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Høvikodden 1971

Soft Machine

Label: Cuneiform Records
Released: 2024
Views: 1,399

Tracks

[February 27, 1971 - first set] Facelift; Virtually; Slightly All The Time; Fletcher's Blemish; [February 27, 1971 - second set] intro; Neo-Caliban Grides; Out-Bloody-Rageous; Vocal Improvisation; Eamonn Andrews; All White; Kings and Queens; Teeth; Pigling Bland; [February 28, 1971 - first set] Facelift; Virtually; Slightly All The Time; Fletcher's Blemish; [February 28, 1971 - second set] Neo-Caliban Grides; Out-Bloody-Rageous; Vocal Improvisation; Eamonn Andrews; All White; Kings and Queens; Teeth; Pigling Bland; Slightly All The Time [encore].

Personnel

Soft Machine

band / ensemble / orchestra

Elton Dean

saxophone

Hugh Hopper

bass, electric

Mike Ratledge

keyboards

Robert Wyatt

drums

Additional Personnel / Information

Elton Dean: alto sax, saxello, Hohner pianet; Hugh Hopper: bass; Mike Ratledge: Hohner pianet, Lowrey Holiday Deluxe organ, Fender Rhodes; Robert Wyatt: drums, vocals

Album Description

While the two sets from the second night (February 28, 1971) have been released before, this is the first time that the entire two-night stand has been released. So half of this is previously completely unreleased. This is a excellent, stereo recording of the band performing in a relatively small hall; the balances between the instruments are not perfectly balanced, but there is no other recording by Soft Machine that I know of that sounds as much like the band are performing *right* in front of you! Additionally, we were able to improve in a modest but definitely noticeable way the not-perfect balance between the instruments on this edition. Soft Machine’s two concerts at the Henie-Onstad Art Center near Oslo, Norway, in late February 1971 were special in several respects. The circumstances, of course, were unusual...in a museum space, as part of an art exhibition by the Boyle Family, and Mark Boyle’s films were projected during the performances. It was part of the last European tour that featured the ‘classic quartet’ line-up before they went to the USA and split apart. But more significantly, both shows were recorded, and superbly at that, providing a rare glimpse into how, at this stage in the band’s existence, the music could change significantly from one night to the next, even when the setting didn’t.

Album uploaded by Ludovico Granvassu