After the train-wreck disaster of Holdsworth's first solo release, the infamous Velvet Darkness, it wasn't until three years later that he reconsidered doing a real solo release versus the earlier ripoff of an authorized studio mishmash product he suffered.
So in 1979 he recorded I.O.U.
on a wing and a prayer and loans (ergo, an IOU recording project).
With his very successful stints with other groups in the intervening time period, such as UK and Bruford, Holdsworth's guitar prowess and name were clearly on the map.
Holdsworth now needed to be the leader he clearly was and thus release an official solo record.
The real Allan Holdsworth unleashed is at last revealed on I.O.U.
in his original compositions and well-crafted soloing, versus being merely part of a group and forced to stay within certain boundaries of other bandmates' design.
I.O.U., as a solo release, is high-quality jazz fusion interplay, offering emotive compositions, ethereal guitar atmospherics, complex chordal progressions, and intense legato explosions of guitar that set the standard for many guitarists to come.
There is no acoustic guitar this time, but a wee bit of Holdsworth on violin appears in one song.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Things You See (When You Haven't Got Your Gun)Allan Holdsworth | Allan Holdsworth | Play | 05:53 | 13 MB | 36 MB |
| 2 | Where Is OneAllan Holdsworth | Allan Holdsworth | Play | 05:36 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 3 | Checking OutAllan Holdsworth | Allan Holdsworth | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 4 | Letters of MarqueAllan Holdsworth | Allan Holdsworth | Play | 07:00 | 16 MB | 43 MB |
| 5 | Out from UnderAllan Holdsworth | Allan Holdsworth | Play | 03:33 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 6 | Temporary FaultAllan Holdsworth | Allan Holdsworth | Play | 03:18 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 7 | Shallow SeaAllan Holdsworth | Allan Holdsworth | Play | 06:02 | 13 MB | 32 MB |
| 8 | White LineAllan Holdsworth | Allan Holdsworth | Play | 04:46 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 39 mins | 91 MB | |||||
| 39 mins | 247 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colin Green | Mixing |
| 2 | Allan Holdsworth | Composer, Guitar, Primary Artist, Producer, Violin |
| 3 | Gary Husband | Drums, Piano |
| 4 | Glen LaFerman | Photography |
| 5 | Andy Llewellyn | Engineer |
| 6 | Paul Williams | Vocals |
| 7 | Paul Williams | Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |