Soft Machine
(Cuneiform)
When one speaks of the Soft Machine, it's understandable to associate the name of this venerated avant-rock band of England's psychedelic Canterbury movement with that of its prolific former members of its first lineup: Kevin Ayers, Robert Wyatt and Gong guru Daevid Allen. However, the one original member from the group who deserves the most kudos is keyboardist Mike Ratledge, who served in its ranks the longest and saw the band evolve from its whimsical acid-pop beginnings up through its strong presence as a jazz-fusion outfit before eventually leaving the ranks on the band's ten-year anniversary in 1976.
However, by 1973, Ratledge was the sole survivor of not only the initial 1966 squad, but the classic quartet who created the Soft Machine's 1970 instrumental masterpiece Third rounded out by Wyatt, saxophonist Elton Dean and bassist Hugh Hopper as well. Yet Ratledge kept calm and carried on with an able-bodied ensemble of expats from the celebrated British prog-jazz group Nucleus (led by legendary UK reedist Ian Carr): drummer John Marshall, saxophonist Karl Jenkins and bassist Roy Babbington. Together, this lineup recorded Seven, perhaps the most underrated of all the Soft Machine albums and one that found the group veering into Weather Report/Return to Forever territory with seamless aplomb. But prior to that LP's release in 1974, this Nucleus-heavy version of Soft Machine would perform a four-set concert in the spring of '73 for an NDR Jazz Workshop presentation that aired on German television, a show that would include such guests sitting in as renowned English jazz saxophonist Art Themen, guitarist Gary Boyle of the British fusion group Isotope and a returning Hugh Hopper, who joined the band to perform "1983", the last composition he wrote for Soft Machine.
For years, the audio and video of this performance have been amongst the most sought-after artifacts in the group's elite circle of fans and appreciators. And now, thanks to Cuneiform Records (the Maryland-based indie label who has been delivering us all things live and rare from the Soft Machine archives since 1996), this NDR Jazz Workshop broadcast has been made officially available as a CD/DVD package and stands tall as the most high-quality video footage available of the group in all of its phases and stages. And, as a live album, the audio on this beautiful two-disc set, complete with informative liner notes and cool images of the performance, is definitely the loudest, clearest and most pristine listening experience of this band in concert on the market as well (though, unfortunately, "1983" does not appear on the compact disc half).
Regardless of where you stand in the evolution of this extraordinary alumnus from the UFO Club, if you are to be considered any kind of Soft Machine fan worth his or her salt, do yourself a favor and add NDR Jazz Workshop: Hamburg, Germany, May 17, 1973 to your library today.
DOWNLOAD: "Fanfare", "All White", "Chloe and the Pirates", "Riff II", "1983" (DVD only) RON HART
