- Format: CD
- Label: Musea
- Genre: Progressive
1 - Ash (11'39)
2 - 1212 (12'01)
3 - Baker's Street (6'52)
4 - Kings And Queens (9'11)
5 - Two Down (2'44)
6 - Big Creese (8'32)
SOFT MACHINE is a legendary British band, renowned as the true precursor of Progressive rock, twelve months before the release of KING CRIMSON’s "In The Court Of The Crimson King". Its story begins in 1966 when the band that founded the Canterbury shool, THE WILDE FLOWERS, splits in two, the other half becoming CARAVAN. SOFT MACHINE is then composed of drummer-singer Robert WYATT, Australian guitarist-singer Daevid ALLEN, bassist-singer Kevin AYERS and keyboards player Mike RATLEDGE. "Jet Propelled" presents precisely a sampler of early tracks dating from that era. The first self-titled album was released in 1968, shaking up all conventions as this iconoclastic music skilfully blended psychedelic pop music, crazy jazz music and instrumental experimentations that were unknown until then. SOFT MACHINE’s trademark is characterized by a soft and plaintive voice, a subtle and very special drum playing, a sensible humour as well as a fiddled organ sound that can be immediately identified. A new musical trend was born ! Upheavals happened as from the second album: after a French tour, Daevid ALLEN couldn’t return to Great-Britain because of the expiration of his visa. This naturally led him to found GONG ! In turn, Kevin AYERS slipped away to lead a solo carreer, giving space for Hugh HOPPER’s fuzz-bass specific sounds. During several months, the trio greeted Andy SUMMERS, who would later become a member of THE POLICE. In that period, Jimi HENDRIX began to see the band frequently, intending to make a backing-band out of it. Unfortunately, the sudden death of the Afro-American guitarist broke-up this beautiful dream... However, this enabled SOFT MACHINE to present its masterpiece, probably one of the most important albums of the Seventies: "Third" (1970). This opus comprises four long suites about twenty minutes-long each, with the help of numerous invited guest-musicians, particularly the saxophonist Elton DEAN. "Fourth" (1971) somehow falls back into line, showing the more jazzy side of the band. This is when Robert WYATT chose to slip away and found MATCHING MOLE, which indicates a clever pun revealing a certain taste for the language of Molière. In "Fifth" (1972), he was replaced by John MARSHALL, a drummer whose technique was impressive and who was going to contribute to the evolution of SOFT MACHINE towards a quite efficient Progressive jazz-rock. Hugh HOPPER was in turn replaced by Roy BABBINGTON. "Sixth" (1973) corresponds to the appearance of a second keyboards player named Karl JENKINS, a member of NUCLEUS who was going to become ADIEMUS’ mentor. "Seventh" (1974) will be the last album following the traditional numbering, "Bundles" (1975) marking the start of a new era, under the aegis of the prodigious guitarist Allan HOLDSWORTH (UK, GONG, Tony WILLIAMS LIFETIME...). "Softs" is sadly like a swansong for SOFT MACHINE as the band won’t survive after this ninth studio album. The name still exists nowadays however, owing to a few sporadic reunions and numerous releases of archive or live albums. Considered as an unobtainable collector’s item, "Live At The Paradiso" (1969) is a superb concert recorded in Amsterdam. "Noisette" is a sampler of unreleased or replayed tracks from the two first albums. Used as recordings for the English television, the titles of "Rubber Riff" were recorded at the end of the Seventies but never officially released. Who did never dream of discovering, after a few decades, a previously unrelesed album of one’s favourite band ? This is what the Cuneiform label has just offered to every afficionado of SOFT MACHINE with "Spaced": a real album, more than one hour of music captured in 1969 with the legendary combo responsible of "Second". The recording of good quality stems from an instrumental work composed for a multimedia show of the BBC, and most often takes the shape of a rather free improvisation where some structured themes emerge periodically. Unlike the current wave of historical recordings, too often released with mixed results, "Legacy Live In Zaandam" is a brand new album dedicated to the most legendary band of the Canterbury School: SOFT MACHINE. Captured in the Netherlands on May 1st 2005, this collection of six pieces (In a jazz-rock fusion vein) is performed by a recent reformation, with Elton DEAN (Saxophone & keyboards), John ETHERIDGE (Guitar), Hugh HOPPER (Bass) and John MARSHALL (Drums). It's interesting to note that, if they were all members of SOFT MACHINE during the Seventies, they never played simultaneously in this band. Apart from the covers of "Kings And Queens" ("Fourth") and John ETHERIDGE's "Ash", all the others tracks were especially composed for the occasion. Add to this that it's a limited edition CD, released as a joint-venture by the Musea and Moonjune labels, and you'll easily understand that this event goes well beyond the Canterbury School lovers. Let's say it straight away: here's certainly one of the two or three essential albums you cannot afford to miss this year ! At the base of every respectable Progressive rock collection, SOFT MACHINE is simply a must !
