Customer Reviews

Out-Bloody Rageous an Anthology

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this is a long overdue and absolutely essential compilation of the band that probably more than any other defined the canterbury progressive rock movement. the canterbury sound was characterized by sophisticated progressive composition and improvisation borrowing much of the intricate musical chops from progressive jazz and marrying it with elements of classical composition and psychedelia and elaborate musicianship, even some experiments in tonality and dissonance. The sound was, as can be imagined, not easily accessable to new ears, yet becomes infinitely rewarding with close attention. Soft Machine were probably the most proficient of the 'canterbury style' because of their dedication to musical excellence and a shifting adaptable vision which changed as fluidly as the band lineup. This compilation focuses on the period when Soft Machine began as an underground psychedelic trio evolving into a fusion powerhouse with Robert Wyatt's eccentric compositional skills and Mike Ratledge's astounding keyboards which merge later on with beautifully integrated avant garde jazz and fusion bearings adding Elton Dean's challenging sax. As the band matured they became harmonically dazzling and elaborate. What makes this set ultimately essential over previous recordings is that these are remastered(much overdue), and group interaction and instrumental nuance are quite clear; these qualities are very important to hear in a band with this improvisational calibar. I don't think I've ever realized what an excellent swinging drummer Robert Wyatt was to the extent heard on these remasters, for example; or some of the subtle changes that occur in the longer compositions. This should be the first place to start exploring this band.

I have been listening to the two discs of this soft machine collection for a couple of months now and find myself enjoying them more and more.
To me the sign of a successful compilation is whether or not I end up buying more of the bands work. In this case the compilation has been a winner.
While I would certainly count myself as a big fan of Robert Wyatts work I find that this collection relies a little too much on the first three albums and for me it has been the bands later work here that has really suprised me. Disc two contains some really wonderful moments of music from soft machines fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh and it has been these albums that I have purchased since finding this collection. This in turn has led me to looking for the albums recorded after 1973 where this set ends.
Overall this two disc set would probably be all most people would need of this somewhat quirky british jazz-rock band, for others this will merely be the beginning.

This must be about the LONGEST double-CD ever made: 2 hours 35 minutes is about pushing the limits of the CD envelope. In no way is that a bad thing.
The remaster isn't the best I've ever heard, but quite possibly there was nothing more to wring from the masters; the cleanup is definitely worthwhile.

For new fans (do they actually exist?), this is wonderful introduction, covering some of the best from the Wyatt and post-Wyatt days. For dyed-in-the-wool fans, unfortunately there's not much new here, and I lop off a star for their decision to include some "tracks" from Softs 2. That album is a single, uninterrupted piece of music. It was split into "tracks" at the suggestion of Frank Zappa (and the track names were taken from sound effect tapes lying around the studio). It's jarring to hear them ripped from their surroundings.

Of course there are no actual new Soft Machine recordings to release, but there IS lots of good material that is not in current release. For many years I had the little-known 3-LP album "Triple Echo" that was released by Harvest (oddly). It contained quite a bit of dross, but also utter gems like the Wyatt-satirical "Top Gear" version of "Moon in June":

Playing now is lovely
Here in the BBC
We're free to play almost as long and as loud
As a jazz group, or an orchestra on Radio Three
There are dancehalls and theatres
With acoustics worse than here
Not forgetting the extra facilities
Such as the tea machine, just along the corridor...