Soft Machine - 2020 - Live at the Baked Potato

(59:13; Moonjune Records)






















The tale of the history of Soft Machine is complex, with spin-off bands aplenty, and a gap of 37 years between releases under the original name, yet in many ways that is somehow apt given the complexity and groundbreaking nature of their music. Three of this line-up were members of the band back in the Seventies, namely - John Etheridge (guitar), Roy Babbington (bass) and John Marshall (drums), while Theo Travis (sax, flute, electric piano) had been a member of Soft Machine Legacy since 2006. When Roy joined that band in 2009, the quartet formed such a bond that in 2015 they felt they could drop the “Legacy” element, and in 2018 released ‘Hidden Details’, the first new Soft Machine studio album since 1981’s ‘Land of Cockayne’.

Recorded live at The Baked Potato, February 1st, 2020, during the Soft Machine's 50th Anniversary World Tour 2019/2020, this was their first return to LA since opening for Jimi Hendrix at the Hollywood Bowl on September 14th, 1968, so it had been a while. Listening to the energy coming from the stage it is hard to realise just how old these guys are, with Theo Travis being the youngster as he is only in his late fifties, while Roy and John Marshall were only just in their seventies when this was recorded, and are both now in their eighties, while John Etheridge is also in his seventies. This album shows just how great music and great musicians are somehow timeless, and when Etheridge lets rip, he really shows the youngsters what can be done on a guitar when you have spent so many years mastering it. Travis provides the musical glue which allows the Etheridge the room to play, but it is the rhythm section which keeps it all so controlled and on point at all times.

As well as tunes from the latest album, we of course also get plenty of classics from the Seventies, including “Out-Bloody-Rageous”, “Hazard Profile”, “Kings And Queens”, “The Tale Of Taliesin” and “The Man Who Waved At Trains”, but it does not matter if they are playing old or new, as there is a seamless and ageless quality. At times delicate, at others rumbunctious, this is the absolute highest quality, which one would expect from Soft Machine. Any serious proghead or jazz lover will have at least some Soft Machine albums in their collection: this should be added, as music as good as this needs the recognition it deserves.

Kev Rowland, August 2021

Links:
https://www.softmachine.org/
https://moonjune.com/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thirteen of Everything - 2023 - Time and Other Delusions

Image
(68:22; Basement Avatar Records) Track list: 1. Timeline 8:57 2. Alternate Life 12:02 3. Where the Time Goes 5:32 4. The Penultimate Flight of Armando the Pigeon 7:11 5. The King of Istanbul 10:35 6. Warmth and Darkness 7:32 7. Count All the Days 16.33 Line-up: Brett Cosby - guitars Mick Peters - Chapman stick, bass, pedals, vocals Ted Thomas - drums, percussion, vocals Bob Villwock - keyboards with: Thad Miller - keyboards Prolusion. US band Thirteen of Everything has been a going concern for a bit over 20 years, releasing their initial demo back in 2002 with official albums following in 2005 and 2019 respectively. Following what has been a brief pause between albums for this band they are now preparing to launch their third studio album "Time and Other Delusions", which will be released on US label Basement Avatar Records. Analysis. In terms of the different variations one can find in the progressive rock universe, Thirteen of Everything resides safely inside the symphonic ...
Read more

Deaton Lemay Project - 2022 - The Fifth Element

Image
(63:04; Deaton Lemay Project) Track list: 1. The Great Awakening 5:32 2. A Different Place in Time 7:24 3. Dragonfly 3:35 4. The Nightmare 4:28 5. Exordium 6:24 - Elements of Life Suite 6. Overture 4:43 7. Fire 6:10 8. Water 6:11 9. Air 4:19 10. Earth 6:53 11. Music 7:25 Line-up: Roby Deaton - keyboards, guitars, vocals Craig LeMay - drums, percussion with: Hadi Kiani - vocals Ehsan Imani - guitars Josh Mark Raj - guitars John Haddad - bass Charles Berthoud - bass Liza Evans - violin Prolusion. US band DEATON LEMAY PROJECT started out officially back in 2018, following a 25 year long period of gestation. They released their debut album "Day After Yesterday" in 2019, and following what I suspect has been a rather busy planning and recording period during the years of the pandemic the creative twosome of Deaton and Lemay are back with their second album "The Fifth Element" at the start of 2022. Analysis. While the fifth element apparently used to be defined as aether ...
Read more

Jay Graboski - 2023 - Authentic Fake

Image
(77:11; Oho Music) Track list: 1. In Dotage 3:55 2. Season of Extremes 3:54 3. 28721 3:38 4. Dot on Your Door 4:55 5. Die Before You Die 4:00 6. Hidden Agenda 4:43 7. Out on a Limb 3:58 8. Mired in Malaise? 3:00 9. Cosmos of the Soul 3:51 10. The Hours 5:32 11. Frog Legs 2:41 12. Metaphors 3:28 13. The Witness Watchers 3:41 14. Authentic Fake 3:05 15. Your Luck is Awake 4:43 16. The Crown 3:51 17. The Doomed Princess 4:01 18. St. Judas 4:12 19. Where Words Do Not Reach 3:28 20. Well, I'll Be 2:35 Line-up: Jay Graboski - vocals, guitars, bass, percussion, glockenspiel with: Dale German - guitars Ray Jozwiak - accordion, keyboards, bass, Moog Dave Kelly - guitars, programming, keyboards, percussion Julie Keough - backing vocals Harry Maben - drums Patrick McAvinue - fiddle Gene Meros - saxophones Bill Phelan - backing vocals, guitars, mandolin, recorder Bill Pratt - keyboards, backing vocals, horn arrangements David Reeve - drums, percussion, keyboards Gyro J. Scope - sequencing Prol...
Read more