Hard Hat Area
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
Hard Hat Area is the eighth studio album by guitarist Allan Holdsworth, released in 1993 through Polydor Records (Japan), JMS–Cream Records (Europe) and Fred Bloggs Music (United Kingdom), and in 1994 through Restless Records (United States); a remastered edition with expanded liner notes was reissued on May 15, 2012 through MoonJune Records.[3] Holdsworth has frequently cited the album as one of his favourites.[4][5][6][7] "Tullio" is a reference to racing cyclist Tullio Campagnolo.[8]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| All About Jazz | Favourable[9] |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Hard Hat Area has received mostly positive reviews. John Kelman at All About Jazz called it one of Holdsworth's better solo recordings, naming "Ruhkukah" and "Low Levels, High Stakes" as highlights. He also praised the line-up of keyboardist Steve Hunt, drummer Gary Husband and bassist Skúli Sverrisson, but remarked that it was sometimes difficult to distinguish between Hunt's playing and Holdsworth's SynthAxe.[9] Glenn Astarita at AllMusic also called the album one of Holdsworth's "better solo excursions", and "a must-have" for fans of his work. Like Kelman, he named "Ruhkakah" and "Low Levels, High Stakes" as highlights.[1]
Track listing
All music is composed by Allan Holdsworth, except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Prelude" (Holdsworth, Steve Hunt) | 1:35 |
| 2. | "Ruhkukah" | 5:34 |
| 3. | "Low Levels, High Stakes" | 9:05 |
| 4. | "Hard Hat Area" | 6:06 |
| 5. | "Tullio" | 6:02 |
| 6. | "House of Mirrors" | 7:47 |
| 7. | "Postlude" (Holdsworth, Hunt, Skúli Sverrisson, Gary Husband) | 5:28 |
| Total length: | 41:37 | |
Personnel
- Allan Holdsworth – guitar, SynthAxe, engineering, mixing, production
- Steve Hunt – keyboard
- Gary Husband – drums
- Skúli Sverrisson – bass
- Rejean de Grand'Maison – engineering
- Gordon Davis – mixing
- Bernie Grundman – mastering
- Chris Bellman – remastering (reissue)
References
- ^ a b c Astarita, Glenn. "Hard Hat Area - Allan Holdsworth". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
- ^ Hard Hat Area (CD release "CR 330-2").
- ^ "Allan Holdsworth: Hard Hat Area". MoonJune Records. Archived from the original on 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
- ^ Hallebeek, Richard (1996-05-11). "Allan Holdsworth (1996)". richardhallebeek.com. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
- ^ Douse, Cliff (December 1996). "Legato Land". Guitar Techniques. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
- ^ Ablx Staff (2004-08-19). "Allan Holdsworth Interview". Abstract Logix. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
- ^ Hoard, Christopher; Preston, Jeff (February 1994). "Allan Holdsworth: An Interview". The Allan Holdsworth Information Center. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
- ^ Morrison, Mike (2006-02-09). "Allan Holdsworth Interview". therealallanholdsworth.com. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
- ^ a b Kelman, John (2012-03-23). "Allan Holdsworth: Hard Hat Area and None Too Soon". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
External links
- Hard Hat Area at therealallanholdsworth.com
- In Review: Allan Holdsworth "Hard Hat Area" at Guitar Nine Records