Soft Machine: Out-Bloody-Rageous [Hardcover]

Graham Bennett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2005

From their cult status as the serious hippy’s favorite psychedelic band to their final days as the champions of fusion, Soft Machine never played the game by the rules.

The book traces the lives of Soft Machine’s members, pieces together the band’s serendipitous formation and colorful career, and unravels the truth, mystique, and legends. It recounts the incidents and internal tensions that led to an astonishing 24 different lineups, and places Soft Machine’s development in the musical and social context of the time.

Lavishly illustrated with over 80 color photographs, posters, and clippings, Soft Machine includes a full Soft Machine family tree, concert file, discography, and sessionography. It is essential reading for any serious fan of rock or jazz.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Graham Bennett, freelance environmental consultant and author or editor of 13 books, witnessed many of Soft Machine?s concerts in their peak years. He grew up in London and now lives in the Netherlands.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: SAF Publishing Ltd (October 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0946719845
• ISBN-13: 978-0946719846
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,418,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine biography, July 2, 2006

By 

Philip A.Cohen (Bay Harbor Islands, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Soft Machine: Out-Bloody-Rageous (Hardcover)

I'm amazed that there's enough interest in this british progressive Jazz-Rock band,so that someone would do a hardcover biography.Author Bennett accuarately covers the many personel changes that took the group from the progressive psychedelic sounds of the Robert Wyatt era,through to the Jazz-Rock fusion of the Karl Jenkins era,which saw the group continue with no original members for several albums,following the departure of founding keyboardist Mike Ratledge.Bennett has interviewed the majority of the musicians who have passed through the group,notably,Robert Wyatt,Hugh Hopper,Elton Dean,Kevin Ayers,Roy Babbington,John Abercrombie and John Etheridge,but Mike Ratledge wasn't interviewed.Apparently,most of the musicians recall a frosty,uneasy atmosphere in the group,and as many members departed for monetary reasons as for musical reasons.There were clashes between the "free-blowing" Jazzers and the song-oriented progressive rockers in the group,and,for many of the musicians,being in the group didn't pay enough money to live on.An exhaustive index of the shows the group played is included,as are some interesting photos.The list of recording sessions tends to suggest that there is little or nothing in the way of studio outtakes from the group's album sessions,though concert tapes and radio/T.V. broadcasts continue to supply prolific flow of CD's.Bennett's book makes the subject matter well worth reading,and leaves you craving more information.But at least we've got this book,the closest thing to an official biography that you're going to get.Out-Bloody-Rageous that this book exists.If you like Soft Machine,you won't be disappointed.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard copy at last for Soft Machine, January 30, 2006

By 

R. D. Snyder (Yellow Springs, Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Soft Machine: Out-Bloody-Rageous (Hardcover)

I saw Soft Machine open for Hendrix in Cincinnati years ago. I had never heard of them, but they are the ones I remain active fans of. And by association, Robert Wyatt (never knew "Wyatt" was actually his middle name until I read this book) and Kevin Ayers, Hugh Hopper, etc.

Too bad "Soft Machine: Out-Bloody-Rageous" has such a cheap-looking cover (why use such a grainy b&w photo on a book about such a colorful band?), because what's inside is first rate! I actually skipped to the part about first trio version of the Softs (the band I had seen, first hand), read through Hopper's departure, then skipped back to the original quartet. But it's all good, Then there are the extensive discographies, a listing of every performance and recording session, and a section about what the various members are doing now. It's all there. Throughly researched and engagingly written.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Have History of a Must-Have Band, March 11, 2007

By 

Cetacean Dreams "Music Lover" (Atlanta, Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soft Machine: Out-Bloody-Rageous (Hardcover)

If you love the Soft Machine in particular, and the Canterbury music scene in general, you really owe it to yourself to read this thorough and well-researched book. The fact that Daevid Allen and Kevin Ayers are on the cover should tell you that there is a long explanation of the origins and early history of the band, which make for by far the most fascinating reading. This band was truly an artifact of the mid-1960s London psychedelic culture, before settling down into a long stint as a progressive jazz-rock band. While the band was arguably much better in its later jazz-rock incarnations, there was an innocent rawness to those early days that has rarely been captured elsewhere. After you read this book, you will need to buy the compilation CD of the same name, then you should track down "Jet Propelled Photographs" to complete the picture.