Jazz Articles about Soft Machine

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Soft Machine: Third through Seven Remasters

by John Kelman
February 28, 2007

While the merits of remastered reissues are the source of considerable debate, there's no denying that the discography of pioneering British jazz/rock band Soft Machine has been more deserving of attention than most. In the group's fourteen-year existence it shifted gears more often than outfits lasting considerably longer. Beginning in the late 1960s as a psychedelic pop band with jazz tendencies, by the time CBS picked them up for a five-album run between 1970 and 1973 there was no doubt ...

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Soft Machine: Middle Earth Masters

by Clifford Allen
December 9, 2006

In recent years, followers of the Soft Machine have had a boon of documents that have shown the band's continual refinement as a jazz-rock juggernaut. Most of the live performances that have surfaced have been the “classic early '70s quartet with bassist Hugh Hopper, organist/electric pianist Mike Ratledge, saxophonist Elton Dean and drummer Robert Wyatt.

The Softs formed in 1967; apart from two ABC/Probe recordings and an early bootleg featuring Gong ringleader Daevid Allen (originally appearing on a BYG offshoot, ...

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Soft Machine: Middle Earth Masters

by John Kelman
November 20, 2006

In following the path of seminal British group Soft Machine, there seems to be little to link its mid-1960s emergence as a psychedelic avant-pop band to its guitar-centric fusion at the end of the 1970s. But every evolutionary step revealed a band evolving from one incarnation to the next in logical increments. Middle Earth Masters, culled from three performances from the fall of 1967 through the same time a year later, shows that the building blocks for the classic 1970-72 ...

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Soft Machine: Grides

by John Kelman
August 4, 2006

Given the ongoing release of archival live recordings by Soft Machine, you have to wonder if we'll ever reach a saturation point, especially with the heavy emphasis on the British jazz/rock group's 1969-71 lineup with the recently deceased saxophonist/pianist Elton Dean, keyboardist Mike Ratledge, bassist Hugh Hopper and drummer/vocalist Robert Wyatt. So many recordings are already available from this seminal period. Does Cuneiform's release of Grides really have a purpose?

Absolutely. During this lineup's brief existence, its continuous sets varied ...

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Soft Machine: Grides

by Nic Jones
July 21, 2006

Any notion of a golden age should always be treated with the utmost scepticism, but the more time passes, the clearer it becomes that the decade from 1965 to 1975 witnessed perhaps the last great step in the evolution of jazz and its relationship with other musical forms. Jazz-rock fusion was destined to peter out in a slew of bland self-indulgence by the end of the 1970s, but for a few years the form was ripe with potential, and this ...

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Soft Machine: Grides

by Clifford Allen
July 10, 2006

Soft Machine Grides Cuneiform 2006

1970 was a banner year for the Soft Machine. Their profile amongst the European avant-garde jazz and psychedelic rock communities was raised by a headline-grabbing gig at the Proms, the British music establishment's annual celebration of, in the main, classical and symphonic composition and performance. The Proms was particularly notable for the fright the Softs' audience caused, and the fact that even Wyatt was not allowed in at first ...

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Soft Machine: BBC in Concert 1971 and BBC in Concert 1972

by A. Henkin
May 28, 2006

Soft Machine BBC in Concert 1971 Hux 2005 Soft Machine BBC in Concert 1972 Hux 2005 These two archival releases of Soft Machine in varying lineups reveal a seminal band in flux and act as a prism into the development of jazz-influenced rock in the '70s.

After four albums, Soft Machine's lineup ...