ALIVE IN PARIS-1970

The amount of live Soft Machine material released since the 90's may seem overwhelming to many listeners. However, so far, only a few concerts have been officially released on DVD. In 2008, the English record label Voiceprint, released the French POP 2 TV recordings of the band performing at Théâtre De La Musique in Paris on 2 March 1970.

Since the very early days of Soft Machine's existence, France has been showing big enthusiasm for their music. Way back in 1967, the band spent the whole summer gigging local venues in Saint-Tropez, one of the major towns of the French Riviera. Although in those three years the band's musical direction has changed drastically, the French audience proved equally welcoming and interested in 1970.

The line-up of Soft Machine at the time included the studio personnel that recorded Third with the extraordinarily talented wind player Lyn Dobson, who appears on the live-cut "Facelift" on the album. The atmosphere of the concert looks and sounds unrepeatable and after all these years, one can still feel the incredible chemistry between the musicians that was at work at that very point in time. The band not only presents incredible amounts of energy and vigor, but also technical and musical know-how, together with a rare ability to build powerful tensions, hypnotizing the audience. The set lasts just over an hour and during that hour, Soft Machine perfectly capture the spirit of their style around this period, which so many live releases have tried to document. The visual aspect undoubtedly adds to the experience, enabling us to witness, among many elements, Mike Ratledge's Keith Jarrett-like trance movements at the keyboards, the power and dedication Robert Wyatt puts into his drumming, the interaction and sax duels between Lyn Dobson and Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper's agile fingers pulling off difficult grooves and melodies on bass guitar, and young French audience, completely astonished by the music. As to the filming, the camera work is decent, except for a few unneeded shots and sudden cuts from one track to another. We get to view the band clearly from numerous different perspectives and have a close inside look at their stage set-up.

The opening of "Facelift," kept in an unsettling experimental psychedelic manner, may remind one of a slightly more technical and rock-oriented version of the way Miles Davis redefined jazz on the revolutionary Bitches Brew, which, interestingly, was released three weeks after this concert took place. The main theme of the piece, played by the whole band simultaneously, is followed by lengthy improvisation, which starts out on a steady rhythm, but fades into a mellower, remote and illusory territory after a few repeats. Lyn Dobson gets to really display his multiinstrumentalist abilities. He switches between soprano sax, flute, harmonica on his solo, and even uses his voice as an instrument briefly. When the tempo picks up once again, Elton Dean first appears with a saxello - a small variant of a soprano saxophone, different in build and, obviously, the sound. Seemingly out of nowhere appears what is credited as "Robert Wyatt Vocal Improv." Here, Robert Wyatt uses tape echo and spring reverb devices in conjunction with his voice for a very odd, yet immensely expressive effect. This transforms into "Esther's Nose Job" (what was it about those plastic surgeries?), a classic Soft Machine piece, which, originally appeared on 1969's Volume Two, however these two versions bear little similarity. The track alternates between a simple laidback progression in 7/8 and a rapid passage with notably interesting work by Robert Wyatt on drums and Hugh Hopper on bass guitar. If "Facelift" was, for a good part, a demonstration of Lyn Dobson's abilities, Elton Dean showcases his own approach to improvisation on "Esther's Nose Job." The track is closed by a few more blurred sentences from Wyatt and a reprise of the theme at a break-neck speed.

After a break, the band comes back on stage with "Eamonn Andrews," yet another classic piece, which never made it into any studio record. The pulse of this one is once again quite tricky with the main motif combining classic jazz-fusion methods with somewhat of a minimal influence on the rhythm. After fine solos from both of the wind players, "Eamonn Andrews" suddenly cuts into "Backwards," a really touching, beautiful, calm, romantic piece with a very interesting progression. The emotional, lyrical flute playing by Lyn Dobson is supported by Robert Wyatt's sublime drumming and light liquid organ touches from Mike Ratledge. "Backwards" slowly starts growing in power, with the theme of "Mousetrap" making a short appearance, to finally settle on "Out-Bloody-Rageous," arguably one of the better-known Soft Machine compositions. Of course, the live scenario cannot reproduce the Terry Riley-like intro heard on record, but this version is very good nonetheless, with great improvisation on Mike Ratledge's overdriven Lowrey organ, Elton Dean's alto and Lyn Dobson's soprano saxophones. After a loud and effective ending, the band walks off stage, only leaving an even louder standing ovation behind.

I daresay Alive in Paris 1970 is an essential watch and listen for every Soft Machine enthusiast and is recommended to those wanting to get an all-around taste of the incredible energy and passion the band presented live. The musical content is of the highest order, the recording quality is very high, and the image is more than satisfactory, which leads me to a conclusion that this DVD is one of the "ultimate" Soft Machine live documents. The Voiceprint label definitely deserve a big acknowledgement for allowing the listeners to get as close as possible to what the lucky audience got to experience on March 2 1970 at Théâtre De La Musique in Paris. Definitely worth your investigation. 4½ stars rounded up!