Customer Reviews

Six

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was surprised at how good this album actually is. At the time of its release Elton Dean had left a new Karl Jenkins had entered the fold. Robert Wyatt and Phil Howard were gone replaced now by John Marshall. Half of this album are live tracks recorded at the very begining of this lineup the other half is a studio album. Both are transitional in that the live material show how fast karl Jenkins had taken control of the band. Hugh Hopper playing is fantastic sadly this would be his last album he would record with the Softs. The studio section show a new direction of what the band had they developed more with Hugh Hoppper gone into. This would be one of the last great classic Soft Machine albums ... Seven while good was written very hastly and the compostions were never developed properly. Shortly after the release of this album and prior to the release of Seven a rumor circulated that Soft Machine Members were to join up with John McLaughlin one can argue how good or bad that would have been. Most fans of Soft Machine will enjoy six a soild affair and a classic. This particular reissue sound quality is very good. I am comparing this to the One way release. The sound improvement is in the hiss and general brightness of the recording. It pretty much a wash if you have the japanese import copy. Each one of the reissues come with pretty much the same artwork and booklet adding information to each reissue.

Great job again Sony/BMG UK!!! The Soft Machine's "Six" album finally gets the 24-bit remastering that it truly deserves!!! Great sound all-around!!! This was originally releaesd as a 2 record album set(one record live and one record studio) in 1973,but now it's all on one nice shiny CD!!! Lots of that great one of a kind Soft Machine sound,played to perfection by John marshall,Mike Ratledge,Karl Jenkins(His debut!)and Hugh Hopper(His farewell Soft's recording)!!! Truly great prog-rock!!! A great spin!!! Two thumbs up!!! Five stars!!! A+

There is some opinion out there that Soft Machine was never the same after Robert Wyatt departed in 1971. But with the release of their fifth album, they created another great album, without his help, and they prove it again with Six, in 1973. By this point, they included John Marshall and Welshman Karl Jenkins (Jenkins is a common Welsh surname, and he was born in Wales, as had 4-era member Nick Evans), as well as Mike Ratledge and Hugh Hopper. I was a bit scared to try post-Wyatt Soft Machine, but after hearing 5 and Six I was blown away. Six is a double album, one of live material, the other studio. The first disc proves how much the band is able to pull it off live, with lots of great playing. Mike Ratledge, by this point, seemed much more interested in the electric piano than the organ, but it works fine, given this is fusion. They really pull out the stops and give some great jams. I don't think Karl Jenkins had any problem filling in Elton Dean's shoes. The studio half has a more minimalist feel, especially with "The Soft Weed Factor", some might find it a bit repetitious, others find it hypnotic (I find it the latter), this how anyone might feel about minimalist music in general. But then Karl Jenkins also gives some nice sax solos to go with it, and I really like Mike Ratledge's use of electric piano. "Chloe & The Pirates" is a cut I was completely familiar with way before I ever got Six, because this cut was included on a cassette I bought at a Coast to Coast hardware store (now defunct), in Florence, Oregon (hardly prog haven), of all places, back in 1992, an Italian compilation called Rock: Storia e Musica (with a picture of Mike Ratledge on the cover), actually it only had three cuts, one from Third ("Moon in June"), 4 ("Teeth") and of course "Chloe & the Pirates". I bought that cassette because I heard of Soft Machine and not familiar with them at the time and wasn't disappointed. "Chloe & the Pirates" is a pretty tripped out piece, with strange reversed sounds (apparently the electric piano) before they get into a mellow, jazzy jam.

Don't be scared off by post-1971, post Robert Wyatt Soft Machine, as they continued making great music and Six is a great album to try!

A lot of people criticize Soft Machine's work after Robert Wyatt's departure, but I think they got more focused in their pursuit of jazz-rock fusion. Wyatt got to do the vocal music he wanted to do as a soloist, while Soft Machine became more accomplished instrumentally. The real unsung hero on Six is bassist Hugh Hopper. While not playing anything overly complex, he provides a solid foundation and groove for the soloists to play over top of. One of my favorite 70's fusion albums.

Chloe and the Pirates is an extremely beautiful bright piece of music,with fine atmospheric organ sounds, slowly climbing up and down, steady bass lines and electric piano chords and above all great elegant oboe playing by Karl Jenkins. It's like a bird cry in a mysterious warm afternoon landscape. To me their very best composition. Also the minimalistic Soft Weed Factor is fascinating. The other two tracks of the studio part are less convincing. Much better then are the first and the first two tracks of the second of the two live sets on this album.

What makes Soft Machine's Six much different from the previous two albums is how the band returned to their melodic, jazzier ways that made them successful on their Third album.

Six actually sounds like a continuation of Third and that's a *great* thing. These jams are much easier to get into (in other words, less challenging) not to mention quite melodic and exciting for the most part, compared to the Fourth and Fifth albums.

This is definitely an album that wasn't given enough credit back in the day, and apparently that still holds true in todays world since only 12 people here on amazon have reviewed this album so far.

Seriously, if you're someone who likes lots of jazzy jams combined with rock and done so in a tasteful and melodic way with saxophones, keyboards and drums played in a distinctly creative and moody kind of way, I highly recommend Six. However, for more challenging and straight up jazz albums (with very little connection to rock) Fourth and Fifth are worth exploring as well.

There are a couple flaws though. A couple songs that shouldn't have been included on the album. Those would be "5 From 13" which is a very unnecessary drum solo (come on, I've had to experience WAY too many of these over the years) and "Lefty" which I guess is supposed to be some kind of experimental mood piece but ends up sounding like noodling during a rehearsal.

As far as the second disc is concerned, well truth be told, it's not as good as the first one. The best song is unquestionably "Stanley Stamps Gibbon Album" because it's another solid Soft Machine jam. I believe some of the saxophone notes from "Chloe and the Pirates" were lifted directly from "37 1/2". It's still a GREAT song though, with lots of atmosphere. The biggest disappointment is definitely "1983". It consists of one ominous-sounding piano riff repeating for several minutes on end, never really changing until the final minute. Of course by then it's too late to capture my interest.

But the one thing that's still a mystery is just what IS the picture on the album cover supposed to be? It looks gross, whatever it is!

I almost forgot about this album - to be honest - and bought the remastered version today. It is simply amazing! Although Elton Dean left the band after "Fifth", Karl Jenkins is a worthy replacement, adding a new sound to the band playing the oboe (among other instruments).

The rhythm section with Hugh Hopper on bass and John Marshall on drums is so awesome I can't find words to describe it. Mike Ratledge flourishes on the keyboards and it seems like elements from previous albums blend together in a perfect mix: tapeloops, experimental pieces, jazz, jazzrock, rock.

The first part, recorded live, is reason alone to buy this album.

The Soft Machine went on to become Jenkins' band and I stopped listening after "Softs" which was IMHO the end of the real Soft Machine.

One of the best examples of British Jazz-Rock. If you like Miles Davis' BITCHES BREW, you'll love this album!

3 1/2 stars


Amazing instrumental prowess as expected, although the compositions are sub par for this bands standards..Often the uninspired psychadelic meanderings mire the meat and potatoes of this disc, which is not a whole lot when used to dealing with the insanely high standards of the band. Still, the spirit of Soft Machine remains intact enough to continue to enthrall at certain points of jamming bliss, although sadly of a lesser order.

This is a good Soft Machine record. The most notable piece is Chloe and the Pirates. Really a triumph for 1973. Michael Ratledge's best piece ever. The album is a mixed bag really, with the last cuts being some of the best Softs and the earlier cuts being some of the most boring. Buy it for Chloe and the Pirates. You will not be disappointed! Decent spin!