The guitarist John Frusciante said nobody is “better than”
Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante idolised acclaimed icons like Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck, but not every artist he grew up admiring became a household name. In fact, the guitarist Frusciante claimed nobody is “better than” is somebody most readers will be unfamiliar with, but his impact on Frusciante is immeasurable.
The guitarist in question is the late English jazz musician Allan Holdsworth, who also influenced Rush’s Alex Lifeson, Greg Howe, Eddie Van Halen, Tom Morello and countless others. Holdsworth’s career started with humble beginnings across the clubs in northern England, and word soon began to spread about his prodigal talent.
Toward the end of the 1970s, Holdsworth began collaborating with artists in the prog-rock world and was recruited by Yes founder Bill Bruford to play on his debut album. However, throughout his career, Holdsworth was always the bridesmaid rather than the bride. Although he released several solo albums, his work with others captured the most attention.
Holdsworth was a masterful technician who Frusciante dreamed of replicating but believed it would always be beyond his reach. He played the guitar in a language that nobody else could comprehend, let alone speak as fluently as Holdsworth, filling the Red Hot Chili Peppers member with awe.
In a conversation with GuitarPlayer, Frusciante named Holdsworth’s ‘Three Sheets to the Wind’ from Road Games as one of his favourite tracks of all time and spoke about the Englishman’s influence. “I don’t think somebody has to be technically advanced to be soulful at all, but,” he admitted. “I really don’t think there’s anyone better than Allan Holdsworth… I’m sure I’ll always learn from him and never in a million years will I be able to do what he did.”
Meanwhile, in a conversation with the Musical Times, Frusciante discussed Holdsworth once more and used him as an example of a guitarist who mastered the art of multitasking. He explained: “We guitar players previously understood this principle as ‘I can play chords and a lead at the same time,’ but at this point in time, over 40 years later, we can now appreciate that it is the ability to think of chords and a lead at the same time which caused him to play in this style, and a new type of soloing can result from engaging in this same mental action, but only playing the lead part”.
He continued: “Allan Holdsworth [English guitar virtuoso] has always been great at this, but we are not talking about jazz here. Rock guitarists usually do not wish to think trains of thought about anything but their own guitar playing during a long solo, and I could not play this way if I were not able to divide my attention between my ever-changing musical environment and my instrument itself. To lose your mind while you are mentally considering two opposing perceptions of the music at hand, is a skill rock musicians as a whole have yet to develop.”
Watch the footage below of Holdsworth strutting his stuff and understand why Frusciante believes nobody could touch him.