Search - Patto :: Patto

Andy Partridge's (XTC) favorite guitarist

Alan Oehler | San Mateo, CA | 06/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Patto was an interesting and excellent band from England during the early 70's, and this album (their first, I believe) was full of promise. They were billed as a jazz-rock band but distinguised in the liner notes from what this term meant to most people at that time -- that is, rock bands with horn sections like Chicago and Blood, Sweat and Tears. At the time Patto were wholly unique -- rough and tumble rock playing of a very high order mixed with a jazz improvisational skill virtually unknown at the time. Guitarist Ollie Halsall was the first person I ever heard that played with the skill and harmonic sense of a jazzer and the sound and fury of a rocker, a year or so before I heard John McLaughlin and Allan Holdsworth. Just listen to him spinning fluid, angular lines over the swirling free-jazz bed laid down by the bass and drums in "Money Bag." He also was a deft vibraphone player, as you'll hear in "The Man." Perhaps the highlight of the album is "San Antone," where the pungent chords of the intro lead into a truly great rock song, sung with panache and style by Mike Patto, the band's frontman. Halsall contributes a roaring solo, the beginning of which is one of my personal choices for Great Moments of audio recording. The band had one more terrific album, "Hold Your Fire," followed by the odd "Roll' Em, Smoke 'Em, Put Another Line Out," where it seemed that they were trying to seek a wider audience and, like almost all such attempts, diluted what made them special, came out mediocre at best, and failed miserably, commercially and artistically. Not long after Halsall and Patto resurfaced in a band named Boxer, and all of the jazz leanings were gone. Patto died not too long after of cancer (if I remember this correctly), and Halsall went on to appearances on albums by Kevin Ayers, Jon Hiseman's Tempest, and, in perhaps his most famous effort, played all the wonderfully accurate and amusing George Harrison imitations on the first Rutles record. Somewhere along the way he passed away, too, and today he's virtually forgotten. It was a thrill to see him mentioned so glowingly by Andy Partridge in his interview in Guitar Player Magazine in the July 2000 issue. I thought I was one of two or three people in America that ever heard of him."

Patto's Third Album A Lost 70's Classic

Robert A. Cianci | Highland Lakes, NJ United States | 06/25/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a music journalist since the early 70's, I've come into contact with literally thousands of bands and their music. There are the great ones and those long forgotten, most of them deservedly so. Patto was a band that has disappeared from the public consciousness and shouldn't have, because their music was passionate, driven, melodically and harmonically simple yet highly evolved, with sophisticated jazz nuances sprinkled among the hard rock guitar of the great and underrated Ollie Halsall, the soulful vocals of Mike Patto, and the supple rhythm section of John Halsey and Clive Griffiths.Their eponymous first album is their best, with succeeding efforts coming close, but failing up to come to the level of their debut. I bought this disc simply to replace the well-worn vinyl copy I have owned and treasured since 1970. Patto's first album never fails to amaze me to this day. The music holds up remarkably well over time, and is recommended for any fan of adventurous 70's hard rock. The quality of Patto's music is there for the discovery. Don't pass up the first album. It's THAT good! By the way, if you can find copies of any of the Patto albums on vinyl in excellent condition, buy them. They're collecible and especially rare in the USA, where the band never made as much as a dent in the charts. A pity."

Incomparable guitar-work, raw fun for the whole family

Robert A. Cianci | 08/30/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To begin: This is not Patto's best-- that distinction goes to the brilliant "Hold Your Fire." That said, however, this is still a prime slice of Ollie Halsall's simply amazing guitar. He roars all over the place, just inches from losing control, but never loses track of some internal melody that sound somehow *right*. The songs are good, the playing passionate, Patto's vocals are soulful and fun-- the whole thing works. And until "Hold Your Fire" hits the shelves, it's the best investment for your Patto dollar, closely followed by "Roll 'em, Smoke 'em, Put Another Line Out.""