METAL FATIGUE

Though I'm not yet as familiar with the work of Allan Holdsworth as I should be, I can probably say that he is my all-time favourite guitarist. He has it all: flawless technique, outstanding improvisational skills and, most importantly, the ability to create excellent compositions that are as challenging as they are memorable. All of these talents are evident right from the beginning of "Metal Fatigue" with it's opener, the title track. Based around a rocking riff with pinch harmonics, it also features lovely verse parts with a highly interesting harmonic structure, along with Holdsworth incredibly fluid and original soloing. Next comes "Home", a calm, beautiful instrumental with even more fascinatingly complex harmonies. "Devil Take the Hindmost" is one of Holdsworth's best-known numbers, as it features one of his most creative solos (perhaps the best guitar solo of all time, thanks to the infinitely tasteful licks and fast legato flourishes that blow all shredders out of the water) ; the fact that it's also an excellent composition t doesn't hurt either.

"Panic Station" is stylistically close to synth-pop, but I doubt ordinary synth- pop can ever get this good; while the song is a tad below the quality of the instrumental cuts on this disc, it nonetheless features a great chorus, and impressive soloing once again. Then come the14 minutes of "The Un-Merry-Go- Round": after some keyboard washes, gorgeous guitar melodies enter the mix, succeeded a bit too quickly by Gary Husband exhibiting his drumming abilities - while I'm not a big fan of drum solos, it's always nice to hear a skilled performance. The instrumental continues, occasionally floundering a bit, but also uncovering plenty of excellent ideas along the way.

The final track , "In the Mystery" is a bit disappointing: it's very similar to "Panic Station", but lacks memorable hooks , and should've been fused with another song or perhaps left off all-together.

But that does not prevent "Metal Fatigue" from being one of the finest examples of high-quality jazz fushion. Since I have yet to hear most of Allan's other works, I can't say for sure that it is his best album, but topping it would be quite a challenge for anyone.