VIRTUALLY

Among the first of many archival Soft Machine releases to be put out by the Cuneiform label (it was preceded by Spaced, an odd set of tracks knocked out to accompany a dance performance), Virtually presents a performance originally recorded for Radio Bremen in March 1971. We're coming right towards the end of Robert Wyatt's tenure in the band here - no more vocals, and perhaps a certain tension in the group exists as a result, but he's giving it all with his drumming here.

A lot of archival stuff from this period has emerged since, but Virtually is a pretty strong set with good sound quality, and that might explain why both Cuneiform and others keep going back to this well - Soft Machine in this period absolutely cooked. Once it became apparent that treasures like this were lying around in the vaults, the hunt was on, so perhaps we should give Virtually credit for setting the bar for this sort of release.