Soft Machine 1969

In 1969, Soft Machine were commissioned to provide music for a multimedia show at the Roundhouse in London. As Hugh Hopper writes in the liner notes, "they wanted a backing tape of suitably deranged and doomy sounds," and the group (augmented in parts by saxophonist Brian Hopper) delivered suitably abstract music that was high on improvisational challenge and low on melody. This 67-minute CD was compiled from music used in the show. It varies from off-kilter planetarium-type sounds (especially evident in Mike Ratledge's astral electric keyboards) to background-type instrumental jazz-rock to bordering-on-clamorous noisy improv (especially on the 32-minute "Spaced Four"). The sound quality is good, but this is, after all, work that was recorded as a supplement to a performance art event, with a different purpose in mind than home listening…

The first Soft Machine LP usually got the attention, with its movable parts sleeve, as well as the presence of ultra-talented songwriter Kevin Ayers. But musically, Volume Two better conveys the Dada-ist whimsy and powerful avant rock leanings of the band. Hugh Hopper took over for Ayers on bass, and his fuzz tones and experimental leanings supplanted Ayers' pop emphasis. The creative nucleus behind this most progressive of progressive rock albums, however, is Robert Wyatt. He provides the musical arrangements to Hopper's quirky ideas on the stream-of-consciousness collection of tunes ("Rivmic Melodies") on side one. Unlike the first record, which sounded choppy and often somnolent, this one blends together better, and it has a livelier sound…

The first Soft Machine LP usually got the attention, with its movable parts sleeve, as well as the presence of ultra-talented songwriter Kevin Ayers. But musically, Volume Two better conveys the Dada-ist whimsy and powerful avant rock leanings of the band. Hugh Hopper took over for Ayers on bass, and his fuzz tones and experimental leanings supplanted Ayers' pop emphasis. The creative nucleus behind this most progressive of progressive rock albums, however, is Robert Wyatt. He provides the musical arrangements to Hopper's quirky ideas on the stream-of-consciousness collection of tunes ("Rivmic Melodies") on side one.

The band name says it all. Three members of this quartet worked at different times in the original Soft Machine (John Etheridge, Hugh Hopper, John Marshall) whilst the fourth (Theo Travis) has assumed the mantle once taken by the late and lamented musician, Elton Dean. They've come up with a program of music that pulls off the not inconsiderable feat of acknowledging the legacy at the same time as it forges ahead in new and distinct ways. The world would be a far more interesting place if more musicians operated on a similar level. Overall this a vibrant, adventurous fusion and free form jazz outing; it stands up well to the band's illustrious history and ought to be on any Soft fan's collection.

There is no shortage of collections of archive material by the Soft Machine and some of them are pretty good (especially the ones released on Cuneiform). But this Hux double-CD compilation is the mother lode. You just can't beat BBC recordings for good sound quality and meaningful "alternate versions." This first volume covers the group's early years up to the departure of drummer Robert Wyatt, starting with a session from December 1967, when the Softs consisted of Kevin Ayers, Mike Ratledge, and Wyatt. Early demo and live versions of dubious quality of "Clarence in Wonderland," "Certain Kind," or "Hope for Happiness" are in circulation (see Turns On, Vol. 1, for instance), but these recordings are far more superior…

This 40-minute live fragment captures the Soft Machine at the Paradiso Club in Amsterdam circa 1969. The second incarnation of the band included Hugh Hopper (guitar/bass/vocals), Mike Ratledge (keyboards), and Robert Wyatt (drums/vocals). The trio heard here had originally been joined by Kevin Ayers (guitar) on the group's major-label debut Volume One (1968). Not only did that leave the band minus a lead guitarist but a primary contributor to the material as well. The songs are derived from Volume Two (1969), which had been recorded but not yet issued when the Soft Machine set out on tour. While the album is not replicated in its entirety, Live at the Paradiso 1969 (1995) presents a vast majority of the LP with a lean and ravenous capital A Attack…