of arpeggiated figures begin cascading. |
| 2 | Bundles | 4:54 | (Karl Jenkins) This solo rendition reflects the structured style found on the Bundles LP more than was heard on the Switzerland 1974 date, but still includes a couple more harmonically extended ("out") phrases. 0:00: Rising harmonies led by electric guitar top line, ending in lively rhythmic figure. Repeat. 0:35: Motoric modal vamp in complex meter, cadential accents, pause. 0:58: Bass drives motoric modal vamp under Allan's guitar solo and keyboard comping accents. 3:33: Guitar solo continues over hypnotic groove variation. 4:38: Cadence chords, rising guitar lead line. |
| 3 | Land Of The Bag Snake | 5:07 | (Allan Holdsworth) Allan's use of the tremolo bar seems more developed here than ever before. 0:00: Guitar solo over a mid-tempo groove with a modulating pedal tone. 4:28: Bass pulses support a more relaxed groove and cleaner-toned guitar solo. The groove dissipates into… |
| 4 | Ealing Comedy | 6:08 | Roy Babbington bass solo employing volume swells, fuzz tone, envelope filter, etc. Keys and drums join at the end. |
| 5 | The Man Who Waived At Trains | 4:57 | (Mike Ratledge) This performance features the only recorded violin solo Allan did with Soft Machine. 0:00: Keyboard ostinato figure leads to hypnotic exotica-like bass/hi-hat vamp. 0:49: Allan's violin solo, followed by various bits of ornamentation from drums (and guitar?). 3:59: Head melody structure on guitar. |
| 6 | Peff | 6:29 | (Mike Ratledge) 0:00: Propulsive uptempo groove under Jenkins' oboe solo (possibly with some filter effects?). Allan does a little comping here in the latter part. 1:57: Electric guitar and bass begin to drive a complex rhythmic groove as oboe solo continues and drums ramp up. 2:55: Guitar riff changes into rising figure and oboe follows 3:53: Oboe continues as rhythm section opens up (guitar drops out, hi-hat and snare featured), guitar feedback textures intrude, groove cools, but maintains tempo. 5:45: Ratledge synthesizer textures begin fading in as bass drops out. |
| 7 | North Point | 4:05 | (Ratledge/Marshall) 0:00: Drums and synth improvisation. 0:34: Synth improv employing bursts of layered phrases, panning, envelope filters, etc...eventually rejoined by drums. |
| 8 | Hazard Profile (Part One) (cut off) |
4:49 | (Karl Jenkins) Tragic that's this is cut off, as Allan's solo here seems to have a greater sense of structure than on his earlier renditions. 0:00: Part 1: Taped tolling bells and snare roll leads to.. 0:22: Main guitar/bass riff, soon joined by long tone motif on keyboards. 1:48: Transitional riff developed from main groove. 2:03: Guitar solo led off by feedback and melodic fuzz bass (fade out). |
| 9 | J.S.M. | 10:14 | (John Marshall) Drum and percussion solo with some interesting panning elements (delays and flanges?). |
| 10 | Riff III | 8:42 | (collective) This jam features the return of Allan's "funk rock" guitar style, and may be relevant to John Marshall's 2010 quote above about getting Allan "digging in with the rhythm section" and getting "a different kind of playing" from him. 0:00: Drum rolls lead to mid-tempo funk beat with clean rhythm guitar riffing (almost James Brown-ish) with chordal electric piano ornaments. 2:53: Rhythmic accents kick off a somewhat more "conventional" guitar solo, ending in a cadence figure. 5:15: Funky bass accents lead to percussive, chromatic guitar ornaments and developed funk guitar riffing. 6:13: Bass moves to octave riffing and the groove opens up, Allan moves from clean riffing to a feedback note. 7:03: Loose melodic guitar solo resumes. 7:38: Ending rhythmic figure. |
| 11 | Song Of Aeolus | 4:17 | (Karl Jenkins) Allan explores volume swells here during the keyboard solo. This song would debut on record on the group's next album, 1976's "Softs" (but with John Etheridge on guitar instead of Allan). 0:00: Cascading piano figures lead to a ballad featuring a lyrical electric guitar melody. 1:21: Ratledge takes a keyboard solo as Allan comps with volume swells/feedback. 3:10: Guitar reprises head melody. |
| 12 | Endgame | 6:40 | (collective) This jam features more "conventional" soloing from Allan, but the main solo does end with some interesting feedback/tremolo bar elements. 0:00: Drum rave up. 0:31: A bass-driven, oddly-syncopated funk vamp becomes a galloping modal vamp, as Allan takes a fiery (and very briefly, a bit bluesy) guitar solo, ending in a feedback/tremolo bar workout. 4:20: Allan returns to a clean tone for some final ornamental runs as rhythm section thins out. He also briefly employs some envelope filter to his sound. 5:19: Hi-hat drops out and keys surface with bell-like tones. Feedback, bass ornaments and some chromatic guitar figures round out this jam. |
| 13 | Penny Hitch (Coda) | 2:41 | (Karl Jenkins) 0:00: Pulses turn into a restrained, "swamp" vamp, Allan adds some scattered guitar ornaments. 1:44: Chiming keys, drone bass and guitar feedback/string noises (!). 2:20: Applause. |
Next: Swedish "Wildlife" and Tony Williams' Lifetime
Previous Chapter: Jon Hiseman's Tempest
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The numbers in parentheses after Allan's quotes above refer to sources listed in the Bibliography.
For more detailed information on this chapter, see the Annotated Chronology.
The numbers in parentheses after Allan's quotes above refer to sources listed in the Bibliography.
For more detailed information on this chapter, see the Annotated Chronology.
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