Jazz Archives

This great Cuneiform album might just be the only recorded trace of SM ever being a quintet, down from a septet (as Nick Evans and Mark Charig both ex-Tippet boys had departed) before reducing to the quartet that will record the Third album (although Dobson will play a bit on it). These tapes are taken from a Jan 04, 1970 concert at Croydon just before one of their numerous tour de France and as opposed to a lot of live albums the quality of these recordings is excellent, probably thanks to Cuneiform even if they admit a bit of doodling about. Dobson still manages to make an impact on the others and is responsible for a scat/flute duo during Backwards. The repertoire they were playing by that time is lot closer to Third than the previous two albums of which only Hibou and We Did It Again are left (and greatly modified) as Wyatt was rather silent with the microphones. Even Moon In June bears no vocals, and the band was in top-notch form for a splendid night of semi improvised high-energy jazz-rock. This is maybe THE live album every SM fans was waiting for.

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Soft Machine - Noisette (1970)

1. Eamonn Andrews (12:15)
2. Mousetrap (5:24)
3. Noisette (0:37)
4. Backwards (4:48)
5. Mousetrap(reprise) (0:26)
6. Hibou, Anemone And Bear (8:50)
7. Moon In June (6:55)
8. 12/8 Theme (11:25)
9. Esther's Nose Job (14:30)
10. We Did It Again (7:15)

Credits
- Elton Dean / alto sax , saxello
- Lyn Dobson / soprano sax, flute, vocals
- Hugh Hopper / bass
- Mike Ratledge / electric piano, organ
- Robert Wyatt / drums, vocals

Alto saxophonist Elton Dean and bassist Hugh Hopper established their reputations with the groundbreaking jazz-rock band Soft Machine in the '70s and have continued to be strong forces in the British free-jazz scene. On this excel1ent 1995 release, they team up with pianist Keith Tippett and drummer Joe Gallivan to create a wide-ranging program of bristling, exploratory jazz and innovative electronic music. Gallivan plays synthesizer in addition to his propulsive, pulse-oriented drums, and on several cuts ("Jannakota" and "Rocky Recluse") the music drifts into beguiling electronic soundscapes. These serve as interludes for the more energetic and fiery pieces featuring Dean's singular sax and Tippett's dense, multilayered piano. Dean's distinctive alto and the seldom-played saxello both project a plaintive, vocalized sound, equally adaptable to the frenzy of "Seven Drones" or the calm of "Echoes." This ability to shift emotional gears, shared by the group as a whole, results in a collective music that is both spontaneous and cohesive.

:::Review by Wally Shoup:::

Hopper, Dean, Tippett, Gallivan - Cruel But Fair (1976)

1. Seven Drones 8:30
Written-By – Hugh Hopper
2. Jannakota 4:36
Written-By – Dean, Gallivan
3. Echoes 8:43
Written-By – Keith Tippett
4. Square Enough Fire 9:23
Written-By – Dean, Hopper, Gallivan, Tippett
5. Rocky Recluse 2:24
Written-By – Gallivan, Tippett
6. Bjorn Free 2:18
Written-By – Dean, Hopper, Gallivan, Tippett
7. Soul Fate 5:38
Written-By – Dean, Hopper, Gallivan, Tippett

Credits
Alto Saxophone, Saxello – Elton Dean
Bass – Hugh Hopper
Drums, Percussion, Synthesizer – Joe Gallivan
Piano – Keith Tippett

Aside from the first disc of BBC radio sessions (with Wyatt still in the line-ups), much of the BBC sessions that the Machine played are present on this double disc and the four live radio sessions are spawned over four different line-ups and five studio albums released in the meantime. The first three tracks of the first disc are taken from previous 5 album with Phil Howard on drums and you can feel the man's free jazz tendencies, but they are not obtrusive and the tracks played have much more energy than the cold studio versions of 4 and 5, rendering a whole new light on them. The next track is a medley of four tracks from the 6 album, sporting Marshall and Hopper, but also Karl Jenkins (ex-Nucleus like Marshall), this sticking much more with the spirit of the then-current (and half-live I must say) album. The next two tracks are from a year later (and the 7 album) with another ex-Nucleus (Babbington) having replaced Hopper and again show them in particular fine form giving their instrument a full fitness workout!
The second disc starts with two tracks of the same session than on that finishing off the first disc but shows them in a vastly different mood. The short but impressive Babbington bass-droned track leads into a frenzied 6-sounding with Jenkins even blowing shortly into a flute. The rest of the disc is the same musos but augmented by guitarist Allan Holdsworth (yet another Nucleus refugee - this making Ratledge the only non-Nucleus alumni in the Machine at that time) that will make the Bundles album. The first 3 min track is a weird abstract music (noise?) that sorts of ruin the general ambiance, but the following two tracks more than makes up for it especially the multi-movement suite Hazard Profile.
The ting about this double BBC sessions record that makes it very worthwhile is the fact that the tracks from the 4 and 5 albums are so much warmer and livelier. It also has the benefit of shedding a little light on the oft-shunned (forgotten) 7 album.
Like all posthumous Soft machine release , this album is really of interest to confirmed Machinists , but if you are reading this review , you are probably very concerned , right?

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Soft Machine - BBC Radio 1971-1974 (2003)

Disc 1 (44:56)

1. As If (7:45)
2. Drop (6:56)
3. Welcome To Frillsville (10:33)
4. Fanfare/All White/MC/Drop (11:13)
5. Stanley Stamp's Gibbon Album (3:33)
6. Hazard Profile Part 1 (4:56)

Disc 2 (34:59)

1. Sinepost (1:47)
2. Down The Road (7:34)
3. North Point (3:00)
4. The Man Who Waved At Trains (5:41)
5. Hazard Profile Parts 1-4 (16:57)

Credits
- Mike Ratledge / keyboards
- Hugh Hopper / bass (tracks 1-4, CD1)
- Elton Dean / saxophone (tracks 1-3, CD 1)
- Karl Jenkins / oboe, saxophone, recorder, keyboards (tracks 4-6, CD1; all tracks CD 2)
- John Marshall / drums (tracks 4-6, CD1; all tracks CD 2)
- Roy Babbington / bass (tracks 5-6, CD1; all tracks CD 2)
- Allan Holdsworth / guitars (tracks 3-5, CD 2)
- Phil Howard / drums (tracks 1-3, CD 1)

In just two double discs Hux records will release the numerous radio sessions done for the BBC, this one ranging from the Halcyon days of 67 - where the Machine was still a psychedelic caterpillar - until 71 with the most classic line-up including Dean, Hopper, Wyatt and Ratledge. These are just the studio radio sessions but there are two others BBC live concerts available also and as usual with BBC archives the sound is pristine and the interest of them is invaluable.
On disc 1, the first five tracks are due to the line-up that recorded the debut album with Kevin Ayers singing and playing bass and this is maybe the best sounding live recording from that period. With Hope For Happiness and Strangest Scene as showcase for their dynamic qualities, that session may just be the most interesting of all the ones on the two double discs set. The next session is one of the definitive ones showing on how the tracks from Volume 2 have evolved to lead into the famous and seminal Third album. Four tracks from that album are meddled into one suite while the second track from the session is a first version (pre-album) of Moon In June where Wyatt recommends Ayers, Caravan Pink Floyd and thanks the BBC and its orchestra while singing. Du grand art, monsieur!!! This session is also invaluable because those tracks are much more often played as a foursome (with Elton Dean), but more rarely as a trio.
Then comes a strange UFO in the name of Instant Pussy (that should be more at home on a Matching Mole record although it does not sound anything like the latter MM version) that was strangely separated from the rest of the session, which closes the second disc. This anti-chronological order is due to Robert Wyatt, but it is the only one of a kind on this release! Then we jump to the mid 70 session the now classic quartet doing a medley of tracks that are present on the Third album.
Disc 2 starts with an early 71 session the band presenting the rather cold fusion (sometimes right into free jazz thanks to Elton dean's influences) of their album 4, this one not being quite interesting as there are tons of other recordings available on those tracks, although maybe not of this caliber! The next session of the same year but in June and also being of lesser interest if you have any live BBC recordings or anything on Cuneiform records. Do not get me wrong, these two sessions are absolutely essential to the unconditional fan, but again if one is of that category he will already own one or two live version of these tracks. Another strange "gift" on here is another Wyatt vocal improve playing with echoes but this is messy and like the Instant Pussy does not really belong here!
Finally comes the session from late 69 and another invaluable one as this is a rare version of the Machine as a septet before recording the third album. The lengthy medley produced here is an interesting version the machine sounding a bit like a jazzier Chicago Transit Authority with a four-man brass session as they had stripped the Keith Tippett Group from most of its collaborators, but Charig and Evans leaving relatively quickly and Dobson hanging around for just a while longer!
Apart from the two odd choices Monsieur Wyatt chose to include (I would tend to say ill- advisedly as they sort of ruin a bit the record), we have another superb Hux record release that is essential to Soft Machineheads. And apart from the parti-pris (anti-jazz rock attitude) of the liner notes from some writer, the presentation and luxurious booklet make this release hard to resist.

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Soft Machine - BBC Radio 1967-1971 (2003)

Disc 1 (66:45)

1. Clarence In Wonderland (2:57)
2. We Know What You Mean (3:11)
3. Certain Kind (3:38)
4. Hope For Happiness (4:37)
5. Strangest Scene Recorded (aka Lullaby Letter) (4:55)
6. Facelift / Mousetrap / Noisette / Backwards / Mousetrap Reprise (11:54)
7. The Moon In June (13:02)
8. Instant Pussy (3:19)
9. Slightly All The Time / Out Bloody Rageous / Eamonn Andrews (19:12)

Disc 2 (60:51)

1. Virtually (9:58)
2. Fletcher's Blemish (12:11)
3. Neo-Caliban Grides (7:34)
4. Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening (2:46)
5. Eamonn Andrews / All White (7:11)
6. Mousetrap / Noisette / Backwards / Mousetrap Reprise / Esther's Nose Job (21:11)

Credits
- Kevin Ayers / bass, guitar, voice (tracks 1-5 CD1)
- Robert Wyatt / drums, voice
- Mike Ratledge / keyboards
- Hugh Hopper / bass (tracks 6-9 CD1, CD2)
- Brian Hopper saxophone, flute (track 6 CD1)
- Elton Dean / axophone (track 9 CD1, CD2)
- Marc Charig / trumpet (track 6 CD2)
- Lyn Dobson / saxophone, flute (track 6 CD2)
- Nick Evans / trombone (track 6 CD2)

Second album of Soft Heap where Pip Pyle had obligation elsewhere and he was replaced by Dave Sheen, thus Soft Head and the album Rogue Element, of which I'm sure, the elephant occupying the artwork is certainly aimed at. So this album was recorded the following year than the debut and released on the Ogun label, already familiar to progheads for Keith Tippett's works. This is the recording of gig in deep France.
Opening the album on the Dean-penned Seven For Lee, the album starts on a Soft Machine mode with Dean soaring over the rest of the band, but Gowen and Hopper are just behind Elton, making this track the easiest of the album. Hopper's seven Drones veers instantly into dissonant ground, proof that not only Dean was able to follow Marshall around the Machine's fifth album. Nothing too hard for the novice's ears with Gowan's soft electric piano bedding the track. More accessible is the Gowan-penned Remain So, a piano- dominated tune.
The flipside opens on CRRC, written by Alan, and last some 14 minutes, which is enough to let you know that he's a full member of Heap, despite having Gilgamesh still under way (with Hopper appearing), but the "tune" appears more real jazz than fusion or jazz-rock, the mid-song energy outburst not bringing much new. The closing One Three Nine is just more of the same as the album offered you so far.
Ogun released a Mini-Lp reissue of this album in 96, and had the luck to find two extra unreleased tracks (apparently from the same concert, since the ambiance and sound are the same as on the album) and included them as bonus on this release. The 17-mins Dean composition Ranovais a slow starting tune on piano, than sax with Sheen Hoppering on the train a while later. Not too dissonant, but definitely beyond the huge majority of Machine standards, but by Heap/Head standard, quite normal C You Again is really very slow and mega-dissonant, making this track the weaker point on the album, but it remains part off that night's concert.
So the two bonus tracks are excellent added value for the original album, which makes the new version lasting some 60 minutes, which is plenty enough and not lasting too long. I wouldn't call any Heap/Head album essential Canterbury scene music, but they are exactly the kind of albums that consolidate the genre.

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Soft Heap - Rogue Element (1978)

1. Seven For Lee (8:51)
2. Seven Drones (4:25)
3. Remain So (4:48)
4. Terra Nova (16:52)

5. C You Again (4:13)

6. C.R.R.C. (14:00)
7. One Three Nine (6:33)

Credits
- Elton Dean / alto sax, saxello
- Alan Gowen / electric piano, synthesizer
- Hugh Hopper / bass guitar
- Dave Sheen / drums

Anything that has members of Level 42, King Crimson and Egg collaborating together is, to be honest, a very amazing thing. Touching everything from jazz-fusion to psychedelia to the ever interesting and immersive Canterbury Scene, Mr. Jakszyk's "The Bruised Romantic Glee Club" is one of those rare extravagenzas that should be more known about and appreciated than it actually is, because there is an intimacy and chemistry here that you won't find often.
A double album, with side one being originals and side 2 being covers of bands that Jakko admires, 'Glee Club' has quite a few high points on both sides of the coin. Tracks like 'When We Go Home" and "The Things We Throw Away" are appropriately emotional and make very fine use of Jakko Jakszyk's unusually accomplished vocal abilities, while his covering of King Crimson's 'Islands' (which features Fripp himself) is apt and intimate in all the right places. Frequent use of sax, woodwinds and piano flesh out some of the more cinematic touches here and there, while Jakko's distinctive guitar stylings brush in and out to keep the compositions focused and energized when needed.
Basically, while I often consider collaborations overrated and rarely resulting in material that hits the mark more than these artists are capable of doing on their own, the ensemble that Mr. Jakszyk assembled here has worked wonders with material that could have possibly fallen on its face otherwise, and hence I recommend this with little complaint to anyone looking for something good to add to their prog. collection.
So yeah...five stars and a big thumbs up from the Ant-man!

:::Review by Anteater:::

Jakko M Jakszyk - The Bruised Romantic Glee Club (2006)

CD 1

1. The Bruised Romantic Glee Club
2. Variations on a Theme by Holst
3. Catley's Ashes
4. When Peggy Came Home
5. Highgate Hill
6. Forgiving
7. No One Left to Lie To
8. The Things We Throw Away
9. Doxy, Dali and Duchamp
10. Srebrenica
11. When We Go Home

CD 2

1. As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still (incorporating: That Still and Perfect Summer - Astral Projection in Pinner)
2. Pictures of an Indian City
3. Nirvana for Mice
4. Islands
5. The Citizen King
6. Soon After

Credits
Jakko M. Jakszyk - vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, keyboards, mellotron, bass guitar, balalaika, sitar, flute, strings, whistles, sound effects, percussion, programming
Gavin Harrison - drums
Mel Collins - alto and tenor saxes, flute
Dave Stewart - keyboards (CD 1 - 9, CD 2 - 1, 3, 5)
Robert Fripp - soundscapes, electric guitars (CD 1 - 6, 11)
Danny Thompson - double bass (CD 1 - 9, CD 2 - 4)
Mark King - bass guitar (CD 1 -3)
Nathan King - bass guitar (CD 1 - 5)
John Giblin - bass guitar (CD 1 - 6)
Lyndon Connah - piano (CD 1 - 8)
Ian MacDonald - flute (CD 1 - 2)
Caroline Lavelle - cello (CD 1 - 2)
Helen Kaminga - viola (CD 1 - 2)
Clive Brooks - drums (CD 2 - 1)
Gary Barnacle - alto flute, flute, bass flute and piccolo, tenor and soprano saxes (CD 2 - 1)
Hugh Hopper - bass guitar (CD 1 - 1)
Pandit Dinesh - tabla, vocals (CD 2 - 2)
Ian Wallace - drums (CD 2 - 4)
Suzanne Barbieri - backing vocals (CD 1 - 11)
Django Jakszyk - voice (CD 1 - 11)
Camille Jakszyk - voice (CD 1 - 11)
Chris Baker - Irish priest (CD 1 - 4)

Wow! How one does not commit suicide after falling from the window on the fourth floor and realizing that he will never walk again. I think I have never heard such a personal album like this one and the Syd recordings do not come close as those were so sloppy. This is rather a healing job as the open wounds just start to cauterize , but as he says in the booklet of the remaster, he realized also that he would not have to write music according to his different band mates as it will be impossible to tour again especially with a band, so this would give him more artistic freedom in the writing dept. Everyone ot these tracks is an absolute gem and his voice has never been so fabulous. Nerve-wracking, hair-raising, flabbergasting, spine-tingling. But nevermind me, I'll let my trusted collabs talk about this album.

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom (1974)

1. Sea Song (6:31)
2. A Last Straw (5:46)
3. Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road (7:38)
4. Alifib (6:55)
5. Alife (6:31)
6. Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road (6:08)

Credits
- Robert Wyatt / vocals, keyboards, percussion, guitar
- Richard Sinclair / bass
- Hugh Hopper / bass
- Laurie Allan / drums

With

- Mongezi Feza / trumpet
- Ivor Cutler / voice, baritone concertina
- Gary Windo / bass clarinet, tenor saxophone
- Fred Frith / viola
- Mike Oldfield / guitar
- Alfreda Benge / voice

East meets west, Canterbury meets Tokyo and Soft Machine meets Daimonji to create 60 minutes worth of improvised jazz, rock and prog fusion on this excellent release from Hux. As the bio says, this was recorded when Hopper and Dean had a day off while touring Japan with Soft Works in 2003. Hopper contacted Japanese underground legend Hoppy Kamiyama, who roped in fellow legend (and fellow member of Daimonji and Jun Togawa) Yoshida Tatsuya, and the whole thing was recorded in two 45 minute sessions with a short break in between.
The improvisational set up is an unusual one. Although the British musicians had played with each other for many years, as had the Japanese, the bassist and drummer had never met before, and neither had the keyboard player and the saxophonist, which created an interesting tension in both the rhythm section and between the melodic lead instruments. All four musicians play superbly, but most of the time it is Elton Dean's fast and furious blowing that takes the lead. Kamiyama plays a lot of piano and electric piano for most of the album, and especially on the first piece lays down some jazzy chords for Dean to work over.
When he switches to synths, as he does about 12 minutes into the first piece, it's highly effective and gives Dean a chance to catch his breath. Hopper and Yoshida gel into an efficient rhythm section, although Yoshida's drumming is a little heavy handed at times - as he's proved in his work with the Sakoto Fuji quartet, he's capable of adapting his style to the subtleties of acoustic jazz, but here he seems to be more in Ruins mode. This works to good effect in the second part, which opens with a sax/bass/drums trio that recalls the Zorn trio Painkiller (who Yoshida also plays with occasionally) but there are also times when a more delicate touch would have worked better. Towards the end of the second part there is a superb duet between Dean and Kamiyama on acoustic piano which is possibly the highlight of the album, although the standard is high throughout. The editing seems to have left the music intact, each piece only fading out when, presumably, the musicians lost the thread or things broke down, although it sounds like the opening of part 2 may have been cut as well. To come up with 60 minutes worth of music this good in 90 minutes is a testimony to the abilities of the musicians involved.
Although it's improvised, the music on Soft Mountain rarely degenerates into atonal squawking. The best comparison is perhaps Daimonji, who have a similar talent for spinning remarkably coherent music apparently out of thin air. Fans of the wilder side of Soft Machine and the Canterbury scene will enjoy this, as will afficianados of the Japanese underground. A fine album, and a fitting memorial to the brilliant Elton Dean.

:::Review by Syzygy:::

Soft Mountain - Soft Mountain (2007)

1. Soft Mountain Suite Pt. 1 (30:40)
2. Soft Mountain Suite Pt. 2 (27:55)

Credits
- Elton Dean / saxophone
- Hugh Hopper / bass
- Yoshida Tatsuya / drums
- Hoppy Kamiyama / keyboards