The Floating World : The "Official" Soft Machine Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Scope J, Mar 11, 2010.

  1. Jason Pumphrey

    Jason Pumphrey Forum Resident

    Some footage in this video of Phil Howard on the skins, no audio tho.
    He used both traditional and match grip.
     
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  2. StarThrower62

    StarThrower62 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY
    I just picked up Live At The Paradiso 1969, and British Tour '75 from Wayside Music. Both great, but Paradiso is a must for Robert Wyatt era Softs. The sound is huge and very satisfying. The CD is a little odd being all on one track, but it's much better than the truncated version on the Man In A Deaf Corner compilation. The fade outs and edits destroy the continuous set.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2019
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  3. NettleBed

    NettleBed Forum Transient

    Location:
    new york city
    Anybody here treat Soft Machine more or less like the Grateful Dead? Other than Volumes I and II, I just listen to live shows for Soft Machine. While Third does have its own particular quality as a studio album (despite 1/4 of it not being studio) admittedly, I still listen to the live material from 1970 way more than Third itself. Nothing at all wrong with the studio albums, it's just that they were a really top-notch live band that evolved seemingly week-to-week in terms of how they approached their material, and this is best heard live, IMO. Also, there are incarnations of SM that didn't even make studio recordings, so you miss out on their development by mostly listening to the studio albums.
     
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  4. StarThrower62

    StarThrower62 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY
    I rarely listen to the studio albums.
     
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  5. mr.datsun

    mr.datsun Incompletist

    Location:
    London
    I only listen to studio albums 0, I and II.
     
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  6. Electric Sydney

    Electric Sydney Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scarsdale, NY
    I know I’m not a Dead fan but I’ve liked Soft Machine since 1982.
     
  7. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    I play Six and Seven as much as anything.
     
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  8. Madeuthink

    Madeuthink Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Oakmont, PA
    I think the entire side of "4" titled Virtually is one of the best most creative pieces of music I have ever heard. I know there is at least one recording where they did it live. Maybe more. What is their best live or alternate version of that, and do you like it better than the studio version?
     
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  9. Jason Pumphrey

    Jason Pumphrey Forum Resident

    A great Hugh Hopper composition, the studio version is mostly jazz rock for parts 1 (featuring dueling basses by Hopper on electric, and Roy Babington on double bass) and 2, 3 and 4 was big on loops and tapes effects (and a killer fuzz bass solo!), something that the late Hopper loved.
    BTW, this 4 part suite sounds awesome with a great pair of headphones!
    Nothing can beat the studio version imho.

    The live versions varied greatly, The Peel Sessions has a great live in the studio version.
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2019
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  10. reddyempower

    reddyempower Forum Resident

    Location:
    columbus, oh, usa
    Just started absorbing this stuff. Karl Jenkins really was something.
     
  11. mountainmaster

    mountainmaster Forum Resident

    Location:
    Netherlands
    And still is. I was amazed to learn that this is actually the same guy: Sir Karl Jenkins
     
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  12. privit1

    privit1 Senior Member

    Yes remember recently hearing an interview on Radio 2 he mentioned he had been in the soft machine a the interviewer a soft machine fan had not put 2 and two together. Talk about talented person
     
  13. Archtop

    Archtop Soft Dead Crimson Cow

    Location:
    Greater Boston, MA
    I'm with you on GD (except for Workingman's, American Beauty, Mars Hotel and Blues for Allah, which get the occasional virtual spin). I also tend to agree with Soft Machine (I dig late '69 through '74, except for some of Six and almost all of Seven (sorry)). The two exceptions I'll cite for studio work are portions of Four(th), including Teeth, Fletcher's Blemish and Virtually, Parts 1 and 2; and the latin-tinged version of All White that opens Fifth - an example of Phil Howard being far more accessible than he has been portrayed.
    • Parts 1 and 2 of Virtually are, to my ears far superior to any live versions of this suite that I've heard, primarily because of Roy Babbington's work on double bass and the way the theme from Part 1 dissolves and the re-appears in part 2 at 3:36. Brilliant stuff.
    • All White is one of my favorite grooves of theirs and while I'd admit that the version with John Marshall and Karl Jenkins from the BBC (recorded late November 1972 and aired in February 1973) is my favorite, this studio version is a great example of Howard showing who he really could be - a brilliant polyrhythmic player with a wash a cymbals that could replace a shower for many folks. :nyah:
    It looks as if the Fanfare/All White viddy from late Nov '72 is no longer on youtube, but here's Gesolreut from the same session (the main groove is in 12). Marshall destroys Wyatt and Howard with a few stick strokes (my opinion, of course - and dig those early Adidas white and light blue sneakers):
     
  14. DaveinMA

    DaveinMA Some guy

    Here's one that looks like it may be from a soundcheck.
    Soft Machine - Fanfare / All White (live 1972)
     
  15. Archtop

    Archtop Soft Dead Crimson Cow

    Location:
    Greater Boston, MA
    Yeah, that's a good one too; it's from France in Summer/Fall 1972, I believe. I think that's from a TV special, but I hope it's a sound check, otherwise it looks like the sort of crowd my previous band got at times.
     
  16. Chrome_Head

    Chrome_Head Planetary Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA.
    Funny enough, I've been spinning sides 2 & 4 of Third tonight, first time in a long time, and before I even saw this thread bumped.
     
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  17. writteninwater

    writteninwater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oslo
    Daevid Allen's University of Errors performed "Jet Propelled Photographs" live in its entirity in 2004. I stumbled across it on youtube. I'll post it here:

     
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  18. jay.dee

    jay.dee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Barcelona, Spain
    Leonardo Pavkovic: Nothing is Ordinary

    :)
     
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  19. Archtop

    Archtop Soft Dead Crimson Cow

    Location:
    Greater Boston, MA
    Well, I've dropped it again; at least once more. Forgive me, I got Henry Cowed. :nyah:

    I'll veer right to the point (and will stick to the late Wyatt era) - for those of you who have the studio albums and are interested in the live stuff, generally, live is where things are at (as @NettleBed posted a while back). Obvious live gems include:
    1. Noisette (January 4, 1970; Croydon): Great recording; great playing. Probably the best live recording from the '69-'71 period.
    2. Backwards (November 1969 and May 1970 plus a Moon in June demo from '68/'69): A bit hit or miss, but mainly hit.
    3. Grides (October 25, 1970; Amsterdam): Second only to Noisette in terms of recording quality, a strong show. This includes what may be the only documented "head" performance on Grides, which is worth the price of admission. Plus you get a DVD from Bremen (March 23, 1971) that's a different performance than that on:
    4. Virtually (March 21, 1971): As far as I know, the last live recording with Wyatt on drums. Elton Dean takes this very far out. The recording is quite good (for the era).
    Hidden gems with Wyatt include several lesser-known releases. Next post to address those. Rock Soft.

    Sorry that I didn't reply sooner. I think (as does @Jason Pumphrey ) that the studio version on Four(th) is the best. See my comments above on Roy Babbington's double bass work on that.
     
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  20. Jason Pumphrey

    Jason Pumphrey Forum Resident

    Love the dual basses on this
    Neville Whitehead - electric
    Roy Babington - double
     
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  21. Jason Pumphrey

    Jason Pumphrey Forum Resident

    All four (Ratledge, Jenkins, Babington, Marshall) members are kickin' on this track!
    Parts of it reminds of 21th Century Schizoid Man.
     
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  22. NettleBed

    NettleBed Forum Transient

    Location:
    new york city
    FWIW, the vinyl is beautifully sweet-sounding and has DR avg of 13. And I got it signed by the band at the Iridium show!
     
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  23. Jason Pumphrey

    Jason Pumphrey Forum Resident

    Not Softs, but related, Hopper on bass.
     
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  24. mr.datsun

    mr.datsun Incompletist

    Location:
    London
    Looking forward to it.
     
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  25. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    I always loved that whole record, especially "Down the Road".
     
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