The Soft Machine

The Soft Machine are one of the bands that spun off of Daevid Allen's Dover- and Canterbury-based Trio--a band that included Robert Wyatt, a 16-year old drummer who was the son of Daevid's landlord, and bass player Hugh Hopper. Their music was inspired by Beat Generation authors/artists as well as the philosophies of Sun Ra. Keyboard player Mike Ratledge began sitting in on live performances as early as 1963 but when Australian Daevid's British visa was expiring, he returned to France where he began collaborating with other artists--and where he met his life partner, Gilli Smyth. Wyatt and Hopper were quick to form the Wilde Flowers with additional local lads Brian Hopper (Hugh's brother), Richard Sinclair, and Kevin Ayers. The Wilde Flowers began to disintegrate in 1967 when Daevid Allen returned from France and wanted to start a new band. The result was Daevid Allen's The Soft Machine, named after a William F. Burroughs novel, and a band calling themselves Caravan that formed from the Sinclair brothers, Richard and David, the Hastings brothers, Pye and Jimmy, and Richard Coughlin. The initial lineup of The Soft Machine included Allen, Wyatt, Hopper, Ratledge, and Ayers though only Wyatt, Ratledge, and Ayers made it to the band's 1968 tour of the United States (as Jimi Hendrix's warm up band) and to the April 1968 recording sessions in New York City--which led to the publication of their debut album in December. (Daevid Allen had continuous problems with visas and an increasing amount of loyalty to and comfort in Paris, France--this despite several Brits becoming part of his initial Gong project lineups.)

The band has had many lineup changes over the years--and still exists to this day--though Daevid Allen, Kevin Ayers, Robert Wyatt, and Hugh Hopper have been long gone. As you will see below, only Mike Ratledge remained with the band through the Jazz-Rock Fusion heyday.    

THE SOFT MACHINE The Soft Machine ("Volume One") (1968) 

It begins: the silliness and psychedelic jazz experimentation that becomes known as the Canterbury Scene of jazz-pop begins with this album.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Mike Ratledge / Lowrey Holiday Deluxe organ, piano (13) & piano strings (5)
- Kevin Ayers / bass, piano (5), lead (10,12) & backing (7,9) vocals (& a little guitar)
- Robert Wyatt / drums, vocals
With:
- Hugh Hopper / bass (13)
The Cake vocal group:
- Jeanette Jacobs / backing vocals (12)
- Barbara Morillo / backing vocals (12)
- Eleanor Barooshian / backing vocals (12)

1. "Hope For Happiness" (4:22) (8.75/10)

2. "Joy Of A Toy" (2:56) an étude of low end electric guitar with band in gentle support (8/10)

3. "Hope For Happiness (Reprise)" (1:31) (3.75/5)

4. "Why Am I So Short?" (2:33) (8/10)

5. "So Boot If At All" (7:25) tight bluesy jazz with bass, organ, and drums having a blast. The bass sound and movement reminds me a lot of that of CHICAGO's Peter Cetera. The long version I own has quite a long drum solo and some fun child-like play with an upright piano--both inside and out. (12.25/15)

6. "A Certain Kind" (4:06) slowed down church organ chords with heart-pulsing bass and Robert singing from his heart (extemporaneously?). (7.5/10)

7. "Save Yourself" (2:26) a tight YARDBIRDS-like sound (7/10) that bleeds into:

8. "Priscilla" (1:05) a little trio étude (4/5) which bleeds into:

9. "Lullabye Letter" (4:26) (8.25/10) (a song that must have inspired and informed PETER GABRIEL and GENESIS for their debut collection of songs, From Genesis to Revelation as well as some of RICK WAKEMAN's sound stylings).

10. "We Did It Again" (3:40) one of the Softs' more memorable, cute, and anthemic songs. (9/10)

11. "Plus Belle Qu'une Poubelle" (1:05) an intro to the more famous follow up (4.25/5)

12. "Why Are We Sleeping?" (5:26) giving Kevin Ayers dry Alan Rickman-like diction the limelight in this vehicle for some flower-child poetry with a catchy world-class chorus. (9.25/10)

13. "Box 25/4 Lid" (0:48) bass or bass string of the electric guitar (3/5)

Total Time: 36:57

80.87 on the Fishscales = C/three stars; an average and dated album notable for its historical significance and attitudinal influence on other musicians (yes, music can be fun, filled with sarcasm and satire--even be silly.)

THE SOFT MACHINE Volume Two (1969) 

Gone are founding members Daevid ALLEN and Kevin AYERS. The remaining members decide to produce an album as a trio with Robert WYATT on drums and vocals, Mike RATLEDGE on keyboards and flute, Hugh HOPPER on bass and alto sax, and special guest, Hugh's brother, Brian HOPPER on soprano and tenor saxes. What unveils is a masterpiece of supremely melodic and humorous exercises and experiments in modern and psychedelic jazz pop. I find the album eminently enjoyable to this day--one of my favorite start-to-finish 'adventures' in music listening. Each song is interesting for its experimental nature as well as for its lyrical content and instrumental performances. Robert is quite a talented drummer, Mike a wonderfully melodic piano and keyboard player, and the Hopper boys add quite a bit of colour and harmonic beauty. I don't really want to go through each of the seventeen songs, nor do I want to name my favorite or the "five star" songs as to my ears and mind the album is one continuous play experience, but if you really twist my arm I'd go out there to say that "Dada Was Here" is a wonderful composite example of all of the best qualities of this album--with the additional highlight of having Robert singing in Spanish! and that Side One is more engaging and more melodic than the more experimental and more instrumental Side Two--and yet I find the jazzier experimentations on Side Two fascinating!

Line-up / Musicians:
- Mike Ratledge / piano, Lowrey Holiday Deluxe organ, Hammond (3), harpsichord (12), flute (3,10)
- Hugh Hopper / bass, alto sax (3,14-16), acoustic guitar (12)
- Robert Wyatt / drums, percussion, vocals, arranger (2,4-8)
With:

- Brian Hopper / tenor (3,9,10,14-16) & soprano (15,16) saxes

Side 1 - Rivmic Melodies:
1. "Pataphysical Introduction Pt. I" (1:00) (4.5/5)
2. "A Concise British Alphabet Pt. I" (0:10)
3. "Hibou, Anemone and Bear" (5:58) great, melodic, tightly performed, jazz instrumental of the distinctive Canterbury sound and style. A little Sinner Man-like in its near-reckless abandon. (9.5/10)
4. "A Concise British Alphabet Pt. II" (0:12)
5. "Hulloder" (0:52) great little jazzy construct with very witty lyrics. (5/5)
6. "Dada Was Here" (3:25) sung in Spanish! With great chord sequences, subtle quirk, and melody. A personal favorite. (9.25/10)
7. "Thank You Pierrot Lunaire" (0:47) Robert and the band showing their capacity for mastery of the difficult art of subtle beauty. (5/5)
8. "Have You Ever Bean Green?" (1:23) Motown vocal harmonies! (5/5)
9. "Pataphysical Introduction Pt. II" (0:50) (4/5)
10. "Out of Tunes" (2:30) Brian Hopper (saxes) and Mike Ratledge (flute) and Robert Wyatt cave-vocalise get set loose over cacophonous instrumental play. It kind of works! (8.5/10)

Side 2 - Esther's Nose Job:
11. "As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still" (2:30) great piano chord sequence ruined by Robert Wyatt's pitch-imperfect verbal diarrhea. (9/10)
12. "Dedicated to You But You Weren't Listening" (2:30) Hugh Hopper on acoustic guitar with Robert Wyatt trying to match his melodies with extemporaneous "poetry." Pre-Steve Hackett! I'll give Robert credit for matching Hugh's melodies impressively the full way through. (8.5/10)
13. "Fire Engine Passing With Bells Clanging" (1:50) more cacophonous free-for-all as in "Out of Tunes." What was the point? (3.5/5)
14. "Pig" (2:08) drummer Wyatt trying to keep up with a Vince Guaraldi-like piano rhythm. (Not well--the two are sorely out of sync.) Vocals suck. (3/5) Transitions into:
15. "Orange Skin Food" (1:52) an hypnotic rhythm track over which Hugh and Brian play some very distorted and supportive saxes. Okay, I admit it: It's kind of cool. (5/5)
16. "A Door Opens And Closes" (1:09) funky sound rhythm section like SMASHMOUTH's "Walking on the Sun" before second and third arpeggiated riff are added (and, for a while, vocalise) (4.5/5) Bleeds into:
17. "10.30 Returns to the Bedroom" (4:14) which is the band blazing ahead at full tilt, tight and showing off as much as possible. (9/10)

Total time:

88. 81 on the Fishscales = B/four stars;

THE SOFT MACHINE Third (1970) 

Just hearing Soft Machine for the first time (I had never even heard of "Canterbury Scene" until joining ProgArchives in 2009!) and I'm loving the music--especially it's odd editing, the unexpected styles represented, as well as the diversity of their sources of inspiration.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Mike Ratledge / Lowrey organ, piano, Hohner pianet
- Elton Dean / alto sax, saxello
- Hugh Hopper / bass guitar
- Robert Wyatt / drums, vocals & piano & Hammond & bass (3)
With:
- Lyn Dobson / flute & soprano sax (1)
- Nick Evans / trombone (2,4)
- Jimmy Hastings / flute & bass clarinet (2,4)
- Rab Spall / electric violin (3)

What an awesome song is "Slightly All the Time"! (18:13) I can see where their influences come from (Miles) and who was influenced by them (Magma, Brian Auger, Caravan, Traffic, Gong, Hatfield And The North, Brainbox, Focus, Supertramp, and so many others). One of the great epic-length songs of the Canterbury Scene. (35/35) 

And so much of "Moon in June" (19:08) sounds/feels like early RPI music--as well as Focus and early Supertramp. So melodic, emotional, and theatric--as well as bluesy. Though I actually love Robert Wyatt's voice, I'm not such a fan of extemporaneous stream-of-consciousness "lyrics"--much of which are delivered in a style and form that is more akin to scat vocalese. The organ-dominated music is okay--actually a little more annoying in the middle section when Robert is not singing. (34.25/40)

While I became used to "Facelift" (18:47) after a few listenings, it doesn't have quite the same warmth and exploratory freshness as the others. It's an exercise in experimental sound-making (the first third) and avant-garde "free form" jazz (the middle third) and DOORS-like heavy, murky psychedelia of which about half could have/might have better served had it been left on demo/practice tapes (or cutting room floor). (34.5/40) 

"Out-Bloody-Rageous" (19:13) has some awesome experimental keyboard work serving as intro, outro, and foundation to the up-tempo jam in the mid-section. Thanks to Terry C. Riley for the inspiration here! My favorite section is that which starts with the return to solo keyboards at the very middle of the song (synth & then piano). The song then builds on a more-traditional jazz motif--MILES DAVIS/JOHN COLTRANE-like--and then builds into an all-out jam with kind of a "Love Supreme" feel to it. Beautiful! The outro sounds so much like future CAMEL! I love all the tempo and melody changes in this music. Great performances on each of the instruments. Now this could qualify as Jazz-Rock Fusion: an example of the pioneering, experimental kind that contributed to its beginning. (37/40)

90.81 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; an excellent addition to any prog rocker's music collection and a minor masterpiece of early, experimental Jazz-Rock Fusion. I can see why so many consider this an essential album--but I fear that the reason for this is as much for its historic influence as it is the legacy of its four songs, but, IMHO, this is perhaps not essential for its songs. I do agree, however, that it may be 'essential' for true music lovers for the understanding and appreciation of the history of this, our beloved 'progressive rock.'

THE SOFT MACHINE Fourth (1971) If one had never heard the previous albums with their quirky beginnings in psychedelia one might enter into the world of Mike Ratledge, Hugh Hopper, Robert Wyatt, and Elton Dean thinking that these guys are 1) serious jazz musicians and 2) great masters of their instruments. The only problem is:  There is very, very little here that feels or sounds like Canterbury style music--a little in "Kings and Queens" and "Virtually part 3." That's it. 

     While Dean's saxes will become more refined and creative in his more free-form future, the playing here of Robert Wyatt is the first and only time that I found myself thinking that "this is a really impressive musician." Ratledge and Hopper are really good and the addition of double bass from NUCLEUS founder Mike Babbington is awesome. Also, I still think it rather unique and brave of the band to go without a guitar player.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Mike Ratledge / Lowrey organ, Hohner pianet, piano
- Elton Dean / alto sax, saxello
- Hugh Hopper / bass guitar
- Robert Wyatt / drums
With:
- Roy Babbington / double bass (1, 3, 4, 6)
- Mark Charig / cornet (2-4)
- Nick Evans / trombone (1, 2, 4)
- Jimmy Hastings / alto flute (6), bass clarinet (1, 6)
- Alan Skidmore / tenor sax (1, 6)

1. "Teeth" (9:15) Jazz! Free jazz! At least, from the saxophone. From the opening notes this song presents the band as a jazz band with little or no ties to its previous incarnations. It's too bad as this is not one of the album's better songs--even the recording mix is "off." (15/20)

2. "Kings and queens" (5:02) slow and melodic with the gentle waves of keys, toms, and cymbals to support. Ratledge is brilliant in his support and Wyatt and Hopper and Dean are impressive as well. (8.75/10) 

3. "Fletcher's blemish" (4:35) pure free-form jazz in which the musicians exhibit some great control and, surprisingly, cohesiveness. (8.5/10)

4. "Virtually part 1" (5:16) jazz, pure and simple, with some nice structural experimentation. The barebones-ness of this piece gives each instrumentalists plenty of space in which to shine. (8.5/10)

5. "Virtually part 2" (7:09) enter the Lowrey organ--the last vestige of the Canterbury sound--and multiple tracks given to Elton Dean for his two instruments. Great instrumental performances--especially true of Robert Wyatt--but nothing very special melodically or emotionally. (12.5/15)

6. "Virtually part 3" (4:33) sees a step back from pacing and walls of sound as the drums check out and everybody else goes into "tuning mode." The electric bass of Hugh Hopper takes the lead while everybody else offers a kind of gentle support. It's actually kind of pretty music despite the fuzzed bass up front. (8.75/10)

7. "Virtually part 4" (3:23) smoother and more cohesive, even melodic. My favorite section of the album and the one that allows me to keep this album in the list of Canterbury favorites. (9.5/10)

Total Time: 39:13

84.12 on the Fishscales = B-/low four stars; a nice jazz album for its time but not a very glowing representative of the Canterbury Scene. 

THE SOFT MACHINE Five (1972)

Goodbye Robert, goodbye to all vocals; hello to refugees from Ian Carr's Nucleus.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Mike Ratledge / Lowrey organ, Fender Rhodes
- Elton Dean / alto saxophone, saxello, Fender Rhodes
- Hugh Hopper / bass
- Phil Howard / drums (1-3)
- John Marshall / drums (4-7)
With:
- Roy Babbington / double bass (4-7)

1. "All White" (6:06) opening the album with a very serious, very heavy jazz commitment, the music develops as something that could come off of one of Miles Davis' Second Great Quintet albums or one of Herbie (Hancock) or Wayne (Shorter)'s solo side projects. Though Hugh Hopper's bass is rather dull with its near-metronomic riff repeating over and over, Phil Howard's drumming is quite satisfactory. Mike Ratledge holds down the middle ground more as a mirror and reinforcement for the rhythm section (until the very end) while Elton Dean commands attention with his continuous play of his sonorous soprano sax. Interesting. (8.75/10)

2. "Drop" (7:42) water drop sound effects paired up with delay and echoing organ (Mike Ratledge) and Rhodes (Elton Dean) noodlings make this, to my mind, a further exploration or variation on the Terry Riley-inspired opening and closing sections of Third's "Out-Bloody-Rageous." In the third minute the rest of the band starts to join in and try to establish a syncopated quick-step motif within which Mike continues soloing à la Herbie Hancock while Elton Dean steps in with his kazoo-sounding "saxello" for an extended stream of electrified nasal fuzz play. Interesting. (13.125/15)

3. "M C" (4:57) an introductory barrage of echoing and reverberating electric piano runs is then greeted by Phil Howard's free-form drumming. In the second minute the quartet seems to want to try to pull something together but each musician seems to be, for whatever reason, reluctant: as if standing on the sidelines, watching one another while holding space with ramblings from their own instruments, waiting for the signal to gel and jump into a forward-moving direction. Despite its pervasive feeling of indecision and neutrality, I find myself liking this song quite a bit; it's like a lineup of race horses, caged in their starting gates, waiting for the gun to go off. (But it never does!) Very cool! Great way to end Side One! (9/10) 

4. "As If" (8:02) by now I'm getting the distinct feeling that Elton Dean thinks that he's in charge--that this is his album as the "lead" instruments over the top of the relegated-feeling support of the "rhythm section" are overwhelmingly his. On this one it's the alto sax for the first five minutes before Roy Babbington's bowed double bass gets some extended shine (over Hugh Hopper's steady, hypnotic bass line). John Marshall's drumming stands out for its crisp, prominent sound, as well as for his quickness and decisiveness. Yet, despite the sharing of the spotlight, it definitely felt like Elton Dean's song--his decision to give newcomers Roy and John some time to "introduce" themselves. (13.25/15)

5. "L B O" (1:54) an eruption of drumming like something we've heard from Tony Williams and Billy Cobham. Though John Marshall is an impressive drummer, this is not a very winning solo. (4.3333/5)

6. "Pigling Bland" (4:24) a mellower, more-melody-driven near-Canterbury-feeling song in which the rhythmatists are allowed to shift and move, stop and start--and it works really well beneath Elton Dean's saxello soloing: giving the song a very interesting and engaging foundation and, perhaps, pressuring Elton to play something a little more melodic than he normally does. Cool speed shift and new motif for the last minute. I love the Nucleus effect! (9.25/10)

7. "Bone" (3:29) bowed double bass, bubbling electric bass, waves from cymbal crashes, and deep thrumming organ drone notes precede the introduction of some creepy spacey organ notes and "distant" piccolo/ocarina "jungle" noises. The feel here is both early Vangelis and early/proto World Music--perhaps even something inspired by the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Though I wish it could have developed a little more, I do like it. (8.875/10)   

Total Time 36:34

Definitely not as bad an album as many reviewers want to claim: though I am glad the band did not choose to continue to forge a path through the dark woods of avant garde "free jazz," there is a lot of authentic jazz experimentalism going on in these songs--which is admirable for what feels like its genuine sincerity.

88.78 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a solid collection of experimental jazz/Jazz-Rock Fusion tunes and études that connote advancement and progress for this band. This album result is not unlike some of the experimental albums we all know and lament that were released but we wish had been left in the artists' private libraries yet we also recognize were necessary for the artists' progress. Think Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Miroslav Vitous, Joe Zawinul, Tony Williams, Toto Blanke, Jan Hammer, John McLaughlin, Jan Akkerman, and many more and the experimental "duds" that they published (as songs or albums) but which served as stepping stones in their growth and development. That is what this album, Five feels like for me.

THE SOFT MACHINE Sixth (1973)

Featuring the contributions of yet a third defection from Ian Carr's Nucleus in the personhood of uber-talented Karl Kenkins, the band is now rocking as a quartet with absolutely no vocals. Released in February of 1973, the album's material was recorded in the UK in October, November, and December of 1972 (some of it live in concert settings) for CBS Records.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Karl Jenkins / oboe, baritone & soprano saxes, electric & grand piano, celesta
- Mike Ratledge / organ, electric & grand piano, celesta
- Hugh Hopper / bass, sound effects (15)
- John Marshall / drums, percussion

LP 1 - Live Album (41:45) 
1. "Fanfare" (0:42)
2. "All white" (4:46)
3. "Between" (2:24)
4. "Riff" (4:36)
5. "37 1/2" (6:51)
6. "Gesolreut" (6:17)
7. "E.P.V." (2:47)
8. "Lefty" (4:56)
9. "Stumble" (1:42)
10. "5 from 13 (for Phil Seamen with love & thanks)" (5:15)
11. "Riff II" (1:20)

LP 2 - Studio Album (34:40) 
12. "The soft weed factor "(11:18) Mike Ratledge and Karl Jenkin's minimalist motif on multiple tracks of electric pianos. Nice weave but it's no Phillip Glass or Steve Reich. Bass and drums kick in during the fourth minute, then soprano sax and organ doubling up the melody line over the top. Seems there are nice multiple contributions from each of the band members but the song never really amounts to much besides a jazz-rock weave with the original minimalist tracks--which alone cover the final two minutes. (17.5/20)

13. "Stanley stamps Gibbon album (for B.O.)" (5:58) a more aggressive and sinister motif based once again on a minimalist piano arpeggio turns a little funkier in the second half of the first minute and yet Ratledge's left hand of his piano continues to maintain a short, two-part arpeggi as the song's foundation for the whole of time that Karl Jenkins solos with an heavily-treated/effected soprano sax (three plus minutes)--or is it a celesta keyboard? (8.75/10) 

14. "Chloe and the pirates" (9:30) a mild sonic landscape that definitely perpetuates a Canterbury sound and sound over the spacious three minute opening. Karl Jenkins' treated oboe is the lead instrument on this one while Mike maintains a free and frisky support from his seat at the electric piano. John Marshall's drumming is simple but nuanced and supplemented by some conga and other percussion additions while Hugh Hopper's bass is rolling and deep as if perhaps fretless or using extra thick strings. At 6:46 there is a glitch leading into what feels like a loop/repeat of two note electric keyboard riff while the organ rises and performs just beneath the oboe. A "Tomorrow Never Knows"-like reverse track of some instrument also rises to the top, actually ending the song as the lead and only forward sound. Interesting. (17.5/20)

15. "1983" (7:54) nefarious and slightly-bombastic dual pianos and bass play a cinematic motif of suspense while John's heavy ride cymbal play and Hugh's weird "speeded up" bottle-metallophone riff gets repeated to death on top. (13/15)

Total Time: 76:25

With my distrust and aversion to live recordings, I make it a habit to not review live albums, so only LP 2, the studio recordings, earn my attention here.

87.31 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a fairly good though consistently experimental Still, the studio LP of this release feels as if the boys were very curious and somehow satisfied with releasing to the public the results of their curiosities and experimentations with little regard for any kind of "finished song" product. 

THE SOFT MACHINE Seven (1973)

The Softs are now down to one original member and three former Nucleus members! Luckily, the four very talented musicians all have a common desire to make Jazz-Rock Fusion.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Mike Ratledge / electric piano, organ, synthesizer
- Karl Jenkins / oboe, baritone & soprano saxes, recorder, electric piano
- Roy Babbington / acoustic & electric basses
- John Marshall / drums, percussion

Side One:

1. "Nettle Bed" (4:47) a solid and suitably-nuanced, complex, oddly-timed composition which features Mike Ratledge's synthesizer as the main soloist. The main motif cycles around and around just a few too many times before it begins to annoy (despite John Marshall's attempts to liven things up). (8.75/10)

2. "Carol Ann" (3:48) a song that reveals that the band still possesses some of that "old" capacity for creating soul-melting earworm melodies. Mike and Karl on synthesizer and electric piano, respectively, while Roy adds some great melodic bass lines and John . . . sits out. Gorgeous; ascendant into the absolute highest realms that the Canterburians ever achieved. A perfect song to illustrate how unnecessary it is (or ever was) to have to noodle and layer impressively in order to make memorable, likable, and/or beautiful music. (9.3333/10)

3. "Day's Eye" (5:05) a more jazzy song that seems to be founded on a variation of the chord and melody structure of the previous song. Here we have bass, saxes, Canterbury "buzz-saw" organ, electric piano support, drums, and, early and later, excellent baritone sax. Like many reviewers, I much prefer the more jazz-aligned bass playing style of Roy Babbington over the nebulous one of Hugh Hopper. (9.125/10)

4. "Bone Fire" (0:32) seems to be a continuation from the previous (two) song(s), differentiated only by a barely-detectable key shift. (4.625/5)

5. "Tarabos" (4:32) another song in the obvious straight-line recording tape from "Carol Ann" on, this one features some processed oboe or soprano sax over a typical revolving cycle of a Mike Ratledge Canterbury theme. I still can't tell if it's a sax or oboe as we enter the final minute of my third headphones listen to this song--which is pretty extraordinary. My biggest complaint is the same one from the album's opener is the tedium created by the endless repetition of that main cycle--which is why I love the extended "end coda" feel of the final minute. (8.875/10) 

6. "D.I.S." (3:02) a percussionist's solo which sounds like a Westerner playing around with the Japanese and or Chinese (or Gamelan) instruments available to him in a Zen Buddhist garden. Interesting but something that perhaps should have been left to John's own private library. (8.6667/10)

Side Two:

The Penny Hitch Suite:

7. "Snodland" (1:50) dreamy Harold Budd-like floating electric piano arpeggi paired with wind chime play turns into . . . (4.5/5)

8. "Penny Hitch" (6:40) a minimalist arpeggio of an organ chord that is slowly woven together with TRAFFIC-like bass line, ballad rock drum support, and long-sustained processed (and muted) saxophone notes. Hypnotic but stumbles for its limitation to but two chords that only alternate every minute or so. (8.875/10) 

9. "Block" (4:17) in this section of the unbroken flow of the suite Mike's synthesizer tries to match and emulate Karl's saxophone (and Roy's bass) lines! Then he takes over the lead as the band matches his new found fire and intensity. (8.75/10)

10. "Down The Road" (5:48) yet another attempt to stretch a simple yet-catchy drum and bass loop out to make an entire song--a trick that the great bassist John Lee and Donald Byrd's mid-1970s songwriters, Larry and Fonce Mizell, were prone to fall prey to. Not a bad song, just dull and doing little to climb out of its mediocrity. (8.75/10)

11. "The German Lesson" (1:53) 

12. "The French Lesson" (1:01) the two songs that rather seamlessly flow one into the other remind me very much of some of the old silly stuff from the band's first two albums only this time filtered through the Terry Riley-imitative synthesizer delays and looping found in Third's "Out-Bloody-Rageous"--sounds and stylings that would become the realm of German artists like Rodelius, Cluster, and Dueter. (4.375/5)

Total Time: 43:15

89.08 on the Fishscales = B+/four stars; an excellent display of the evolution of a Canterbury band who thought it was playing jazz (albeit, a very British form of jazz) turning into more evolved jazz-rock Fusion musicians.

THE SOFT MACHINE Bundles (1975) 

After two years off, Mike Ratledge, the only remaining member of the original Softs, pulls his previous lineup of former-NUCLEUS members together for one more time but this time recruiting one more recent NUCLEUS member into the fold: guitar phenom ALLAN HOLDSWORTH. What an injection of life and power he is! What results is one fine collection of jazz-rock fusion songs--one that is unfortunately often overlooked due to the band's previous history and, to many, disappointing evolution. (I think a lot of people had long given up on buying their new releases--myself included--which is sad as this is an absolutely stellar album.)

     Many people refer to this album as the Allan Holdsworth breakout album as he would go on to work with many of the jazz fusion superstars in the next couple of years. I believe that this "breaktrhough" is made possible by the amazing cohesion of the Nucleus support crew--Babbington, Marshall, and Jenkins. As a matter of fact, this album, in my opinion, should have a different band name cuz they're not really The Soft Machine (history says that with Bundles Ratledge had given the reins over to Karl Jenkins). They're more Nucleus but not Nucleus. They're really the Allan Holdsworth Debut Project. 

Line-up / Musicians:

- Allan Holdsworth / acoustic, electric & 12-string guitars
- Mike Ratledge / Fender Rhodes, Lowrey organ, AKS synthesizer
- Karl Jenkins / oboe, soprano sax, acoustic & electric pianos
- Roy Babbington / bass
- John Marshall / drums, percussion
With:
- Ray Warleigh / alto & bass flutes (12)

- "Hazard Profile" (5 part suite) (41.5/45): 1. Part 1 (9:18) introducing: ALLAN HOLDSWORTH, NUCLEUS, and Mike Ratledge! a song that not only cruises but grooves--and is relentless in both aspects! And the band is so tight! Holdsworth, of course, is impressive (though in a surprising Jan-Akkerman-kind of way), but Babbington and Marshall are almost equally so. Ratledge's "glue" that is is Lowrey organ really helps to hold it all together while at the same time directing the soloists with his oft-unexpected chords. Very interesting! And Holdsworth's similarity to the FOCUS guitarist's sound and style are really rather striking. In the seventh minute we get to hear a little Eef Albers-like style but it really isn't until the eighth minute that we get to start hearing any of the "destablized" notes that he becomes so well known for in the UK era and beyond. (19.5/20) 

2. Part 2 (2:21) soft, delicate interlude of Karl Jenkins' piano and, later, Allan on acoustic guitar. Nothing really very interesting here much less innovative. (4/5) 

3. Part 3 (1:05) a Jan Akkerman-like dramatic interlude over Ratledge's Lowrey, carrying forward the exact same chord progression and melody line of "Part 2" (4.5/5) 

4. Part 4 (0:46) another transitory interlude in which the band takes have heavy, low-end-dominant approach to expressing the previous chords. (4.375/5) 

5. Part 5 (5:29) with its repetitve base it sounds like something from a previous era of jazz-rock fusion--something from the earlier Tony Williams Lifetime, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, or even Mahavishnu Orchestra transition period from jazz to rock using standard two-chord blue-rock foundations to jam over. Karl Jenkins' heavily treated horns, Mike's AKS synthesizer, and Allan's soar and fly over the solid rhythm section of Marshall and Babbington (and Holdsworth). (8.875/10)

6. "Gone Sailing" (0:59) opens with what sounds like an acoustic steel-string guitar (or Celtic harp), but then it turns into a more-advanced Steve Hackett-like guitar. Breathtaking! (5/5)

7. "Bundles" (3:14) sounding very Return To Forever-ish, this one launches with some very complex and intricate whole-band play, but then shifts into jam-formation using a two-bar riff from Babbington's bass repeated ad infinitum to support the soloing of Holdsworth and Jenkins. (9/10)

8. "Land Of The Bag Snake" (3:35) carrying seamlessly forward from the previous song as if it was just another stylistic shift into another motif that slowed down the previous one, Holdsworth continues soaring and racing around though with a muted effect on his horn-like guitar sound. Ratledge's Fender Rhodes work beneath is awesome. Marshall's ride cymbal is a little loud and Babbington's bass mixed a little fun, but this is a pretty good groove. (9.25/10)

9. "The Man Who Waved At Trains" (1:50) again, no separation from the previous song--as if the band just slides into this totally new, completely softer Weather Report/Chick Corea-like motif. Jenkins gets a turn to solo with his soprano sax, at times being shadow/mirrored by Holdsworth. (4.5/5)

10. "Peff" (1:57) yet another slide--this time into fourth gear, yet while still holding on to the softer, gentler sound palette of the previous motif--a motif that reminds me of GINO VANNELLI's wonderful Storm at Sunup suite (form the album of the same name that won't come out for another six months). What starts out so great, however, eventually becomes stale and boring. (4.5/5)

11. "Four Gongs Two Drums" (4:09) a Carl Palmer-like drum and percussion exhibition. (8.75/10)

12. "The Floating World" (7:12) gentle Fender Rhodes doubled with Lowry organ provide a gently floating foundation for the first 55-seconds before Karl's oboe and guest Ray Warleigh's flute present an equally etheric melody line in harmonized tandem. Another Fender Rhodes comes forward at the three-minute mark as the keyboard weave seems to take on a thicker, more intentionally-disorienting polyrhythmic pattern while Babbington's steady bass stays just below the surface--as if anchoring the floating world above. Oboe and flute pick up the melody-giving again at the 4:15 mark. Very Alice in Wonderland-like--and very aptly titled. Great piece. (14.5/15)

Total Time: 41:55

Many people refer to this album as the Allan Holdsworth breakout album as he would go on to work with many of the jazz fusion superstars in the next couple of years. I believe that this "breaktrhough" is made possible by the amazing cohesion of the Nucleus support crew--Babbington, Marshall, and Jenkins. As a matter of fact, this album, in my opinion, should have a different band name cuz they're not really the Soft Machine (history says that with Bundles Ratledge had given the reins over to Karl Jenkins). They're more Nucleus but not Nucleus: they're really the Allan Holdsworth Debut Project.

92.38 on the Fishscales = A/four stars; an excellent masterpiece of evolving and eclectic jazz-rock fusion masterpiece on the level of Newcleus, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea/Return To Forever, Tony Williams Lifetime, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Brand X, but NOT a Canterbury style album. Definitely in my Top 20 Favorite Jazz-Rock Fusion Albums of prog's "Classic Era."

THE SOFT MACHINE Softs (1976)

The Nucleus takeover is nearly complete: Soft Machine founder and only remaining original core member Mike Ratledge only participates on two of this album's eleven songs.  

Line-up / Musicians:
- John Etheridge / acoustic & electric guitars
- Karl Jenkins / piano, electric piano, pianette, String & Minimoog synthesizers, orchestration
- Alan Wakeman / soprano & tenor saxophones
- Roy Babbington / bass
- John Marshall / drums & percussion
With:
- Mike Ratledge / synthesizer (3, 4)

1. "Aubade" (1:51) the addition of guitars, courtesy of newcomer John Etheridge, is a game changer for this band--as demonstrated by this opening duet between Etheridge and Alan Wakeman, another newcomer. Sounds like the PAUL WINTER CONSORT to me. (4.375/5)

2. "The Tale of Taliesin" (7:17) piano arpeggi and symphonic rhythmic accents from drums and bass make this feel like a prog piece from a long-lost ELP-CAMEL collaboration. A three-part suite, upon hearing the fiery electric guitar work throughout the mid-section of this song is just weird (despite Allan Holdsworth's indomitable presence on Bundles): not the Soft Machine I think of when I conjure up the essence as my brain categorizes it. Interesting and well-made; it's very proggy (which is, in my opinion, quite a departure from the Jazz and Jazz-Rock Fusion explorations of the previous eight albums). (13.5/15)

3. "Ban-Ban Caliban" (9:22) establishing itself like a train starting up from a standing/loading position, this song has a foundational rhythm track that seems massive: like a blunt force projectile that has relentless and insidious power. Sax takes the first solo, then John Etheridge's soaring guitar. The song's power and drive is so like that of Jean-Luc Ponty's "Egocentric Molecules" (which is much more familiar to me) from his 1978 masterpiece, Cosmic Messenger that it adds fuel to my theory that Jean-Luc must have been a voracious devourer of music new to the Jazz and Jazz-Rock Fusion world and that he was not at all shy about borrowing ideas from others. Bass player Roy Babbington and drummer John Marshall even gets some shine in the third quarter before keys and rhythm guitar try to step in--but the rhythm section's momentum is simply too much for any interlopers or intruders. Monster song! (18.875/20)

4. "Song of Aeolus" (4:31) the sound of winds, bleeding over from the weather system that was the decay of "Ban-Ban Caliban," this song slowly establishes itself as a slow, emotive guitar-led song that foretells all guitar-centered New Age music of the next 20 years--especially that of Ray Gomez, Hiram Bullock, and Paul Speer. Beautiful if more Adult Contemporary/Smooth Jazz that Jazz-Rock Fusion. (9/10)

5. "Out of Season" (5:32) what starts out as piano and acoustic guitar duet that sounds a lot like the "New Age" music work of David Lanz and Paul Speer--even moreso as the song develops and the other musicians join in--as John Etheridge adds a track of electric guitar to the mix. Again: pretty and emotionally-engaging but a far stretch to call this either Jazz-Rock Fusion or Progressive Rock. (8.875/10)

6. "Second Bundle" (2:37) layered and looped keyboard experimentation that recalls some of the work Ratledge and Jenkins had done with their Terry Riley inspiration. Sounds nice. (4.4375/5)

7. "Kayoo" (3:27) another Five "D.I.S."-like display of percussion play from and for John Marshall. This one has a more defined transition to full-on drum kit play: John exhibiting more Billy Cobham-like skill at presenting "song" and "melody" than on previous solo attempts. Still, however, not a song that really stands well on its own. (8.667/10)

8. "The Camden Tandem" (2:01) John Etheridge's machine gun guitar spews forth a spray of notes to try to match/keep up with the snare play of Mr. Marshall. In the second half he pauses to inject some blues notes, chords, and scales before the two go off into machine gun territory again. (4.375/5)

9. "Nexus" (0:49) a bombastic lead in to . . . 

10. "One over the Eight" (5:25) a funk jazz tune that Roy Babbington and John Marshall lead the band into so that Alan Wakeman can blow on his ultra-cool reverb sax. Etheridge and Jenkins's support is strongly aligned with what the funk requires as Wakeman kills it with his sax. If only Sanborn, Kenny G, and Najee had this kind of support crew--this kind of songwriting--and this kind of presence! What a great song! Makes me want to jump and dance till the cows come home! (9.75/10)

11. "Etika" (2:21) another acoustic guitar composition--this time performed on two guitars, over two tracks, by John Etheridge tout seul. I like the transition into John McLaughlin territory in the second half of the song. Well done! (4.75/5)

Total Time 45:13

The new members have helped The Soft Machine to usher in an entirely new and quite different sound. Here they have taken on a much more symphonic mantle manifesting a sound that is much more aligned with progressive rock than their old Canterbury or even Jazz-Rock Fusion leanings.

91.16 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; another mixed bag of materiel that has some very new-feeling elements at use (including entering/pioneering the Adult Contemporary/New Age world as well as exploring mainstream prog territory) but of a very high quality of compositional and performative maturity. 

From this point on the band calling themselves "The Soft Machine" was trying to carry forward a variety of interpretations of what they thought The Softs really were (or meant to be). 

My Ratings of The Soft Machine Discography of the 1967-78:

1. Bundles (1975) - 92.38

2. Softs (1976) - 91.16

3. Third (1970) - 90.81

4. Seven (1973) - 89.08

5. Volume Two (1969)  - 88.81

6. Five (1972) - 88.78

7. Sixth (1973) - 87.31

8. Fourth (1971) - 84.12

9. The Soft Machine ("Volume One") (1968) - 80.87