Customer Reviews

Soft Machine: Out-Bloody-Rageous

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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.

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.

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.

Graham Bennett's book Out-Bloody-Rageous is clearly a labor of love, loaded with valuable historical information and quotes from a multitude of interviews with all concerned parties, a well-written, fun to read history with a fan's sympathetic tone, though not uncritical when the need arises. The biggest revelation for me was how the early Soft Machine had significant cultural ties to a great many artists, writers, musicians and movements; everything and everyone from Alfred Jarry's 'pataphysics, Terry Riley's tape loop experiments, Gurdjieff, Ornette Coleman, Elton John, The Proms, Burroughs, Marsha Hunt, the BBC and "My Boy Lollipop" (and so much more) found their way into this band's swirling universe at some point in time. The in-depth accounts of Soft Machine's disastrous late 60s US tours supporting the Jimi Hendrix Experience are alone worth the price of the book. All at once enlightening, charming and in-depth, this is a must for any fan of Soft Machine, psychedelic rock, jazz-rock and European culture of the 60s and 70s.

Of all the books on bands and or people I have none more exhaustively then this book. It is very well research, full of the smallest details disogaphies, live gigs and interviews. It is the sort of book you don't have read from the begining either you could pick a section and read from there. The writter obviously loves this band and it shows through out. It is as detailed in the early years as it is in the later years. This is the book for fans and lovers of sixties music. Graham Bennett shows respect for their story and music but also the era. It s a lot of fun reading I am sure you will not be disappointed

this is a thoroughly enjoyable book on one of my favorite bands. i read the whole book in 2 sittings. the second sitting i decided to play some soft machine cds as background or soundtrack material. it worked quite nicely and recommend you do the same. it's a very informative book and i learned quite a bit. i never realized the problems, tensions and chaos the band endured. being a fan though, i look at their music differently. i've always seen their releases as improvements over the previous ones. to me, it was a chronological, and natural development. i guess you could call it musical alchemy because soft machines music did transform from release to release. it's too bad ratledge has such a negative view of their history. again, as a fan, i loved all their music, well, except for Bundles, which i think was pretty weak, but the band liked the most. anyway, this book is a must read if you have any interest in the progressive development of soft machine. one of the nice things since the book was published, there are a lot more archival recordings and dvds out.