Allan C'est Vrai ou Pas

Gary Allan grows better and more assured with each album, and his third record, Smoke Rings in the Dark, is his best effort yet. Similar to the Mavericks, Allan stylishly blends a number of roots styles, from his signature Bakersfield country to dusty folk and pop crooning, into a neo-traditionalist sound that is curiously out of time…..

Allan Clayton demonstrates his exceptional versatility with a Liszt programme of eighteen songs, all of which—in contrasting ways—make prodigious technical and musical demands of the performers.

Allan Taylor is one of England's most-respected singer/songwriters. His songs have been covered by artists on both sides of the Atlantic, including Don Williams, Frankie Miller, Fairport Convention, Dick Gaughan, the McCalmans, the Fureys, the Clancy Brothers, and De Dannan. Folk Roots praised him for his "ability to crystallize a mood and evoke an era with the ease of a computer memory access, crafting perfect songs with dramatic changes in the spirit of Brecht, Bikel, and Brel." The Oxford Book of Traditional Verse felt as strongly, writing that Taylor was "one of the most literate and sensitive of contemporary songwriters in terms of words and music and one who is capable of exploring more complex subjects than most of his contemporaries."

Gary Allan's fourth album honors traditional honky tonk and American music without dripping into the sentimentality that bogs down so many of his contemporaries. The singing is better here than on anything he's ever done, and the song selection – ranging from a Todd Snider cover to a nice Bruce Robison-penned closer called "What Would Willie Do" – is sharp and smart. Alright Guy presents a look at country music that bucks tradition while keeping the faith.–by Michael Gallucci

In 2007 Allan Holdsworth & Alan Pasqua toured extensively with Chad Wackerman and Jimmy Haslip. This DVD captures their concert at Yoshi’s in the Bay area. This a tour-d-force line up. Holdsworth on guitar and Pasqua on keyboards are the main creative writing force, while Wackerman adds his unique touch on the drums, and Haslip is on the bass guitar. Up beat Jazz is the way I would describe it. This DVD has a running time of 90 minutes and is just delightful. It is not often that you get four of the worlds finest musicians to corroborate on a project.

This debut solo release by Allan Holdsworth has an "in the raw," coarsely presented, jam-session quality complete with warts and all, as well as real gems of jazz fusion shining through. This is the 1990 CD that was digitally remastered from the original analog tapes (AAD/ADD). Tracks 9-13 did not appear on the 1976 CTI vinyl release.