Ollie Halsall's Great Guitar Moments

[@tattyshoesshigure5731]

I used to do a light show at a venue called Sisters on the Seven Sisters Road N.London where Patto used to regularly play, in fact they might have been the ‘house band’. It was a thrill to listen to Ollie’s amazing guitar playing, which was impossible to pigeonhole as it had so many different influences… particularly jazz. It was also very unusual to see a guitarist start playing the vibraphone in the middle of a number! Unfortunately I don’t know much about his later musical career, he was not only a rare talent but also a really lovely guy!

[@griiseknoen]

The fact that Halsall and Holdsworth actually used to play *together in the same band* in the early 70s (Tempest) still blows my mind. Having ONE guitarist with that amount of talent and creativity in a band is *amazing.* Having TWO is just... beyond beyond. 🤯

[@jorgegonzalez-larramendi5491]

I had that beautiful lp. Great package.

[@adamchafetz2986]

The most amazing obscure guitarist in the world. My favorite of his playing, is on the Kevin Ayers song BLUE.

[@sylarsurfer5645]

May I, as well

[@abalt3019]

He just soars! I love that too!

[@careyatchison1348]

Luckily I have the album that song appeared in, Yes We have no Mananas.. Because the studio version of that song has never been allowed on KZbin!

[@colinbudd5840]

The first time I heard that I just had to check who was playing. It sounded wonderfully insane. That was the first I’d heard of him and I still keep pointing friends that way.

[@oldcrow-iw3kc]

First heard Ollie on the Patto Album" Hold your Fire" which l brought and still have for £1 .50 in 71 . l was blown away by he's inventiveness and fluid playing and lightning fast runs that straddled the line between jazz and Rock before Fusion came on the scene . A true original and so underrated during he's lifetime it's good to see he's mastery of the guitar being appreciated now .Just a thought but had he lived l could imagine him in a Jazz/ Rock fusion band and being acknowledged as one of the greats like John Mclaughlin

[@panibanez334]

He is the G.O.A.T. of rock guitar

[@dewimatthews]

GuitarOnAmplifiedTracks?

[@ukromany1758]

Well, he was very good. That'd suffice.

[@JourneyJankings]

I think that you’ve only had a small sample size of guitar players then. While he is decent, there were much more proficient players. For example, Michael Schenker, Gary Moore, just to name two. Broaden your horizons.

[@Coneman3]

Not just technically amazing but also very musical.

[@MikeL-7]

I prefer Allan Holdsworth

[@olivierlusseyran]

What a great guitarist ! Listen to him also on Kevin Ayers tracks.

[@clouddog2393]

That solo on "Give it all away "on their classic" Hold your fire "album says it all . Ollie was one of the great guitarists that should have been up there with the greats . Listen also to his extended jazzy solo on their self titled debut called "money bag "

[@bakeone4406]

His work on Money Bag is fantastic. Once in a while (usually at a jazz gig) when a guitarist gets particularly hot I'll hear small flashes of Money Bag, but they hardly ever stay at that level for more than a few seconds. More often than not when I BS w/ them it turns out they've never even heard of Halsall.

[@starcloud4959]

'Hold Your Fire' is an incredible mind dblowing album!!!!!!!!!!!there's nothing out there like it.

[@clouddog2393]

@@starcloud4959 l have an original Vertigo swirl label l brought at the time for £1 . 50 . Very collectable now and going for high prices but l would'nt part with it as it's such a great album . Have the CD for the bonus tracks and have an original of their first album too which is worth checking out if you have'nt heard it . Great band Patto and vocalist Mike Patto was sadly underrated as was Ollie .

[@buzzedalldrink9131]

Reading a guitar book and this guy was mentioned as “ The greatest guitar player You’ve never heard if” So, I never heard of him and now I’m here. Holy S&@t this guy is unreal! they were right

[@joashtunison351]

Just when I thought I'd heard 'em all. Wow, crazy stuff. Gotta dig into this guy's material. Some of this is rather uniquely wild.

[@thinklikeakey]

Indeed!

[@cosmicman621]

What a great compilation.My favourite solo is on Tempest’s...Dance To My Tune...especially the live version.Also has a great..moog..solo by Ollie.Cheers for posting.

[@alebest1955]

fuoriclasse Ollie ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@user-qo6vj6pf6k]

If you put the time these solos were recorded into context, you can totally hear what started coming from the States in the late 70's and 80's. Really fantastic stuff and way ahead of his time.

[@jaywood5831]

The guitar playing on "my days are numbered" is some of the cleanest guitar I've ever heard

[@irishmuso7129]

What a revelation. He seems to be working on harmonies which the rest of the band aren't aware of. His technique matches his inventiveness. Thank you for putting this together.

[@aliensporebomb]

He had such raging energy! Gone before his time.

[@angeloraim]

Unforgottable, 🙏🏻

[@adambana5857]

I first heard Ollie Halsall on a Patto album. Sweet mother of God!!! There are unsung/underrated guitarists, and then there's guitarists like Ollie! It amazes me how such an incredible musician as Halsall just flies over some people's heads ( it's those people that the birdie song was written for) because, as far as I'm aware...NOBODY WAS PULLING OFF THAT KIND OF SHIT! granted, we have/had Holdsworth! But I have seen NOTHING really said about Ollie Halsall. Great musicianship! Great tone! (As tone is acquired without hods of distortion! You can hear it all with some overdriven valves!!! To me, OLLIE HALSALL is the most unsing guitarist ever! And hands down one of the greatest

[@jackelder6047]

Never heard of this guy… Glad I did, he’s fucking awesome

[@octavelower1024]

I was a friend of Clive Griffiths who has some stories to tell....

[@15taliesin15]

Just read about him in an interview with XTC's Andy Partridge, who cites Halsell as a major influence on his guitar playing

[@fusionfan6883]

Oh and another forgotten UK guitar genius is Brian Godding,. Check out his playing with Mike Westbrook, Magma and Centipede. Enjoy!

[@SwampEye1]

great guitar player ... totally new to me ... never heard his name before

[@claymor8241]

You’ve got to be kidding….

[@catpope]

You missed the work he did with The Rutles.

[@jean-lucpernel2202]

Patto, tempest 2 " super" groupes pour ce guitariste - vibraphoniste execptionnel !

[@majorbloodnok7141]

Saw him with Jon Hiseman's Tempest in 1973.

[@chrismawson8935]

I can hear echoes of those amazing runs in the playing of Allan Holdsworth.

[@clouddog2393]

Me too . Both ploughed similar musical territories .

[@guitarchannel5676]

They played together in a twin guitar configuration of Tempest. There's a BBC concert of it.

[@ericwalter4771]

@@guitarchannel5676yes it was amazing .

[@fusionfan6883]

Sorry to say but they are completely different harmonically, Halsall was basically a fast rock guitarist and couldn’t really play jazz changes. Also his picking technique is completely different. If anything, he had more in common with the great Bill Nelson. That said he was a maverick genius, but very different to Holdsworth.

[@tsuyoshinyc2]

@@fusionfan6883 I don't think Allan was able to play changes either at the time. Allan developed his own universe later eventually, but their roots were quite similar. That's what I hear at least. I totally hear exact same runs like around 6:44-46. One obvious thing that Ollie influenced Allan is that whammy bar thing. Allan admitted that in an interview.

[@fusionfan6883]

Alway loved Ollie, a true genius. For another insanely underrated guitarist, check out the incredible Bill Nelson, ex of Be Bop Deluxe and a huge solo catalogue. Bill had similar, if not greater, fluidity and an amazing sense of melody. Both seemed to draw from the same guitar history, with a lot of blues, rock, rock and roll and some jazz riffs subsumed into their incendiary playing.. This is particularly on show in the live BBD recordings, especially Life in the Air Age.

[@clouddog2393]

Bill was very underated too . His solo on "Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape "on their "Axe Victim "album is just beautiful and evocative .

[@fusionfan6883]

@@clouddog2393 Yes indeed hence my mentioning him over the years. The version of Landscape in Live in the Air Age is even more amazing, but my favourite solo of his has to be Crying to the Sky.

[@eti313]

Bill has cited Ollie as an influence.

[@Passion535]

Never heard of the guy! He's pretty interesting, sounds like he could get the audience going!

[@allancerf9038]

My first real job was as a teen at a place called Fishing and Hunting News, in Seattle. In the 70's everyone was a music fan with deeply held beliefs - or many were. We also had these older chicks working there who had a lot of money (why they bothered working who knows) who were knockouts and knew hell of a lot about music. They went on and on about Gary Peacock, Patto (who I had heard) Billy Cobham and others. They launched into these names after we discussed Blow by Blow which they also liked. They felt these other dudes were the next notch 'up,' from Jeff Beck, I guess. Most of the names these chicks mentioned were musicians I didn't know. Some dude who worked there (became a lawyer) knew even more. These people really knew what they were talking about but at the time, meant little to a dude who took the bus to work because I was too young to drive. I had heard Halsall...but that was it. He was a hell of a player.

[@claudecat]

This guy's an amazing player obviously, and like most people, even music nerds, I'd not really heard of him. It's odd to hear him going nuts in a very hard rock/ugly way one second, then all of a sudden it's Allan Holdsworth "that's impossible" runs played with precision. Halsall must have been cursed. To be that good at that time? With the right band he could been a phenomenon. And they said Clapton was God...

[@brucevair-turnbull8082]

You can keep EC and JP; this guy rocks!

[@xianshep]

Guy was a musical FREAK: great on guitar, vibes, keys, and - I believe - drums.

[@BoxesOfFoxes]

Where is that magical SG? R.i.p halsall

[@Seventysongs]

Who is he playing with on OGWT at 5:34?

[@claymor8241]

Neil Innes. Momma Bee is from Innes’ album.

[@Seventysongs]

@@claymor8241 thank you.

[@YaoEspirito]

Sounds like a cross of Frank Marino and Scott Henderson. Lovely.

[@philoupaulo]

Harg...! Bloody left handed !

[@fabiocecchelli9662]

What about Carlos Rios on “ Brother to Brother “ by Gino Vanelli and Ollie Halsall on “ Give it Away”…💙

[@spookedhorse]

Song at 6:21 ????

[@thinklikeakey]

This is "May I?" by Kevin Ayers. Usually a great highlight for Halsall's playing.

[@spookedhorse]

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!@@thinklikeakey

[@冬村達郎]

5:22 He has six fingers!

[@paulrichards3017]

Patto are the reason why I found Zep to be “lame” in my teenage years !! Those in “the know” knew Patto !!!!😂

[@paulkendallquarry679]

Also a great vibraphone player...

[@BanalayerPete1972]

He must've turned down some major bands! I know Mike Patto from Spooky Tooth, another band that should've been bigger. Ollie Halsall, though... Incredibly talented.

[@tigrevert]

I also think his best playing was with Kevin Ayers

[@garyprice6504]

Incedibly Zappa.

[@sidf78]

playback

[@robertosborne7542]

Really?give meJeff Beck anyday..I dont hear anything innovative or special here at all,just a lot of fiddling about to no discernable end product.

[@xianshep]

You make a valid point or two, but even if that's fiddling, it's astonishingly virtuosic fiddling. A jazzer playing rock.

[@ramzamo1666]

Comparing this to Jeff Beck is like comparing a watermelon to a box of nails.

[@pastorpresent7774]

You keep Beck, Hi ho Silver lining and all.

[@davidscott1052]

Ha ha spot on​@@pastorpresent7774

[@wikingfaust]

Either you're deaf or you don't know anything about playing guitar (or both). Anything innovative? He was the first rock guitarist to employ the hammer-on legato technique using all fretting fingers.

[@jonapolloapollo5770]

Camera men were idiots back in the day in the 60,s they would show a guitarist picking hand it took years for C...men to show the lead guitarist left hand playing the solo

[@jonapolloapollo5770]

Who copied who Olli sounds like Jeff Beck or does Jeff Beck sound like Olli

[@claymor8241]

Neither sounds anything like the other.