Customer Reviews

Fourth

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

 

 

This was the second album I bought by the incredible Soft Machine (got Third first)and it's a great one. Although many American ensembles get all the credit for great jazz-rock fusion, Soft Machine, along with fellow countrymen Henry Cow deserve a nod as well. For some reason I find this to be a great night time driving album, and my cassette copy finds it's way into my car very often. I would actually recommend this as an intro to the band over the more highly regarded Third, mostly because the pieces are a little shorter and it's a single album.Soft Machine's music can be quite demanding of the listener and a shorter first dose may sit better with the uninitiated listener.

Some people have told me to avoid Fourth because it marked the period where the Soft Machine made the complete change into straight up jazz, and moved completely away from rock (or progressive rock) elements.

So I went into Fourth thinking I had a pretty good idea what to expect. I was wrong! I was totally expecting the moody, melodic and easy-listening kind of jazz that's featured at the end of "Slightly All the Time" from the Third album. Nope! Well, there's SOME jazz on here similar to the saxophone playing at the end of that particular song, but the kind of jazzy style that dominates Fourth is, for the most part, *unbelievably intense*.

Imagine a hard rock or heavy metal band that, instead of using an electric guitar, uses a saxophone and just rips your speakers apart with a distinct style of intensity and a distinct ability to make it melodic. That's what Fourth is like, and why it's so unique.

The *other* unique thing about Fourth is the atmosphere. I can sit here and tell you it's "haunting" and you'd probably know what to expect because you've heard haunting music plenty of times, but to be honest, it's haunting in a way that feels frighteningly real, like immediately after something horrible happens (such as a nuclear disaster for example) you'd imagine the mood of this music to match the feeling of the horrible incident. It's really bizarre and the main reason I don't play this album very often. Nothing else from the 70's contains a similar atmosphere for example. It's just "impactfully" and distinctly dark.

Take the jam in the middle of "Out-Bloody-Rageous", add some scorching saxophone jamming with tricky rhythms and other instruments all blasting at the same time, and that's what many parts of Fourth is like.

Okay, so the entire album isn't QUITE at that level of intensity, but the moments on here where the band members let loose completely by delivering musical ideas to the best of their talent are just brilliant. It's not like any other kind of jazz I've ever heard. I almost feel like this album is too heavy for me. Luckily the fact that most of the jams on here are melodic keeps me interested in wanting to play it over and over, several times, because it's challenging and just downright exciting to get into the flow of what Soft Machine was giving us here.

Fourth is a rare masterpiece. I'd put this album up there with the best of them ANY day. By that I mean, the best of anything out there! Jazz, rock, whatever! I love it.

Way back in 1970 when Weather Report was just a twinkle in Joe Zawinul's eye's, The Soft Machine were across the pond in England's Canterbury scene going forward with their own brand of jazz rock fusion. Their album Third marked the beginnig of their penchant for long jazz influenced pieces. On this their follow up album Fourth, we begin to hear a more free-floating abstract jazz style, somewhat reminiscent of very early Weather Report. Casual fans of jazz will probably not care much for this very challenging psychedelic jazz rock. Fans of early 1970's fusion avant-garde may enjoy this most stimulating music!

Released in 1971, this is an excellent album from the Canterbury scene that boasts a thrilling mix of jazz, free-jazz, the avant-garde and aspects of minimalism. Of the Canterbury groups, I think that Soft Machine may have been the jazziest and this album certainly illustrates this.

The musicians are fantastic and comprise the classic lineup of Hugh Hopper (electric bass), Mike Ratledge (electric piano and (typically heavily distorted) organ), Robert Wyatt (drums) and Elton Dean (alto saxophone and saxello). The core group is augmented by Roy Babbington (acoustic bass) who would eventually join the group around the time of Seven (1973), Marc Charig (cornet), Nick Evans (trombone), Jimmy Hastings (alto flute and bass clarinet) and Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone). All of the musicians are top shelf.

Although I loved the "straighter" jazz of tunes including Teeth (9:12) and Kings and Queens (5:02), I also liked the explosion of highly dissonant free jazz on Fletcher's Blemish (4:35) and the spacier sections of the lengthy (a little over 20:00) Virtually suite that feature the ostinati (repeated patterns) characteristic of minimalism. There are other neat techniques employed on this lengthy suite including electronic experimentation and tape loops etc. The arrangements for the brass and woodwind instruments are very interesting and at times are reminiscent of "big band" jazz.

This reissue by One-Way Records is OK and while the sound quality is excellent, the skimpy liner notes leave a lot to be desired. Then again, many of the One-Way releases are out of print and seem to be commanding fairly high prices.

All in all, this is a great album released at a time when the musical landscape (in rock) was wide open and essentially untamed. Fourth is very highly recommended to those folks that enjoy jazz and avant-garde styles just as much as rock. Other great albums include Third (1970), Six (1973) and Seven (1973).

This album is very different then Soft Machine's first albums (do ya think).Third resembles it but Third is longer and more easy to follow to. These songs are the most complex,you have to listen to them over and over disecting every insterment role. Teeth,the albums great opener,is jazz from a diffrent place insterments never stop the beat is far-fetched and the solos never stop.Mike Ratledge really shines on organ and the horn section is just head banging. Kings and Queens is a repetive bass line with Elton Dean soloing,and for some reason some of the bass part sound like the one off of Carol Ann a little. Fletcher's Blemish is just like an ending to a song just along gated to about four minutes,if you hear Deans sax it would sound really comtemerary and Kenny G-ish if by it's self. Virtrally is a little boring in the middle of part two but part one is got a marching feel with Robert Wyatts drumming and the bass deut between Babbington and Hopper. Three and Four has got and ambient soft feel to it with the repeating sax and bass line and mendering organ. You would probably listen to 3,5,6,7 to get the feel of this one then go ahead with the other superb albums.

"FOUR" captured the Soft Machine at its creative zenith, just before Robert Wyatt's departure and the band's subsequent descent into bland mediocrity.

With an expanded lineup, SM veeers dangerously into straight-ahead jazz territory but still retains more than enough of their quirky psychedelic edge to keep you glued to the edge of your seat.

Compositionally, there's not a weak idea on here, and the core lineup of Mike Ratledge, Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean and Robert Wyatt plays as ferociously as ever, with some great contributions from upright bassist Roy Babbington, trombonist Nick Evans, Jimmy Hastings on alto flute and bass clarinet along with Alan Skidmore on tenor sax and cornetist Marc Charig adding to the maelstrom.

"Teeth" opens the disc with a feisty romp into modern post-bop jazz with twisted yet fun melody lines aplenty, punctuated by Mike Ratledge's distinct fuzz-organ. This is my favorite track on the album.

"Kings and Queens" is a more brooding piece giving each of the guest musicians lots of room to explore.

"Fletchers Blemish" is a rather sinister and ominous tune with some VERY twisted melody lines, that would be right at home in a suspense, mystery or horror flick fo some sort.

"Virtually Parts I - IV" is a wildly varied more free-form excursion that will hypnotise you if you let it, a rather interesting way to end.

All told, a VERY worthwhile effort especially if you like to hear the Soft's more pronounced jazz tendencies come to the fore.

And sad to say, this was the last time that Soft Machine would ever achieve this level of brilliance and creativity again.

Soft Machine Third marked an end for the band. Except for Robert Wyatt's "Moon In June" the band moved away from the dada humor if its first two albums and into more serious, post-Bitch's Brew jazz.

Fourth takes this idea further. Wyatt drums here, but his singing and loopy genious lyrics are gone. The band even got true Engligh jazz pros like Elton Dean and Roy Babbington to transform them from a Zappaesqe band of merry acid eaters to a straight jazz unit.

Which does not mean the cheekiness that made Soft Machine one of rock's most inventive bands ever is gone. With a chromatic romp called "Teeth," and a free form jam entitled "Flecher's Blemish," that English black humor is sublimated, not extinguished. If you look at the song titles and hear the music, the wit is evident.

This is fantastic jazz--the Softs really had little to do with rock by this point. And it is a early 70s "fusion" (I hate that non-descriptive word) at its finest. The electric panios let you know this is from this era. But unlike some early jazz rock overindulgers, Soft Machine stuck with clean sounds and clean structures, using simple lines to open space for improvosation. There are no knotty charts used.


Fourth was one of my first records beyond my Beatles/Stones/Kinks childhood, and I almost gave it five starts, because it is a classic for self-referancial reasons.

But objectively, I can't help but feel the Softs lost a little of what made them great when they abandoned the flower-power romp of the first two albums.

Still, for early 70s jazz rock, you cannot do better than this.

Great job again Sony/BMG UK!!! This great 24-bit remastered "Fourth" by the legendary Soft Machine sounds superb!!! This is the last album with Robert Wyatt on Drums,and like always,his playing is superlative!!! Hugh Hopper,Mike Ratledge and the great late Elton Dean are also in fine form here!!! A great companion piece to "Third"!!! A great spin!!! Two thumbs up!!! Five stars!!! A+

I had been at a musical festival when I first heard these guys but we all know that doesn't necessarily translate into enjoying their studio albums.....I did and still do. I NEVER would have thought I would enjoy music that did not have a guitar...but there you are! "Fourth" is innovative, melodic, intricate, and intriguing.

this is music to fill the easily empty eXIsitential hours listening to"' VIRTUALITY "" theSPACEplank,dropping off, within the four walls[TURN THE VOLUME UP OR DOWN AND CONTEMPLATE,HOW THE INSTRUMENTALCOMPOSITIONS SWALLOW /WALLOW ME WHOLE ...TO GROW a BETTER space between the EARS TO hear.