Label: Hux Records (UK), HUX067
Style: Jazz Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Progressive Rock
Country: Canterbury, England
Time: 54:50
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 361 Mb
Released
briefly on Windsong in the mid-'90s before going out of print and
commanding large sums on eBay, the BBC recording of Soft Machine's March
11, 1971 Paris Theatre show in London, England was a one-off
performance that most fans of the classic lineup—keyboardist Mike
Ratledge, saxophonist Elton Dean, bassist Hugh Hopper, and drummer
Robert Wyatt—could previously only dream of hearing. Thankfully Hux,
which has been responsible for rescuing all kinds of BBC recordings from
the archives and making them available to a wider audience, has not
only reissued this important document, but also remastered it and added
an additional track to boot.
Billed to "Soft Machine & Heavy
Friends," the 54-minute set brings together Dean's Just Us—Dean,
Ratledge, drummer Phil Howard (who would briefly end up a Soft Machine
member for one side of Fifth), cornet player Mark Charig, and bassist
Neville Whitehead—with double-bassist Roy Babbington (who would
ultimately end up a full-fledged member of the group from Seven through
Softs), trombonist Paul Nieman, and saxophonist Ronnie Scott. While Soft
Machine had experimented with an expanded lineup in '70 around the time
of Third, this collection of players from the British free jazz scene
made possible some of the most open-ended music of their career. It also
allowed them to perform material from Fourth and Fifth—specifically
Ratledge's "Teeth" and Hopper's "Kings and Queens," two pieces that
would never make it into the group's regular repertoire.
The set
starts out with Just Us performing "Blind Badger," one of the more
structured compositions from Dean's self-titled debut, although it
ultimately heads for freer territory by the end. "Neo-Caliban Grides,"
another Dean piece from the same album, is performed this time by Soft
Machine with Howard added. The double drum kit salvo of Wyatt and
Howard, when combined with Hopper's aggressive fuzz bass, creates a
chaotic wall of sound that's Soft Machine at their most intense and
outre.
"Neo-Caliban Grides" segues into a 32-minute medley by Soft
Machine that brings together more structured compositions—an excerpt
from "Out Bloody Rageous," "Eamonn Andrews," "All White," "Kings and
Queens," "Teeth," "Pigling Bland," and "10:30 Returns to the Bedroom."
The first half of the medley features the core quartet, but by the time
they hit Ratledge's complicated epic "Teeth," the group has expanded to a
nonet, with solos by Scott and Nieman adding considerable interest to
what may be the best augmented Soft Machine lineup ever.
(allaboutjazz.com/bbc-in-concert-1971-soft-machine-hux-records-review-by-john-kelman)
01. John Peel Introduction (01:02)
02. Blind Badger (10:07)
03. Neo-Caliban Grides (05:41)
04. Out Bloody Rageous / Eamonn Andrews / All White / Kings And Queens / Teeth / ... (31:58)
05. Slightly All The Time / Noisette (06:00)
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