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Warthur
PROG REVIEWER

This live concert recorded for BBC radio hails from a point midway between the completion of Fifth and the beginnings of Six; John Marshall is now well-installed behind the drum kit as Robert Wyatt's long-term replacement, transtional drummer Phil Howard having taken his leave midway through the Fifth sessions, but Karl Jenkins has yet to join the group (and Elton Dean hasn't left yet).

As such, this represents one of the last glimmerings of Soft Machine before Jenkins began making his own extensive compositional contributions. About as much of Six is credited to him as Mike Ratledge, a mark of how his influence would eventually come to be the main creative force in the band's later years. As it stands, I find Softstage somewhat more compelling than Fifth or Fourth, two albums which I always felt bore the scars in the studio of the circumstances around their recording, whose material has always across somewhat better in a live context. As the close of the post-Wyatt/pre-Jenkins chapter, it's pretty solid.

Report this review (#2954652)
Posted Wednesday, September 27, 2023 | Review Permalink

THE SOFT MACHINE Soft Stage BBC In Concert 1972 ratings only

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