as much as i loved Al dimiola i always thought Bill Connor was a more expressive player. I got to see Return To Forever in 74 at the Kennedy Center in DC, in my last year of high school, but missed Bill being with them, Al was awsome none the less, I would have loved to see Bill play with them. Those were great days for fusion ,Brand X , Focus, Mahavisnu orchestra , camel, Yes, Larry Coreyells 11th house, ect. miss those exciting times of great music. This was a fine album then and is now.
I cannot express enough how much this recording meant and still means to me today. It was 1986 and I formed a band, a trio, immediately after having consumed this vinyl for the millionth time! Besides discovering both Dave and Tommy, I can say that maybe Bill was the only one who could play in a "Holdsworth-like" mode but in a more strictly Fusion dimension, which I personally liked much better. And the compositions are all so fascinating. All of them! ♥♥♥
Guam mid 80's, I subscribed to Guitar Player magazine which always featured ground breaking guitarists, Bill was featured and Step It was noted in the article. Guam, of all places had this really hip record store, I picked up more jazz there than anywhere, releases like Sand, and Vital Information's Orion etc.... Anyway the 3 things that I learned from this LP were of such an impact that it changed my listening forever. Connors, Kennedy, and Weckle. My ears were opened at the point. Thanks!
This really did hold up well. Nothing wrong with borrowing from AH - and This whole album is easier to listen to than half of what AH put out. Holdsworth is the greatest of all time imho - but some of his compositions were difficult to listen to at length. This album is a real delight.
Love Weckl's playing on this MUCH more than a lot of his recent stuff. The guy's got hellatious chops, no doubt, but I tire of a lot of the stuff where he just overplays. This is very tasteful and restrained and IMO, is Weckl at his absolute best!
i love weckl's playing with steve khan so much and with chick corea's elektric band imo definetely this one right here stands out just amazing musicianship but with khan and chick he reached the highest levels....
I agree. This is one of his greatest records. The compositional artistry that he bought to these tunes is stunning. He is so 'in" the music. The solo on this is one of the best drum solos I've ever heard. I've been trying to play it for 35 years! "Gdansk" by Paquitod'Rivera is from this period and is amazing. I think the first Electrik Band record is as good (technically better), but in some ways it was all downhill from there. Nevertheless, if I had this on my doscography, I could die happy!
Yeah, the people who say that Bill was not trying to bite Allan's sound are delusional. I don't blame Bill though. Once you hear Holdsworth, it's pretty much game over. Bill is of course still an amazing musician and I really enjoy his Holdsworth-inspired music.
@@lex.cordis yeah. this is one of the slightly less "holdsworth inspired" tunes on the album imo. the melody is really cool - on this tune, he does move into his own sound a bit. the intro verse/head before the solos is just really exciting, the three sections, each building with more tension.. so good.. the ringing notes with the gritty delay is such a huge thick sound. there is something about the vibrato in the solo that does call to mind a certain someone. it is hard, having studied the master to avoid it probably, i know i sure do it too.
Good ear, man! Never listened closely, that is some very very cool stuff there. I'm still a little weak on being able to break it down rhythmically, and Bill's doing some weird division or something. Man, those Tom Toms sound well tuned. And that section fits so well moving to the coda.
@drummereye Well put! Those ghosts on the snare (like 0:40) are sweet and you can still hear the wavefront from ride that's still comin' at ya ;) Actually that whole section (0:28-0:49) has some really cool stuff going on metrically, and no one is stepping on anyone. More like a tight weave.
Well put! I think the quietness of it, is what I miss. In one of the early sections, where he's playing over Bill's ostinato (0:27-0:50), he's got it going on and throws in some sweet ghosts! And yet you can hear Tom's work right along with it. Then during Tom's solo, he's showing respect by turning becoming lower in the mix and by letting the solist, um, solo! ;)
Bill is just a dynamic guitar player. I prefer his style over Al. I love Dimeola as well. But as a drummer that listens to a plethora of guitar players and I am learning guitar as well. Bill is very expressive and to me interesting to listen to. He is in my top 5. I got Segovia, Roy Clark, Buzz Feiten, Bill Connors, Al Dimeola. I really like Robben Ford & Larry Carlton. To name a few. I have alot more cats I listen to. Even Phil Keaggy is cool too!
everyone you mentioned is fantastic, but as a guitar player who aspires to be a drummer don't forget these Fusion cats if you haven't heard them: Frank Gambale, Scott Henderson, Brett Garsed, Mike Landau, John Scofield (especially around the Blue Matter period)), John McLaughlin, Steve Lukather (Los Lobotomies)...just keep your ears open!
That’s a mega all-star list of guitar greats! I actually saw the “prototype” RTF at The Bitter End in NYC. I went with a bunch of friends, all of whom were expecting to hear the “Light As A Feather” lineup. Imagine our surprise-no Airto, no Flora, no Joe Farrell. Stanley Clark was there, but that was it. It seemed like there were ten guys on that little stage! Because they caught us totally off guard, we didn’t know any of the songs, nor did we recognize most of the band. They were incredible. We walked out of there shell shocked. I just found out that Steve Gadd had been rehearsing with Chick for this show. I don’t know who played guitar. Boy, would I love to hear a recording of that night.
@lartinso I was always better in school at math than i was at English. Maybe 'overplay' was the wrong of words. Lately I've been getting into stuff that's not as busy. A great example would be on "Flickering Lights" during 1:03-1:11. It's the space between the notes when he's not playing, combined with the accenting on the upbeats, that make it work for me. If he was all over the snares/toms, it'd be too busy... for me.
+j2me9 i''ll check and see what I have left. All these solo's were done with a real to real. Slowed downed and the written with the correct octave....Cheers
+manitheman0806 i will really appreciate it, i am trying to figure out some.of them but i do half ass job. if you find it can you send it to my email its sondhi.94@gmail.com
![Allan Holdsworth - Devil Take the Hindmost [STUDIO VERSION]](/img/n.gif)
Many fusion guitarists are touring today on much less than this guy has to offer! Bill Connors...Thanks for your contribution to real "Fusion" music!
Many fusion ?Wom did you mean?
as much as i loved Al dimiola i always thought Bill Connor was a more expressive player. I got to see Return To Forever in 74 at the Kennedy Center in DC, in my last year of high school, but missed Bill being with them, Al was awsome none the less, I would have loved to see Bill play with them. Those were great days for fusion ,Brand X , Focus, Mahavisnu orchestra , camel, Yes, Larry Coreyells 11th house, ect. miss those exciting times of great music. This was a fine album then and is now.
I cannot express enough how much this recording meant and still means to me today. It was 1986 and I formed a band, a trio, immediately after having consumed this vinyl for the millionth time! Besides discovering both Dave and Tommy, I can say that maybe Bill was the only one who could play in a "Holdsworth-like" mode but in a more strictly Fusion dimension, which I personally liked much better. And the compositions are all so fascinating. All of them! ♥♥♥
Guam mid 80's, I subscribed to Guitar Player magazine which always featured ground breaking guitarists, Bill was featured and Step It was noted in the article. Guam, of all places had this really hip record store, I picked up more jazz there than anywhere, releases like Sand, and Vital Information's Orion etc.... Anyway the 3 things that I learned from this LP were of such an impact that it changed my listening forever. Connors, Kennedy, and Weckle. My ears were opened at the point. Thanks!
35 yrs ago I was addicted to this CD and LP (had em both). Billy - this was great stuff. Fun to comeback to it and see that its held up really well.
This really did hold up well. Nothing wrong with borrowing from AH - and This whole album is easier to listen to than half of what AH put out. Holdsworth is the greatest of all time imho - but some of his compositions were difficult to listen to at length. This album is a real delight.
@@investorart58 Agreed !!
Thanks for posting this. Always loved Bill Conners. So underrated!
And what phenomenal Bass playing also.
Tom Kennedy excellent bass player 🔥🔥
Love Weckl's playing on this MUCH more than a lot of his recent stuff. The guy's got hellatious chops, no doubt, but I tire of a lot of the stuff where he just overplays. This is very tasteful and restrained and IMO, is Weckl at his absolute best!
his playing is more sincere at this point in his journey.
i love weckl's playing with steve khan so much and with chick corea's elektric band imo definetely this one right here stands out just amazing musicianship but with khan and chick he reached the highest levels....
I agree. This is one of his greatest records. The compositional artistry that he bought to these tunes is stunning. He is so 'in" the music. The solo on this is one of the best drum solos I've ever heard. I've been trying to play it for 35 years!
"Gdansk" by Paquitod'Rivera is from this period and is amazing. I think the first Electrik Band record is as good (technically better), but in some ways it was all downhill from there. Nevertheless, if I had this on my doscography, I could die happy!
listening to again, the songwriting is so damn good.
Tom Kennedy sounds great in this album
More than a passing resemblance to Alan Holdsworth both in writing and guitar solo work.
andy summers was obviously a fan too!
Yeah, the people who say that Bill was not trying to bite Allan's sound are delusional. I don't blame Bill though. Once you hear Holdsworth, it's pretty much game over. Bill is of course still an amazing musician and I really enjoy his Holdsworth-inspired music.
@@lex.cordis yeah. this is one of the slightly less "holdsworth inspired" tunes on the album imo. the melody is really cool - on this tune, he does move into his own sound a bit. the intro verse/head before the solos is just really exciting, the three sections, each building with more tension.. so good.. the ringing notes with the gritty delay is such a huge thick sound. there is something about the vibrato in the solo that does call to mind a certain someone. it is hard, having studied the master to avoid it probably, i know i sure do it too.
tutti e tre i cd sono dei capolavori
Good ear, man! Never listened closely, that is some very very cool stuff there. I'm still a little weak on being able to break it down rhythmically, and Bill's doing some weird division or something. Man, those Tom Toms sound well tuned. And that section fits so well moving to the coda.
@drummereye
Well put! Those ghosts on the snare (like 0:40) are sweet and you can still hear the wavefront from ride that's still comin' at ya ;) Actually that whole section (0:28-0:49) has some really cool stuff going on metrically, and no one is stepping on anyone. More like a tight weave.
Well put! I think the quietness of it, is what I miss. In one of the early sections, where he's playing over Bill's ostinato (0:27-0:50), he's got it going on and throws in some sweet ghosts! And yet you can hear Tom's work right along with it. Then during Tom's solo, he's showing respect by turning becoming lower in the mix and by letting the solist, um, solo! ;)
The drummer is a beast listen at 4:10
That's Dave Weckl playing drums. He's a monster
A very young Weckl at that! Inspiring
Bill is just a dynamic guitar player. I prefer his style over Al. I love Dimeola as well. But as a drummer that listens to a plethora of guitar players and I am learning guitar as well. Bill is very expressive and to me interesting to listen to. He is in my top 5. I got Segovia, Roy Clark, Buzz Feiten, Bill Connors, Al Dimeola. I really like Robben Ford & Larry Carlton. To name a few. I have alot more cats I listen to. Even Phil Keaggy is cool too!
everyone you mentioned is fantastic, but as a guitar player who aspires to be a drummer don't forget these Fusion cats if you haven't heard them: Frank Gambale, Scott Henderson, Brett Garsed, Mike Landau, John Scofield (especially around the Blue Matter period)), John McLaughlin, Steve Lukather (Los Lobotomies)...just keep your ears open!
That’s a mega all-star list of guitar greats! I actually saw the “prototype” RTF at The Bitter End in NYC. I went with a bunch of friends, all of whom were expecting to hear the “Light As A Feather” lineup. Imagine our surprise-no Airto, no Flora, no Joe Farrell. Stanley Clark was there, but that was it. It seemed like there were ten guys on that little stage! Because they caught us totally off guard, we didn’t know any of the songs, nor did we recognize most of the band. They were incredible. We walked out of there shell shocked. I just found out that Steve Gadd had been rehearsing with Chick for this show. I don’t know who played guitar. Boy, would I love to hear a recording of that night.
@lartinso
I was always better in school at math than i was at English. Maybe 'overplay' was the wrong of words. Lately I've been getting into stuff that's not as busy. A great example would be on "Flickering Lights" during 1:03-1:11. It's the space between the notes when he's not playing, combined with the accenting on the upbeats, that make it work for me. If he was all over the snares/toms, it'd be too busy... for me.
AWESOME!!!
Damn...this is Weckl gold. 10x better than CCEB.
yeah, here he really sounds much more tastier than on first Elektric band record ... (and maybe on the others too)
SUPER
Bill is badassss on this entire album.
Yes Holdsworth ish, but great music regardless
very very well...................................................................................................................
Somebody know the tab of this song?
Absolutely LOVE the head on this tune. It was a pleasure to quote it at 19 minutes and 15 seconds in here:
ua-cam.com/video/trP6adClGbg/v-deo.html
a more dynamic holdsworth, monder. heavy picker! killer open string specialist
Transcribed lots of these solo's....there not really hard but you need an accuracy in the picking and the fretting as well......
+manitheman0806 would you happen to have a tab of A Pedal ?
+j2me9 I don't .....sorry
+j2me9 i''ll check and see what I have left. All these solo's were done with a real to real. Slowed downed and the written with the correct octave....Cheers
+manitheman0806 i will really appreciate it, i am trying to figure out some.of them but i do half ass job. if you find it can you send it to my email its sondhi.94@gmail.com
+j2me9 I may have flickering lights and Lydia...if I find them, I will send them to your e-mail........