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.
A powerful rock-edged collaboration from Elton Dean, John Etheridge, Hugh Hopper and John Marshall, four legendary members of jazz-rock pioneers Soft Machine. This album itself is a mixed bag. There are two tracks that sound a bit too much like studio improvisations. There are a couple in conventional head-solo-tail jazz constructions. There is a Softs medley, Mike Ratledge's "Facelift," "As If" & "Slightly All The Time" (titled "Ratlift"). There is a ten-minute Hopper epic with typically Hopperean twists and turns.
Esoteric Antenna are pleased to announce the release of the album by Soft Machine Legacy, "Burden Of Proof". This wonderful new studio album was recorded in Italy in the closing months of 2012 and features John Etheridge (Electric Guitar), Theo Travis (Tenor Sax, Flute, Fender Rhodes), Roy Babbington (Bass Guitar) and John Marshall (Drums and Percussion). Following in the fine tradition of Soft Machine, "Burden of Proof” is arguably Soft Machine Legacy’s finest album to date, featuring a host of outstanding new compositions, along with a new recording and arrangement of Hugh Hopper’s ‘Kings and Queens’ (originally featured on Soft Machine Fourth). The excellence of "Burden of Proof” rests with Soft Machine Legacy.
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…
Turns On is a collection of early Soft Machine recordings sold in two separate volumes. Turns On, Vol. 1 catches the newly formed group in their first studio recordings and live performances in early to mid-1967, all pre-dating the first LP. The lineup on most of the 16 tracks consists of Robert Wyatt, Mike Ratledge, and Kevin Ayers. Daevid Allen appears on four studio recordings. The repertoire draws a lot from the Wilde Flowers' songbook, Ayers, Hugh Hopper and Brian Hopper having written most of the material (Wyatt and Ratledge were only beginning to submit material). Sound quality goes from poor to very weak, but it is still better than on Turns On, Vol. 2 - while the latter focuses on live material, this one contains more studio demo cuts…
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.
Soft Machine Legacy is made up of former Soft Machine members and the lineup here boasts Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, John Marshall and John Etheridge. Sadly it was less than 2 months after this concert that Elton Dean passed away, and so it's stated in the liner notes that this album is in memory and a tribute to this legendary performer. The concert here was performed at a club in Paris called "New Morning" and this is a club famous for it's Jazz concerts and also a favourite place for Elton and Hugh to play at.
This follow-up to Soft Machine's highly acclaimed 2018 album Hidden Details finds John Etheridge, Roy Babbington, John Marshall and Theo Travis on fine form at the Baked Potato, LA, USA on 1st February 2019. The material mixes tunes from Hidden Details, along with older material and some choice improvisations. The band, with a world tour under their belt and a partisan crowd urging them on, are absolutely at the top of their game - powerful, committed and idiosyncratic.