Igginbottom

This album is described on Alan Holdsworth’s website as one that he wished he hadn’t been involved with and I must say that I find that difficult to understand.
Certainly, this isn’t as powerful or as complex as some of his later material, especially the music he made with Tony Williams, but the album is full of charm and there is nothing here to be ashamed of at all.

Igginbottom share a lot of the lyrical and musical whimsy of the Canterbury set, especially Caravan, but musically they are more in the Jazz vein.

Sure, they do ramble and the songs don’t always feel as though they are leading anywhere logical – it takes two minutes before you realise that ‘California Dreamin’ is actually a take on the Mamas & Papas song – but the journey is generally worth it.

They play around with key changes and some off-tempo workouts with all the band members seemingly playing different scores but coming together at the end – they were a Prog band after all.

At the time that this album was first released the musical world was beginning to move into a more defined realm – Blues based, Classical or Jazz and the subtle and balmy tones of Igginbottom were a little too bucolic for the mainstream.
In the modern music world this seems, at times, to be twee and pretty for its own sake but listen closely and the complex themes and the skilful playing begin to insinuate themselves under your skin and the end result is a really well crafted minor masterpiece. Lovely