Hard Hat Area

Hard Hat Area is the eighth studio album by guitarist Allan Holdsworth, released in 1993 through Polydor Records (Japan), JMS–Cream Records (Europe) and Fred Bloggs Music (United Kingdom), and in 1994 through Restless Records (United States);[1] a remastered edition with expanded liner notes was reissued on 15 May 2012 through MoonJune Records.[2]

Hard Hat Area
Studio album by Allan Holdsworth
Released	1993
Studio	Front Page Recorders, Costa Mesa, California; The Brewery, North County, San Diego
Genre	Jazz fusion
Length	41:37
Label	Polydor
Producer	Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth chronology
Wardenclyffe Tower (1992) Hard Hat Area (1993) None Too Soon (1996)
Alternative cover
European edition

Holdsworth frequently cited the album as one of his favourites.[3][4][5][6] "Tullio" is a reference to cycling component innovator and company founder Tullio Campagnolo.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
All About Jazz	Favourable[8]
AllMusic	[1]

Hard Hat Area has received mostly positive reviews. John Kelman at All About Jazz called it one of Holdsworth's better solo recordings, naming "Ruhkukah" and "Low Levels, High Stakes" as highlights. He also praised the line-up of keyboardist Steve Hunt, drummer Gary Husband and bassist Skúli Sverrisson, but noted that it was sometimes difficult to distinguish between Hunt's playing and Holdsworth's SynthAxe.[8]

Glenn Astarita at AllMusic called the album one of Holdsworth's "better solo excursions", and "a must-have" for fans of his work. Like Kelman, he named "Ruhkakah" and "Low Levels, High Stakes" as highlights.[1]

Track listing

All music is composed by Allan Holdsworth, except where noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Prelude" (Holdsworth, Steve Hunt)	1:35
2.	"Ruhkukah"	5:34
3.	"Low Levels, High Stakes"	9:05
4.	"Hard Hat Area"	6:06
5.	"Tullio"	6:02
6.	"House of Mirrors"	7:47
7.	"Postlude" (Holdsworth, Hunt, Skúli Sverrisson, Gary Husband)	5:28
Total length:		41:37

Personnel

• Allan Holdsworth – guitar, SynthAxe, engineering, mixing, production
• Steve Hunt – keyboard
• Gary Husband – drums
• Skúli Sverrisson – bass
• Rejean de Grand'Maison – engineering
• Gordon Davis – mixing
• Bernie Grundman – mastering
• Chris Bellman – remastering (reissue)

References

1. Astarita, Glenn. "Hard Hat Area – Allan Holdsworth". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
2. "Allan Holdsworth: Hard Hat Area". MoonJune Records. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
3. Hallebeek, Richard (11 May 1996). "Allan Holdsworth (1996)" Archived 2012-03-03 at the Wayback Machine. richardhallebeek.com. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
4. Douse, Cliff (December 1996). "Legato Land". Guitar Techniques. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
5. Staff (19 August 2004). "Allan Holdsworth Interview" Archived 2011-09-29 at the Wayback Machine. Abstract Logix. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
6. Hoard, Christopher; Preston, Jeff (February 1994). "Allan Holdsworth: An Interview". The Allan Holdsworth Information Center. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
7. Morrison, Mike (9 February 2006). "Allan Holdsworth Interview with Mike Morrison". therealallanholdsworth.com. Archived from the original on 5 May 2006. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
8. Kelman, John (23 March 2012). "Allan Holdsworth: Hard Hat Area and None Too Soon". All About Jazz. Retrieved 9 September 2014.

External links

• Hard Hat Area at therealallanholdsworth.com (archived)
• Allan Holdsworth "Hard Hat Area" at Guitar Nine