SOFT MACHINE & HEAVY FRIENDS BBC IN CONCERT 1971

The Soft Machine

Canterbury Scene

3.49 | 18 ratings

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toroddfuglesteg

Soft Machine and friends in a BBC concert.

Apparantly, these BBC Radio concerts has been ongoing since 1950s and is still on every week or so. That is what a short investigation at their website tells me. So in 1971 the turn came to Soft Machine & friends. A short quirky and utterly charming intro by the legend and probably best ever radio presenter ever; John Peel opens this album. Don't bypass this one minute long intro.

The album kicks off with the friends section. That is Elton Dean and his band doing Blind Badger. It is pretty obvious this is not Soft Machine at all. The sound is different and so is the type of jazz which is far more orthodox than Soft Machine's jazz brand. Frankly; Blind Badger falls flat on it's face on this album. The dynamics is not there and...... well, this is not good.

The album continues with the rather good Neo-Caliban Grides before the big half an hour medley Out Bloody Rageous/Eamonn Andrews/All White/Kings And Queens really kicks in. This medley also features the legendary Ronnie Scott on tenor saxophone. This and the following song and only pure Soft Machine piece Slightly All The Time/Noisette is the truly great songs here and they really rocks.

This album is a strange one because of the friends included. I really like the medley and the final track which is reason enough to put this CD in my CD player on a not so infrequent basis. But Blind Badger..... well, I use the fast forward option. There are also some better Soft Machine live albums out there so a middle of the road three stars would suffice here.

3 stars

toroddfuglesteg | 3/5 | 2011-4-16

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