SOFT MACHINE Vinyl & CDs

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Softs marked a pivotal moment in Soft Machine's evolution, departing from their experimental roots towards a refined jazz fusion sound. Following Bundles in 1975, this album found the group embracing a more structured approach while still delivering intricate and dynamic compositions. Keyboardist Karl Jenkins takes a more prominent role, with his compositions blending beautifully with John Etheridge's fiery guitar and Alan Wakeman's expressive saxophone. Highlights include the energetic 'The Tale of Taliesin', featuring a blistering guitar solo, and 'Ban-Ban Caliban', where the band's fusion of synths and sax creates a rich, textured sound. The album also includes softer moments like 'Song of Aeolus' and the piano-acoustic guitar duet in 'Out of Season', offering a contrast to the intensity of the faster tracks. Drummer John Marshall shines with a powerful solo in 'Kayoo' and the album concludes with Etheridge's gentle acoustic piece 'Etka'. While Softs diverges from the classic Soft Machine style, it stands as a strong jazz fusion album with undeniable charm. It's an excellent listen for fans of the genre, though some purists may find it a departure from the band's psychedelic roots.

Review: Softs marked a pivotal moment in Soft Machine's evolution, departing from their experimental roots towards a refined jazz fusion sound. Following Bundles in 1975, this album found the group embracing a more structured approach while still delivering intricate and dynamic compositions. Keyboardist Karl Jenkins takes a more prominent role, with his compositions blending beautifully with John Etheridge's fiery guitar and Alan Wakeman's expressive saxophone. Highlights include the energetic 'The Tale of Taliesin', featuring a blistering guitar solo, and 'Ban-Ban Caliban', where the band's fusion of synths and sax creates a rich, textured sound. The album also includes softer moments like 'Song of Aeolus' and the piano-acoustic guitar duet in 'Out of Season', offering a contrast to the intensity of the faster tracks. Drummer John Marshall shines with a powerful solo in 'Kayoo' and the album concludes with Etheridge's gentle acoustic piece 'Etka'. While Softs diverges from the classic Soft Machine style, it stands as a strong jazz fusion album with undeniable charm. It's an excellent listen for fans of the genre, though some purists may find it a departure from the band's psychedelic roots.

Review: Canterbury scene stalwarts Soft Machine were well established by the time they headed out on a European tour in 1970 to promote their third album. Their performances in Paris and Rotterdam were recorded for radio broadcast and it's those live recordings that make up this two-disc set. It shows the jazz-rock fusionists at their mercurial best, with disc one featuring a performance of the Third LP in full, alongside fan favourites from its two predecessors. Disc two, meanwhile, features a handful of extended takes on tracks from all three albums they'd released up to that point, as well as a fine version of 'Teeth' - a track that would eventually surface in studio form on 1971 LP Fourth.

Review: This new quadruple CD release captures the legendary 'classic quartet' of The Soft Machine band during their final European tour on February 27th and 28th, 1971. While previously released sets from the latter date exist, this marks the first complete release of both nights, with half of it being entirely unreleased material. The performances, held in a relatively intimate venue, offer a captivating stereo experience. Soft Machine's concerts at the Henie-Onstad Art Center in Norway were unique and set against an art exhibition backdrop as well as being accompanied by Mark Boyle's films. Listening back now and it's easy to hear the band's dynamic evolution across consecutive nights in the unique museum setting.

Review: Fabled jazz-rock group Soft Machine present this heartfelt tribute to one of the greats of British jazz - trumpeter Harry Beckett - covering his stunning 'The Dew At Dawn' on this limited edition 7" vinyl, with a cover of a classic Softs tune on the B-side. This is the second 7" in My Only Desire Records' Brit Jazz 45s series, which sees some of their favourite contemporary jazz acts each making brand new studio recordings of two classic compositions from the golden era of 60s and 70s British jazz.

Review: Pulled from the earliest days of The Soft Machine when they were closer to a psychedelic rock band than a tripped-out jazz concern, Universal Japan have reproduced a very limited single version of 'Why Are We Sleeping?'. The song itself is still a nebulous, twisting and turning freak ride riding on a satisfyingly heavy rhythm section, embellished with organs and following droll poetry to the pure 60s burst of the chorus, as masterful now as it was mind-blowing back in 1968. On the B-side, 'Joy Of A Toy' is a subtly funky affair laced with languid wah wah guitar and artful dynamic shifts from the mellow beginnings to a rollicking beatdown by the crescendo, and all in under three minutes. Collectors will especially enjoy the Japanese artwork on this unique single, but just having these two gems on a handy 7" is worth the price of entry alone.

Review: In 1969 Soft Machine were truly growing into the otherworldly entity they're best known as now, moving on from the more psychedelia-rooted sound of the debut album into the broader expanse presented on Volume Two. This live recording captures them in full flight at the legendary Bataclan in Paris, and the wild creative vision of Robert Wyatt's merry pranksters splays out from the ominous drum intro onwards, through towering crescendos of musicality that touch on noticeable album moments such as the 'Esther's Nose Job' suite from Volume Two to 'Moon In June', which would be released one year later on Third.