BUNDLES

My prefered SOFT MACHINE album. Not so experimental as the former outputs but therefore pure Jazz Rock/Fusion with a lot of jamming. The band line-up was enhanced with the inclusion of a guitarist and they could convince Allan Holdsworth. No-one else might have done this job better.

For example Hazard Profile Part 1 which is a fantastic kickstart for this album. The main theme is copied from Song for the bearded lady released in 1970 when Karl Jenkins and John Marshall were playing with NUCLEUS. But nevertheless this song gets new accents because of the excellent guitar part by Holdsworth who has enough space for demonstrating his ability. Part 2/3/4 are a nice contradiction to the uptempo beginning but with Part 5 the songs speeds up again.

Gone Sailing is a short acoustic interlude and followed after a minute by the fusion title song Bundles which has to be estimated together with the next four tracks as a matter of fact. Principally they are a suite with parts blending into each other where some other members of the band also get the chance to shine. Even John Marshall with his Four gongs and two drums. The album is closed by The Floating World, a song which is differing to the rest. An ambient piece with nice flute attendance in a very melancholic mood written by Jenkins.

'Bundles' is a SOFT MACHINE masterpiece in my opinion, a classic of Progressive Rock whereas Allan Holdsworth contributes a considerable proportion.

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