Customer Reviews

Floating World Live

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Finally a album live with Allan and also way better then British Tour 75. This album has great sound, better performances and has got a reasonable price on it,a clear pick over the other preformance. Live at Radio Bremen Janurary 1975 the band puts on nothing but nonstop jams with Holdsworth in a great mood just check out Bundles and The Land Of the Bagsnake of a blistering preformance. The show also gives out more solo showcases to Babbington on the six min. Earling Comedy armed with nothing but a Fender Baritone and a effects pedal. North Point gives Ratelege and his new found synths a place to bubble and screech around. Jenkins goes for his only sax solo on the album on Peff and even Holdsworth shows his skills on violin for The Man Who Waves At Trains. And finally the dynamic gymnastic stylings of Marshall on J.S.M. Song For Aeolus is very diffrent from the Softs vesion only because it brings out the fuzz soloing out of Ratelege's organ. The unreleashed material are your basic epic Softs jams like the funky Endgame. Rift 3 on the other hand is a limp version of Ban-Ban Caliban which isn't as impressing. Penny Hitch 2 took me some time to realize that it is Penny Hitch just in a sad and slow ending to a marvelous live cd. Highly recommended to anyone from gutar fanitic to a lover of fusion.

With the release of Floating World Live, as of 2006 there were four CDs on the market -- two studio and two live discs -- representing the peak of Soft Machine's "guitar fusion" years. Bundles and Softs (studio) and Floating World Live and British Tour '75 (live) are all recommended to anyone for whom jazz-rock fusion doesn't cause a breakout in hives, with the live discs capturing inspired performances and having an edge over the studio efforts. The expertly recorded Floating World is clear evidence that Allan Holdsworth was just what Soft Machine needed in the mid-'70s. By the time this live German show had been (partially) captured by Radio Bremen in January 1975, Holdsworth had been with the band for slightly over a year, and the Softs had already recorded Bundles with him. This is a killer live set, and Holdsworth's lightning-fast scalar runs, wide-interval leaps, and expressive note-bending over the band's vamps and composer Karl Jenkins' chordal changes -- not to mention his prominent positioning in the mix -- make Floating World a must-hear for any fans of the blurry-fingered axeman. He plays a touch of beautiful violin as well. No wonder jaws were dropping all around -- and apparently including the jaws of his bandmates, for Floating World sounds rather less like the work of a fully collaborative band and more like a live date by a guitarist-led fusion outfit than the British Tour '75 recording from later that same year after John Etheridge had joined the group following Holdsworth's departure. The flow of the overall Floating World set is at least partially to blame for any slight comparative shortcomings, particularly during the first half but redeemed by some inspired playing from all quarters at the conclusion. The group seems to have barely gotten underway when Roy Babbington's bass solo, "Ealing Comedy," makes an appearance; it's a great showcase including some Canterbury-esque fuzz in the mold of the pioneering Hugh Hopper, but its placement so soon in the proceedings somewhat derails the initial momentum of "Bundles" and "Land of the Bag Snake." And midway through, it doesn't help that "Hazard Profile," the Jenkins multi-part composition that would soon introduce Holdsworth to flabbergasted listeners upon the release of Bundles, fades out after less than five minutes -- that's where the radio station placed its commercial break. (Curious listeners are encouraged to check out the BBC Radio 1971-1974 compilation, which presents a broadcast version of the complete "Hazard Profile, Pts. 1-4" from June of 1974.) Both the Floating World and British Tour CDs feature solo Mike Ratledge synthesizer and John Marshall drum'n'gong interludes -- here respectively named "North Point" (a version of which is also on BBC Radio 1971-1974 from the June 1974 broadcast) and "J.S.M." -- but on this disc they further tilt the balance away from the full-band music and contribute to the feeling that Soft Machine had become a vehicle for solo statements with Holdsworth leading the way. Still, this is a vital document proving that the Softs were capable of some truly magnificent music during the mid-'70s -- and they were still evolving, testing the waters in live performance on a funked-up jam like "Riff III" that would later develop into "Ban-Ban Caliban" after Holdsworth bailed and Etheridge climbed aboard. Floating World Live reveals Soft Machine caught up in the excitement of a new direction thanks to an extraordinary guitarist, but not quite realizing their full potential as a collective. Nevertheless, appreciate Holdsworth for the shot in the arm he provided -- and also for suggesting Etheridge as his replacement. The new direction heard here would continue and Soft Machine would experience a final peak -- as demonstrated on British Tour '75 and to a lesser extent Softs -- before dissolution and mediocrity truly began setting in.
~ Dave Lynch, All Music Guide

"Bundles" is the album where these jams really come together. It's a fully integrated album that moves from start to end as one hypnotic journey. Holdsworth's guitar amazes, but on repeat listenings it just carries you away. I consider Bundles to be one of the finest un-concept concept albums of all time. (Un-concept because of the lack of pretense.)

This album Floating World Live has the same numbers, but in different order. Much of it is the same, and it's marvelous in its own way. That's why I recommend this album.

Anyone who is into guitar mastery should get this album and Bundles, at the very least. (And look for Holdsworth elsewhere as he pops up here and there with other bands through the years.)

The album Floating World is an important document in the Soft Machine canon and should be treated accordingly. The album sound is a leap forward from the oft referred to album Third but bears repeated listening. To all with a passing interest in the music of the period,, both that emanating from the States and Europe, this should occupy a place in anyone's collection.

Floating World Live
I read where someone chose this as one of the perfect albums of all time, so after listening to a few samples, I ordered it through Amazon. I've been very happy with it. Sometimes it reminds me of Frank Zappa's instrumentals, which no other recording artist ever has done. The time signatures change frequently. From the early 70's, it's undoubtedly rock music, but it's not annoying or overblown or bomabastic. Soft Machine must have been an evolutionary fork in the road which never got followed up on by others, which is too bad. It could be called intellectual rock. It's very lively and the drum-work is amazing. There's an 8-minute drum solo which will give your subwoofer an amazing workout. Though I had never heard Soft Machine before, this album is now in my regular rotation and I'm happy to have discovered it.

This must be the best Soft Machine since 3. Jenkins' composing skills, Ratledge in fine form, and riffing and soloing galore! It's great to hear Holdsworth on some material not found on Bundles, too. I barely miss Elton Dean (well, a hole is there, but Holdsworth recreates SM in a new direction),Babbington and Marshall leave nothing to desire, and are giving performances to be listened to again and again.
I saw Holdworth live and that guy can pull out the stops and play without noticeble pause, and as usual, does his best to NOT play any common chords.
Although this is not SM 2, this is definite a milestone to be enjoyed. However, if you don't like SM with lead guitar, well....
Great liner notes, too, explaining what was happening that year in the life of a Soft Machine.
Song of Aelous, which appeared on Softs, is here, too, making it possible to compare guitarists a bit.

If, like me, you consider the Tempest-Soft Machine-Tony Williams-UK period to be the "Golden Years" of Allan Holdsworth, then there is no earthly reason for you not to buy this CD. It is a logical progression on the material first heard on "Bundles" and a brilliant live showcase for his then blossoming guitar technique.

I'm not your typical "Prog/fusion" fanatic that feels that any rock presented with a jazz/classical bent to it and stretched to 10-20 minutes (as in Flower Kings - BORING) is nectar from the gods. I'm 56 and have been with this type of music since the beginning and quite frankly, style and structure don't hold much water with me unless there is an abundance of substance and soul as well (as in Riverside, Anekdoten and several others). Sure, Holdsworth can play fast and do more with notes than any other living guitarist, but where is the passion and melodic cohesiveness so prevalent in his earlier efforts?

This CD is a different story. The Soft Machine is firing on all five cylinders here and aside from a slightly muddled recording/mix I am at a loss to find anything negative to say about it. Even the John Marshall drum solo holds up pretty well. There a few weak moments but those are more than offset by the brilliance of the collective talents of the band in this live setting. And speaking of John Marshall, why, much like Jon Hiseman, is he unknown except to a select few outside the confines of Europe? His playing never ceases to amaze me.

No individual track dissertations here...anyone reading this probably already knows the material and the players. If you're looking for prime Holdsworth grab this wonderful CD while it's still available.

This is my favorite period of Soft Machine (which frequently puts me in the minority among my colleagues), I'm a huge prog/jazz fusion fan, and Allan Holdsworth is one of my favorite guitarists (how many times have I typed THAT in past reviews!). Unfortunately, this cd does not live up to much of the hype associated with it. Do not buy this cd if you just expect to hear "non-stop jams" or a live concert of AH backed by members of Soft Machine. Yes, AH charges out of the gate with some searing guitar runs through the first few songs of the album, especially "Bundles" and "Land of the Bag Snake". But then you sort of lose sight of him for long stretches in the middle of the album where other players' solos and a mix of softer jazz take over. That's where this album faltered for me.

Not that AH is the only star here - he's not. But let's face it, Ratledge's annoying 6-minute keyboard solo "North Point" is a real distraction, sounding like a cross between a pinball game and Pong. And while I love drums and think that Marshall is a fine drummer, I've rarely heard a drum solo longer than 3 minutes that I could enjoy. His drum solo is 10 minutes long. Too long. The best of the non-AH solos is Babbington's distorted bass guitar solo, though (again) 6 minutes gets to be kind of a drag. The album ends strong with the funkier jams "Riff III" and "Endgame" that sandwich around the more Camel-like "Song of Aeolus".

This album is of interest to those who need to hear a blossoming AH jamming through the unique prog/jazz of mid-70's Soft Machine, and there is at least 45 minutes of music here that I really enjoyed. The production is good, and the band plays well off of each other. But I actually like the "British Tour '75" cd better, featuring guitarist John Etheridge instead of AH (I know - sacrilege!). There you'll find some simply stunning guitar workouts all the way through, including the ENTIRE Hazard Profile. (Note: You won't escape the 10-minute drum solo there either!)

For me, the moments of excitement and awe on "Floating World Live" were too often interrupted with overlong self-indulgences and a lack of inspiration. I really wanted to like this more...

I value interesting music that is played and recorded well. This cd's rating was based on:
Music quality = 7.2/10; Performance = 8.5/10; Production = 9/10; CD length = 10/10.
Overall score weighted on my proprietary scale = 8.0 ("3-1/2 stars")