Coming on the heels of some rather mediocre efforts,
The Sixteen Men of Tain is startlingly superb.
Holdsworth
has stripped away the distracting banks of keyboards and allowed his
soaring, gliding guitar to shine through in a way it hasn't since the
1980s. Even the Synthaxe,
Holdsworth's signature guitar synthesizer, sounds organic and immediate, not to mention far less prevalent than on previous albums.
Dave Carpenter's acoustic bass is a radical departure (check out his solo on the title track), as are
Walt Fowler's two guest appearances on trumpet. "The Drums Were Yellow," a burning guitar/drum duet tribute to the late
Tony Williams, is also a first.
Gary Novak's drumming is appropriately complex and riveting on this and six other tracks. (
Holdsworth's old compatriot
Chad Wackerman
sits in for "Downside Up.") In short, this album is full of fresh ideas
and unadulterated improvisational brilliance -- just when it was
beginning to seem that
Holdsworth's best work was behind him.
aCá
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