Customer Reviews

Rubber Riff

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

 

 

"They have their nerve calling this Soft Machine"? Well in point of fact it was originally released as "Library Music" under Karl Jenkins' name, never called, or intended to be called a Soft Machine album. Get your facts straight. This re-issue may be a little disingenuous but that's Voiceprint's fault, not the band's.

Actually, for those of us who think Karl's long convoluted melody lines which weave through ostinato backdrops with serpentine fluidity are the height of late Softs, this album is the bee's knees. Elton's endless wheedling solos and Ratledge's cascades of spastic notes have their place, and it's not here! If unusual chord progressions, unlikely turns of phrase and masterful composing are more to your liking, this LP showed where Jenkins would soon take the Ship of Softs. This is Bundles, Softs and Alive & Well boiled down to their essential nature, in 3-minute songs without any of the self-indulgent rockstar pretensions.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say this is one of my favourite instrumental rock albums, on par with the rehearsal-intensive music of National Health, Turning Point or Gilgamesh. The bum rap it gets from SM purists is entirely undeserved, IMO.

This is mostly jingles they hoped to sell - really has nothing to do with the Soft Machine... There is even a bit that that sounds incredibly similar to the theme song to the Mary Tyler Moore show...

This album is a big lackluster and features fluffy easy going musical wallpaper compositions. But actually this album isn't that bad depending on taste of music, but tracks like Melinda and Little Miss B makes you want to say "Can it get any worse?". This album also shows Karl Jenkins stance as a flute player which is impressive on Travelogue. This album features John Etheridge as permanent replacement,but don't look for his intensifying solos here. If you're really interested on 1970's jingles for radio and tv, this is a jewel. Whether or not any of these songs got used for these purposes, I can not say, but its still of some interest. Highlights are Jombles,A Little Foating Music and Sam's Short Shuffle. Two and a half stars really.

This is a pretty decent album if you're into short melodic instrumentals. I can easily see why the average Soft Machine fan would hate it, but I'm more of a Camel fan than a Soft Machine fan. (My first album from SM was Bundles, which I liked, then I got Third and just couldn't get into it). This album resembles Bundles alot, in fact Pavan is practically a remake of 'Song of Aeolis' (which is practically a remake of Jeff Beck's 'Til We Ended As Lovers').

BTW, I didn't catch the Mary Tyler Moore theme, but there is a tune oddly close to the Rockford Files.

Not to be compared with Softs or other SM releases with Etheridge et al. This a collection of some nice themes composed by Jenkins and performed by Marshall,Babington, Etheridge and Jenkins himself. Actually this reincarnated line up from the ashes of Hopper, Dean and Ratledge defined a new British progressive jazz rock fusion sound that only them can define. 14 tracks none went over 4 minutes. This is a subtle approach more like a relaxed SM after a battery of hard fusion on their previous albums. Many even resembles themes from 70's and 80's TV shows that were extracted from this album without properly crediting the band. For the price of less than $4 this is a good addition to the Jenkins led SM collection.