Customer Reviews

Man in a Deaf Corner: Anthology 1963-1970

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

 

 

For those of you lucky enough to have seen Soft Machine during the Jimi Hendrix tour of the U.S. in the 1960's, this CD captures the closest recorded sounds to date. I went to see Hendrix in Cleveland, but was transfixed by the Soft Machine. This became such an unforgetable experience, I went to see the whole show again in Detroit. Recorded sound was a completely different thing. Gone was the frenetic, careening power, and so was the great voice of Kevin Ayers. Man In A Deaf Corner captures this power again, and contain one of the most beautiful renditions ever, of As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still. This CD and Live At The Paradiso are my most often listened to CD's from my collection of over forty Soft Machine CD's.

If I was only allowed to save ten recordings from my house as it was burning down, I would save Soft Machine Volume 2 first, then man in a deaf corner, then Third. The other seven saves will be discussed some other time.
THIS IS IT!!! The Soft Machine circa Volume II, but live. Made loud to be played loud. No sax, but that adds definition to the music, making the fuzz bass and fuzz organ much more clear and distinctfrom each other. Really. Because sometimes with Vol 2 I was not sure which fuzz was which. This really is great, and almost all of Vol 2 is captured here live, and 10:30 Returns to the Bedroom definitely has the best drum solo I've ever heard. Ever. Wyatt could really make the drums talk and tell their own story, rather than banging and thumping at differing speeds that others consider a drum solo. As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still is not S.M., but is a group including Dave Stewart on keys, Hopper on bass, and Jakko Jakszyk on guitar and vocals, and I'm sure Wyatt loves it, because no wrong turns are taken, and at the same time this is strong and for sure in homage to Wyatt. No date is given. The rest of the 2 CD Anthology is interesting, too, once you get over the limitations of live recordings. If you love (not like) S.M. when Wyatt was still with them, you love this Anthology. If you don't know S.M., the second disk is a must for expanding an already expanded mind. The words for the sounds are great,too, of course. And liner notes by Brian Hopper are illuminating.

The CDs are OK, and there is a chance to hear the birth of Progressive Rock. But buy SM I, II and III first.

This is still better than any post 1970 recordings of lukewarm jazz by Soft Machine with only 1 or 0 original members.

2 cd set that contains 1 cd of very early free jazz experiments and a 2nd. cd of early live recordings including almost all of "live at the paradiso 1969". the live recordings are much better than the free jazz. both cds are of limited interest.