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CANTERBURY SCENE

A Progressive Rock Sub-genre


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Canterbury Scene definition

With many other types of English progressive music developing mostly in London, it may at first seem strange that the old pilgrimage centre and relatively quiet cathedral city of Canterbury, became the centre of this very English form of progressive music and jazz fusion. Originally the Wilde Flowers, a teenage band of members living in and around Canterbury, playing a mix of pop, R'n'B and band members with a developing love of jazz, was formed in the 60's and became the seedling from which the Canterbury Scene grew. Australian beatnik Daevid Allen during a long stop-over at Robert Wyatt's parent's home, a refuge for many left field artists, was to catalyse the evolution of the Wilde Flowers into the fledging Soft Machine and the development of some avant music during the English psychedelic and underground period. From 1963 to 1969, the Wilde Flowers included most of the figures who later formed Canterbury's two best known bands, (The) Soft Machine (Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Hugh Hopper) and Caravan (Pye Hastings, David Sinclair, Richard Sinclair, Richard Coughlan).

Canterbury was then to be the cradle for several of the more freewheeling British bands of the post-psychedelic era. While fans would suggest this is the home of an English musical quirkiness tempered with quite a bit of whimsy, within the Canterbury Scene's musical spectrum any similarities between Canterbury's major bands, (e.g. Soft Machine, Caravan, Gong, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Hatfield & the North, Egg, National Health), are not immediately obvious*. Most bands will be found employing a clever fusion of rock rhythms and jazz improvisation with intellectual song-writing and varying strengths of psychedelia - some would too include folk elements (e.g. Spirogyra), others blues (e.g. Carol Grimes and Delivery). In addition, a number of bands employed various elements from classical music, for instance those bands with Dave Stewart playing keyboards. Whilst there have been a handful of excellent and distinctly different guitarists to play with Canterbury bands (e.g. Andy Summers, Allan Holdsworth, John Etheridge, Steve Hillage, Phil Miller), the lead instrument of choice has been keyboards. One English peculiarity of Canterbury is what the late John Peel called the 'School of Anti-song' because of particular Wyatt, Ayers and Richard Sinclair's approaches to vocals and perhaps the whimsy. More recently Richard Sinclair's vocal style has perhaps accurately been labelled as 'English jazz singing' by Jazzwise (i.e. singing jazz with an English rather than the usual American accent). In addition Canterbury musicians have experimented as avant garde, free jazz players, e.g. instance Elton Dean, Lol Coxhill, Steve Miller.

(*However, once you've heard some Canterbury bands the commonality becomes more obvious - chord sequencing e.g. Caveman Hughscore's electric piano opening on the tune 'More Than Nothing', the vocals, the lyrics etc.)

Both the Soft Machine and Caravan were popular in England's psychedelic/ underground scene before releasing their first albums in 1968, with Machine completing on level footing with Pink Floyd. However, by the early 70's a series of fragmenting changes of bands' line-ups, (Soft Machine went through about 30) and the subsequent formation of new bands, rapidly broadened Canterbury's range, with many newer musicians with only loose and in fact, no previous Canterbury connections. Early Soft Machine member Daevid Allen formed Gong in Paris. Both Kevin Ayers and Robert Wyatt left the Softs because of musical developments they did not like, to begin their own solo careers. By the mid-70's, most the old and new Canterbury bands had progressed away from psychedelia, developing their distinct forms of progressive rock some embracing jazz fusion, many playing extended jams with now limited lyrical input (e.g. Hatfield and The Norths, National Health, Gilgamesh). Caravan became more folky. However, as the 70's progressed several Canterbury bands would lose most of the rock element from their music. Gong retained their psychedelic side longest, but with the departure of Daevid Allen and Steve Hillage in the mid 70's, the band evolved into the percussion-oriented, jazz rock group Gong, which eventually became the modern day Gongzilla. Daevid Allen regained Gong's name in the 90's and through his solo work and with his University of Errors, is still evidently producing psychedelia. Steve Hillage's form of psychedelia evolved into the glissando rock of his own band and then into electronica, by the end of the 70's. In particular, Hillage through his work as a successful record producer of new bands from the 80's, develop his form of electronica through other bands. This music lost much of its complexity e.g. few riffs played over and over, rather than dozens per tune that previously had often typified prog, into a very popular form that is the antithesis of prog, i.e. the various forms of house music, with associated remixing/turntablism. For instance, Gong's "You" got the remix treatment in the 90's - but then to reflect his range of activities, Hillage has also produced and played guitar for Algerian Rai singer, Rachid Taha for over 20 years.

Many of Britain's better known avant-garde and fusion musicians of the 70's and 80's - including Fred Frith (Henry Cow), Allan Holdsworth (Gong, Soft Machine, UK, Bruford) and Peter Blegvad - were involved during their early careers playing in Canterbury bands. And still new musicians join the Canterbury Scene's ranks, Theo Travis being perhaps the most notable recently (Gong, The Soft Machine Legacy). The Canterbury scene was to have a major influence on musicians in Europe, especially France (e.g. Gong, Moving Gelatine Plates), the Netherlands (Super Sister)and Italy (Daedalus), and more belatedly in the USA (Hughscore). Caravan reformed in the mid 90's, while ex-members of Soft Machine could be found in various avant jazz and straight jazz fusion groups, e.g. Just Us, Soft Heap, Soft Works and most recently The Soft Machine Legacy. From the Canterbury Scene, RIO it its various forms has developed.

FOOTNOTE: As indicated above, many Canterbury Scene bands are acknowledged as having played/are playing jazz rock fusion. However, because of their strong Canterbury affliations are listed under "Canterbury Scene" in Prog Archives.

Dick Heath
Based loosely in part on the source: http://www.allmusic.com
(Edition 3, Aug 2009)

Current team members as at 9/12/2022:
Scott (Evolver)
Drew (BrufordFreak)
Mike (siLLy puPPy)
Mira (Mirakaze)

Canterbury Scene Top Albums


Showing only studios | Based on members ratings & PA algorithm* | Show Top 100 Canterbury Scene | More Top Prog lists and filters

4.32 | 2010 ratings
IN THE LAND OF GREY AND PINK
Caravan
4.29 | 1002 ratings
ROCK BOTTOM
Wyatt, Robert
4.29 | 824 ratings
SPACE SHANTY
Khan
4.26 | 1144 ratings
RADIO GNOME INVISIBLE VOL. 3 - YOU
Gong
4.27 | 889 ratings
HATFIELD AND THE NORTH
Hatfield And The North
4.25 | 1181 ratings
IF I COULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN, I'D DO IT ALL OVER YOU
Caravan
4.28 | 524 ratings
OF QUEUES AND CURES
National Health
4.19 | 1157 ratings
THIRD
Soft Machine, The
4.22 | 660 ratings
THE ROTTERS' CLUB
Hatfield And The North
4.19 | 879 ratings
FOR GIRLS WHO GROW PLUMP IN THE NIGHT
Caravan
4.26 | 324 ratings
TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER
Supersister
4.14 | 775 ratings
RADIO GNOME INVISIBLE VOL. 2 - ANGEL'S EGG
Gong
4.31 | 196 ratings
THE WORLD OF GENIUS HANS
Moving Gelatine Plates
4.12 | 487 ratings
THE POLITE FORCE
Egg
4.12 | 477 ratings
BUNDLES
Soft Machine, The
4.13 | 461 ratings
NATIONAL HEALTH
National Health
4.11 | 505 ratings
FISH RISING
Hillage, Steve
4.12 | 370 ratings
MAINSTREAM
Quiet Sun
4.11 | 319 ratings
PICCHIO DAL POZZO
Picchio Dal Pozzo
4.23 | 163 ratings
DOMINION
Zopp

Canterbury Scene overlooked and obscure gems albums new


Random 4 (reload page for new list) | As selected by the Canterbury Scene experts team

SPLIT SECONDS
Miller, Phil
SOFT HEAP
Soft Heap
HOPPER TUNITY BOX
Hopper, Hugh
NATIONAL HEALTH
National Health

Latest Canterbury Scene Music Reviews


 Fifth [Aka: 5] by SOFT MACHINE, THE album cover Studio Album, 1972
3.44 | 318 ratings

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Fifth [Aka: 5]
The Soft Machine Canterbury Scene

Review by siLLy puPPy
Special Collaborator PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic

4 stars Continuing down the assembly line of blandly titled album covers with artwork to match, SOFT MACHINE saved all the creative mojo for the music itself by practically reinventing itself with every album. After drifting abruptly away from the Canterbury jazz rock of the early albums on "Fourth," Robert Wyatt finally frustrated with the incessant aggravation of complexity for its own sake in the form of avant-jazz noodling that drifted more into the space jazz realms of Sun Ra than the unique jazz-flavored rock that launched the band's career, FIFTH ( or just 5 ) was the first album to feature a new band member on every subsequent album and the beginning of transforming SOFT MACHINE more into the other famous jazz fusion band of the era - Nucleus - which would find a majority of members just a few albums down the road.

FIFTH itself is an album that showcases the very transition that SOFT MACHINE was undergoing on a seemingly monthly basis especially if you factor in all the archival live albums that showcase new aspects of the band with members not even on the studio albums. With Wyatt out of the picture completely, the band was allowed to take its wildest jazz fantasies into the realms of reality with FIFTH and that's exactly what this album accomplished. Back to the transition part. While Mike Ratledge, Elton Dean and Hugh Hopper were back for more jazzy rock juiciness, the album features not one percussionist but two. Side one featured Australian Phil Howard who honed his chops with The Keith Tippett Group but ultimately didn't have the chops to please the SOFTIES and was nixed before the recording of the album was complete.

Dissatisfied but not dismayed, the band recruited the first of the musicians to start the Nucleus invasion, namely John Marshall who had wowed the jazz fusion community with his works on "Elastic Rock" and "We'll Talk About It Later." His contributions on the second side contrast greatly with the more psychedelic and laidback approach of Howard with more outlandish drumming solos and a more technical and even louder infusion of percussive sounds. The album in some ways sounds a bit disjointed in that regard but the build of of the echoey trippy space jazz on side A actually crafts a stellar buildup for the more demanding and upbeat pieces that follow. Joining in for a guest reprise was double bass master Roy Babbington who had sat in on the "Fourth" sessions however FIFTH was a much sparser affair with no other musicians lurking in the shadows.

With every subsequent album aiming for ever greater complexities with less focus on rock and almost an obsession for improvisation jazz with freeform compositional constructs, SOFT MACHINE continued to alienate fans of yore but also failed to woo over the hardcore jazz cats who were into this sorta thing therefore FIFTH is a bit of a hard pillow to swallow after a sole or even a half dozen listening sessions. Hammering down the time signature extravaganzas like a hard bop addict of the late 1950s, SOFT MACHINE had become more entrenched in the world of avant-jazz to the point that the only recognizable connection to the past were the crazy fuzz-fueled sounds of Ratledge's organ. In many ways FIFTH is the most intangible and abstract of SOFT MACHINE's canon with loose compositional skills blurred by the free for all stampede of instrumentalists run amok.

Side one is laced with trippy echoey keyboards and chilled out saxophone noodling while Howard focuses on fancy cymbal work. The three tracks remain subdued and unsure of themselves as if they were bad children afraid to make too much noise in their room. But as side two introduces itself with bang, the mood suddenly shifts from restraint to anything goes as announced by Marshall's technical drum wizardry that begins "As If." In response Elton Dean starts the serious saxophone frenzy seemingly having a conversation with Ornette Coleman from 1959. Throughout all the changes though is the comforting stability of Ratledge's idiosyncratic organ style which pacifies the soul no matter how wild and wooly the sax and drum combo effect become. Not to say that psychedelic trippiness doesn't occur on the second side, it's just that the dynamics and tempos are way more diverse in their approach.

While it's true that from "Third" and after SOFT MACHINE was going for the gusto in creating wild and innovative jazz fusion in a style unmatched and while "Fourth" was an announcement to the world that SOFT MACHINE was more jazz than rock, FIFTH only codified it all into some sort of musical law. With flirtatious bass grooves that act in accordance with the organ tinkling and wild boy antics at the sax and drum kit, SOFT MACHINE was a veritable jazz powerhouse at this point, a mere few years after the simpler vocal oriented psychedelic pop rock that graced the first two releases. In virtually every way, FIFTH offers two phases of SOFT MACHINE in a single album as a replacement occurred smack dab in the middle of the album which basically prognosticated the band's future where every album would find one member exit and another coming aboard.

FIFTH is hardly the easiest album of the band's career to digest. It's convoluted in many ways, brash, hard to latch onto and well a bit bombastic however it's one of those albums that once adapted to properly will reveal an amazingly talented band that didn't just crank out random noise. These guys were just light years ahead of the competition in their ability to craft complex jazz rock compositions that drifted into a world of its own making. While i would doubt that FIFTH ranks as anyone's all time SOFT MACHINE album (ok i'm sure there must be a few out there!), it is hardly throwaway album that many make it out to be. Bogged down by complexity for its own sake may seem like an exercise in self-aggrandizement but hey, this is the world of jazz and that's really what it's all about. Sure the immediacy of the rock characteristics had all but vanished but as a jazz lover myself, this album has definitely gotten under my skin since my first head scratching visit. Taken on its own terms, FIFTH is actually brilliant.

 Billie Bottle's Temple Of Shibboleth: The Mending Tour by BOTTLE, BILLIE album cover Live, 2023
3.90 | 2 ratings

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Billie Bottle's Temple Of Shibboleth: The Mending Tour
Billie Bottle Canterbury Scene

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

4 stars While I am Billie Bottled-out after listening to three of her cds over this past week I have come away a fan much like Robert Wyatt, Richard Sinclair and other Canterbury alumni who praise Billie Bottle. The music for "The Mending Tour" is taken from "Temple Of Shibboleth" album both 2023 releases. In fact they ran 50 copies with both "Temple Of Shibboleth" and "The Mending Tour" in the same package and I own one of those.

The live version is played out like your listening to the studio album from track one to twelve and in the same order. I like the picture near the back of the liner notes of this live event. A small setting with these five ladies doing their thing. It was performed at Wiltshire Music Centre on April 28, 2023. And while they follow the album track by track this is 13 minutes longer as we get some banter and intros along with some extended bits.

I still feel the studio album "Temple Of Shibboleth" is the best of the three I own but this one helped unlock it so this is special and different. I like some aspects of it more but miss the distorted organ not that there was a lot of that anyways. Again such a talented band in so many ways. Bassoon is all over this.

 Billie Bottle's Temple Of Shibboleth by BOTTLE, BILLIE album cover Studio Album, 2023
4.48 | 4 ratings

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Billie Bottle's Temple Of Shibboleth
Billie Bottle Canterbury Scene

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

4 stars "Temple Of Shibboleth" is the latest offering from Billie Bottle where she somehow combines the mundane week of being a housewife with song titles like "The Wash", "Ironing Days", "The Mending", "The Brewing" and ending with "Rest" with mythology of all things. The lyrics are top shelf, so impressive and the instrumental work continues to impress as it did on "The Other Side" but even better here. Her previous record "The Other Side" was one I couldn't get into mainly because of the lyrics that dealt with British politics plus this new one just seems so much more mature. I mean there's no f-bombs dropping from the sky like on that previous record along with the sarcasm I rarely got.

Billie Bottle's debut from 2010 included guest appearances from David Sinclair and Jimmy Hasting while here we get Richard Sinclair playing bass on one track. They are an all female five piece this time around. Billie, Viv and Roz are back but we get a new drummer and a bassoon player. What? On a Canterbury album? Yes this album unlike the previous one has that Canterbury sound with distorted organ and keys at times. Billie's vocals seem even better here. Again sophisticated jazzy pop tunes for the most part but man she can develope a song which I noticed on her last album as well. Intelligent music folks in spades both the lyrics and music. Mellotron too!

So I have a top five which includes the opener "In The Temple" opening with flute before vocals and piano take over. Beautiful music really as the tempo picks up with beats and more. Harmonies too and it turns experimental late. "Cantus" is the next song on the album and also a top five. This song sort of encapsulates the whole album especially the lyrics. I like when things open up after 2 minutes as well as the sax and bassoon during that late instrumental section, and how uplifting it is 5 minutes in with the mellotron. "Ironing Days" has Richard Sinclair on it but man Billie sounds amazing vocally on here. Light and jazzy with harmonies early as bass, beats and atmosphere join in. Canterbury organ on this one and I like the sax late followed by atmosphere.

"The Mead" is another top five, just a gorgeous sound to it to start.There's even a seductive "I'm a little teapot" section. Oh check out the bassoon 3 minutes in. Lastly "The Wolf" a song about baking and stuff and yes I'm a baker so I can relate a little. And that distorted organ to start! We got trumpets, bassoon, flute and even an experimental section. I'm not sure how "The Mending" didn't make my top five but it needs a mention for being the longest at almost 10 minutes and some really good arrangements here. So intense before 3 minutes as mending can be. I also have to mention "The Wash" for making doing the laundry sound almost adult rated.

Holding it at 4 stars for now but this really impressed me. Under an hour too. About a dozen guests helping out on this one.

 Billie Bottle & The Multiple: The Other Place by BOTTLE, BILLIE album cover Studio Album, 2021
3.00 | 1 ratings

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Billie Bottle & The Multiple: The Other Place
Billie Bottle Canterbury Scene

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

— First review of this album —
3 stars Billie Bottle and Martine Waltier were invited to compete on BBC's The Voice and the question was how much of their art could they fit through a format which mostly resembles a karaoke contest. Well millions saw Billie in her orange tights and fluoro-pink ski jacket as the duo re-worked SNAP's "The Power". Twitter goes wild and by the end of the evening they had acquired a following the size of a main stage festival crowd.

This info was in the liner notes that are very thick, the whole package is so well done. So after the show they proceeded to travel and sing this song "The Power" and then ask the people questions about who and what is the power. So each of the 17 tracks here has a date, time and location at the end of the lyrics. This is a British political album and it's very vocal heavy. I would put this under Crossover as I don't hear Canterbury at all despite Billie being a Canterbury fan.

She did a tribute song on what would have been Phil Miller's 70th birthday and of the very long list of thankyous she mentions The Canterbury Sound along with surprisingly Markus Reuter, maybe not the same guy. This is sophisticated pop with a jazz flavour as we get plenty of sax and really it's the sax that impresses me the most about this album and that would be Roz Harding. MAGIC BUS' Viv Goodwin-Darke adds flute, Matrtine who I have mentioned adds violin and Lee Fletcher adds his talent in the studio plus he is a multi-instrumentalist. Billie is mostly singing and playing keys or acoustic guitar.

I think it's pretty cool that Billie's Mom was a big Kevin Ayers fan along with ELP. Billie mentions Richard Sinclair as her favourite bass player and being a fan of the band SCHNAUSER. So yeah we keep getting this Canterbury/Crossover connection with her music but honestly the Canterbury isn't in distorted organ or those familiar sounds but with whimsical vocals and silly but intelligent lyrics that Robert Wyatt apparently loves.

This is a long one at over 76 minutes and all about British politics. So not my thing and neither are vocal heavy albums which is why the 3 stars. It's like listening to a concept album and while this could be described as brilliant, listening to this over the past week was a chore. Again not my music but I know people who love this charming release.

 Quiet Euphoria by AMOEBA SPLIT album cover Studio Album, 2023
4.17 | 107 ratings

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Quiet Euphoria
Amoeba Split Canterbury Scene

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

3 stars 3.5 stars. This is studio album number three for these Spaniards as they continue with their jazzy styled all instrumental music. A big band consisting of 8 musicians including two keyboardists, three horn players, a drummer and vibes player and finally multi-instrumentalist Alberto Lopez playing guitar, bass and keyboards as well as being the composer.

I must admit I was going to pass on this one but like others the high ratings changed my mind. I did enjoy the first two records but not enough to continue with them. I do feel this is a step down from those. The opener and closer which I place a lot of value on are disappointing, especially the 11 minute closer that sounds like an improv that didn't go well. The opener and title track is pretty good but I'm surprised at the vibes leading for most of it. Piano early and late and it's fairly catchy.

My favourite track by far is "Thrown To The Lions" a tale that Daniel lived to tell. This has a SOFT MACHINE vibe to it and really that is the only band that came to mind during my time spent with this record. I just like the feel of this one, good vibes for sure and the horns have a lot to do with that. Oh electric piano too? And with electric bass, yes this is the song folks. A spacey calm ends it for reflection. Daniel's space. How about the 80's sounding synths on "Divide And Conquer" I like them they're so melancholic.

I have to mention the album art that had me squinting to see what the girl was holding. Well check out the back cover of an evening view of that telescope without the girl. Then inside we get numerous pictures from different angles and it's all so cool. Well done. Good album but not on the level most feel it is.

 Twenty-Five Views of Worthing by TWENTY FIVE VIEWS OF WORTHING album cover Studio Album, 2020
3.96 | 5 ratings

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Twenty-Five Views of Worthing
Twenty Five Views of Worthing Canterbury Scene

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

4 stars The title at the bottom right of the cd issue says it all, these are "Rare studio recordings 1972-1977". So this is archival and a compilation album as well of Canterbury styled music. They break this band's history into three phases as in Chapter One with three songs, Transition with one song and Chapter Two with five songs. The cd issue has two additional tracks and one of those, the "More Feathers, More Dogs" might be my favourite song on here overall.

A rather clumsy name for a band but named after a series of prints that artist Hokusai did called Thirty-Six Views Of Mount Fuji. In the liner notes they constantly refer to themselves as THE WORTHINGS so I will too. Trumpet player Mark Sugden and keyboardist Roger Hillier have been the two constants in this band playing together in a psychedelic band called PRIMROSE PATH in 1967 before changing their stripes and name in 1970.

It was hearing a SOFT MACHINE record that became a lightbulb moment and a change in direction. They were actually signed to Islands Artist label and that helped with the live shows but before they could record an album with them an executive who was away on travel returned and upon hearing this music rejected it and that ended phase one of the band. Thankfully they recorded these songs during down times at studios that often were 24 hour parties and in particular Basing Street Studios where Steve Winwood and Chris Wood from TRAFFIC were often hanging out.

THE WORTHINGS opened for GENESIS, TRAFFIC, EAST OF EDEN, ARGENT, PATTO and on and on. The Chapter One lineup was a four piece with Sugden on drums/trumpet, Hiller keyboards, Devonshire sax/clarinet/flute and Lindsay bass. The opening two tracks is over 20 minutes of music and worth the price of admission as they say. "Vamp Till Ready" is trippy to start out but they amp up the passion as a contrast as the opening them returns. I like that they change up the horns here as leads with sax, clarinet and trumpet in play.

"Joke Without Words" is right there as one of my favourites at over 12 minutes plus that female choir giving us these Northettes' moments in spades. I even thought of MOVING GELATINE PLATES after 3 minutes. Distorted keys on this one to a jazzy walking bass section later on. "Freak Show" is thankfully only 2 1/2 minutes long. I just don't like it at all with those high pitched theatrical vocals with piano, a romp I could do without. I believe that's Sugden singing here as he does on the first song of their Chapter Two phase called "You Are What You Eat" my second least favourite but much improved.

The lone Transition section track "In For A Quick One" is a great 5 1/2 minutes. Drums, bass and flute create a trippy start. Trombone , clarinet and sax here too. The final chapter of the band sees them adding a guitarist for the first time and we're down to sax only as far as horns go. I like the singer a lot more in this 1974-1977 phase other than of course the Sugden sung "You Are What You Eat". The short "Rat Brain Incision" at 2 minutes is an impressive instrumental with distorted sounds, sax, a great sounding rhythm section and angular sounds briefly.

"More Feathers, More Dogs" sounds amazing. The interplay between the sax and guitar is cool. Some beautiful melodies in this one. So impressed. "Do The Azimuth" is another winner especially the vocals and an interesting chorus to boot. The final track "Ratification" is a 1977 demo that Roger reconstructed in 2021 and it does sound different from the rest. An instrumental with pulsating and pounding sounds early as it drives along to a keyboard led section.

For sure 4 stars and a nice package with that 18 page booklet full of pictures and information.

 Quiet Euphoria by AMOEBA SPLIT album cover Studio Album, 2023
4.17 | 107 ratings

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Quiet Euphoria
Amoeba Split Canterbury Scene

Review by Warthur
Prog Reviewer

5 stars It seems like Amoeba Split are big believers in quality over quantity, only releasing albums every six or seven years or so. Quiet Euphoria is an aptly-named release, offering a relaxing set with its roots in the jazzier end of the Canterbury spectrum. Impeccable production combined with two keyboardists and three wind instrument players gives the band a rich, deep palette of sonic options, which they make excellent use of. With this album, Amoeba Split deserve to be considered in the same terms as Picchio Dal Pozzo or the Muffins - international groups who build further on the foundations laid by the classic Canterbury bands of the original scene, despite having no direct connection in terms of personnel.
 Hidden Details by SOFT MACHINE, THE album cover Studio Album, 2018
3.89 | 235 ratings

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Hidden Details
The Soft Machine Canterbury Scene

Review by VianaProghead
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Review Nº 741

Soft Machine was one of the biggest English names in the 60's and 70's. The birthplace of countless talented musicians and with a history full of accidents, the group was one of the forerunners of the psychedelic rock in England, alongside Pink Floyd, and then plunged from head in a very peculiar sound, with traces of free jazz, psychedelic and progressive. The band left classic and unforgettable works full of improvisations and is one of the greats of the Canterbury scene.

"Hidden Details" is the twelfth studio album of Soft Machine and that was released in 2018. The line up on "Hidden Details" is John Etheridge (electric and acoustic guitars), Theo Travis (tenor and soprano saxophones, flutes and fender Rhodes piano), Roy Babbington (bass guitar) and John Marshall (drums and percussion). "Hidden Details" had also the participation of Nick Utteridge (wind chimes) as a guest artist.

The Soft Machine fans had to wait more than forty years for finally have a real Soft Machine studio album, if we discard "Land Of Cockayne", a weaker album probably released due to contractual obligations. So, we can say that finally we have another great studio album by this great and pioneer band. With "Hidden Details" they present an amazingly fresh album. "Hidden Details" is being touted as the first official Soft Machine studio album since "Softs" released in 1976. In the interim, the band worked under the name of Soft Machine Legacy. Under that name, they released a slew of studio and live albums maintaining the high level creativity set by the first two incarnations of the band. At this point in their career, Soft Machine was able to cover all the different phases of their past, particularly their jazzy horn driven music of the early 70's, and their more muscular guitar driven jazz- rock of the mid of the 70's, making of this album a great listen.

"Hidden Details" has thirteen tracks, most of which are new compositions but there are a few re-imaginings of older Soft Machine classics from the 70's. The first track is the title track "Hidden Details". This is a bit an ominous track that offers a very exciting tenor saxophone solo from Travis, and a frankly guitar workout from Etheridge that responds to the Babbington's fuzz bass provocations. The second track "The Man Who Waved At Trains" is an extended re-working of the original "Bundles" album track from 1975, here with Travis given free rein to transform this composition into an entirely new beast with its airy electric piano and flute that adds to it a majestic element. The third track "Ground Lift" offers up some rampaging free-jazz, Travis squawking on his sax and Etheridge's wah-wah saturated guitar battling over Marshall's busy drumming. The fourth track "Heart Off Guard" is a more acoustic track that offers up some more tranquil sounds. It feeds into "Broken Hill" and "Drifting White". The fifth track "Broken Hill" also offers up some more quiet sounds, but this last one offers a bit of smattering prog sound with some psychedelic vibe. The sixth track "Flight Of The Jett" is a freely improvised track that gives to Marshall a chance to demonstrates what a subtle but powerful player he is. It's a great vehicle for Marshall's expert drum passages and percussive work, as well as an assortment of effects laden noises from Etheridge. The seventh track "One Glove" represents the album's first instance of catchy, groove laden jazzy funk, an Etheridge number that also contains a blazing guitar solo that will leave you breathless. The eighth and ninth tracks, "Out Bloody Intro" and "Out Bloody Rageous, Part 1" of their acclaimed third album, is simply great with Travis' great sax lines over some complex rhythms brought by Babbington and Marshall. The tenth track "Drifting White" is a very short and calm track very nice and beautiful to hear. This is a typical jazz/fusion calm piece. The eleventh track "Life On Bridges" is on contrary a lengthy piece that shows again Travis and Etheridge getting involved in a sensational battle between sax and guitar searching for the supremacy over frantic rhythms. The twelfth track "Fourteen Hour Dream" is another piece with more hook laden tracks with some tricky Marshalls drumming, a dreamy flute work and a tasty guitar solo. The thirteenth track "Breathe" is a flute looped inhale and exhale tracks that features only Travis flute and Marshalls's delicate cymbal work. This is a fittingly calm conclusion to a very fine album.

Conclusion: "Hidden Details" is one of the better Soft Machine albums that has become a worthy Soft Machine album and that will certainly be most appreciated by fans of the Canterbury scene, jazz fusion, jazz rock, psychedelic rock and progressive rock in general. "Hidden Details" is a thoroughly welcome and successful resurrection of the Canterbury veterans, which at least fans of the band and the genre shouldn't miss out on. This is jazz-fusion of the highest order, performed by master musicians still at the top of their game. The playing of the gentlemen is of a very high level with some of the best elements that constituted some of the best band's music. Somehow, the new album sounds a bit more like Soft Machine than before. For me, "Hidden Details" is one of the best works from the band since the mid of the 70's. It's almost perfect in many ways. This one will keep you coming back to it more times. So, this is highly recommended.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

 Dominion by ZOPP album cover Studio Album, 2023
4.23 | 163 ratings

BUY
Dominion
Zopp Canterbury Scene

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

5 stars This is very likely my album of the year for 2023. I need a couple of weeks to finalize that list but in the meantime after two spins of "Dominion" I'm thinking top ten for sure but it won't crack my top five. Well after 5 spins I'm adoring this record and hailing it as the best record I've heard from this past year. Ryan Stevenson plays just about every instrument known to man then we get LEVIATHAN's drummer making ZOPP a duo plus six guests including two females doing their Northettes impression. Three of the guests are playing sax with two of those adding flute.

Beautiful cover art and thanks for the post card version of it that came with the cd only this is a closer-up version of it with different colours. Funny picture of Ryan looking lost in the sea of tall grass too in the liner notes. I can't get over all the distorted keys and organ on here plus mellotron. Not fair! Too good to be true. I really like the drumming and the bass is upfront plus we get electric piano. The guest sax and flute really adds a lot to the sound here.

And while this is a straight-up Canterbury album a song like "Bushnell Keeler" is more Jazz Rock and brings so many bands to mind. A feel good track if there ever was one for yours truly. I like the RPI-like pulsating organ on "Reality Tunnels". This song hits the ground running and different instruments will lead. Lots of energy and Canterbury at 2 1/2 minutes.

The two tracks though that steal the show here are "You" at 11 minutes and the closer "Toxicity" at over 14 minutes. Dreams do come true. Man the emotion after 6 1/2 minutes on that closer is just a small piece of the joy this record brings me. Love the distortion, keys, vocals, sax and guitar late on "You" but the closer might be better, flip a coin but that's 25 minutes of some of the best music I've heard this year.

We are very fortunate to have a talent like Ryan Stevenson making our music and for me he just out-did his debut and then some.

 Other Doors by SOFT MACHINE, THE album cover Studio Album, 2023
3.71 | 41 ratings

BUY
Other Doors
The Soft Machine Canterbury Scene

Review by kev rowland
Special Collaborator Honorary Reviewer

4 stars In many ways this is the closing of a chapter in that drummer John Marshall announced his retirement after the recordings of this album before passing away at the age of 82 (this never sounds like the work of an octogenarian). Bassist Roy Babbington announced his retirement after the previous album, 2018's 'Hidden Details', but returned here to guest on a couple of tracks, including a duet with his replacement Fred Thelonious Baker. Theo Travis (tenor & soprano saxophones, flutes, Fender Rhodes piano, electronics) and John Etheridge (guitars) complete the line-up, which has since been augmented by the addition of the extraordinary drummer Asaf Sirkis.

Marshall is to date the longest serving member of Soft Machine in terms of years served, and it is interesting to note that they have included some old numbers on here, possibly in deference to his forthcoming retirement. What is somewhat strange is that while both Marshall and Babbington played on the original recording of "Penny Hitch" (from 'Seven'), neither of them were involved when Soft Machine released their first single in America, "Joy of a Toy" which featured Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers. It is somewhat strange to hear this again as it has been some time since I last played it, and while I am sure there will be plenty of hardcore fans who will believe this is nothing short of sacrilege, I must confess I enjoyed it. At times they are reflective, at others more dynamic and in your face, but always striving to find the perfect combinations of note and tones to make us think and take us on a journey.

Soft Machine have continually reinvented themselves over the years, both musically and in personnel, but at no time have they ever sat back and just played it safe but instead have kept challenging themselves and still tour frequently where their improvisational skills are challenged every night. That they continue to release intriguing and interesting material so far into their career is nothing short of remarkable, and one can only hope that there are many more to come in the future. The Canterbury scene is alive and well in the hands of bands like these, and long may it continue.

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Canterbury Scene bands/artists list

Bands/Artists Country
DAEVID ALLEN Australia
AMOEBA SPLIT Spain
ANTIQUE SEEKING NUNS United Kingdom
KEVIN AYERS United Kingdom
BIG HOGG United Kingdom
THE BOOT LAGOON United Kingdom
BILLIE BOTTLE United Kingdom
BRAINVILLE United Kingdom
CARAVAN United Kingdom
CLEAR FRAME United Kingdom
COS Belgium
DE LORIANS Japan
DELIVERY United Kingdom
EGG United Kingdom
THE FILIBUSTER SALOON United States
THE GHOULIES United Kingdom
MICHAEL GILES United Kingdom
GILGAMESH United Kingdom
GONG Multi-National
GOWEN - MILLER - SINCLAIR - TOMKINS United Kingdom
JOHN GREAVES United Kingdom
NICHOLAS GREENWOOD United Kingdom
GRINGO United Kingdom
HATFIELD AND THE NORTH United Kingdom
HENRYTENNIS Japan
STEVE HILLAGE United Kingdom
HOMUNCULUS RES Italy
HOPPER - DEAN - TIPPETT - GALLIVAN United Kingdom
HUGH HOPPER United Kingdom
JAKKO M. JAKSZYK United Kingdom
THE KENTISH SPIRES United Kingdom
KHAN United Kingdom
THE LODGE United States
MAGIC BUS United Kingdom
MANNA / MIRAGE United States
MASTER CYLINDER United States
MATCHING MOLE United Kingdom
MILLER & COXHILL United Kingdom
PHIL MILLER United Kingdom
MOLESLOPE Japan
MOOM United Kingdom
MOVING GELATINE PLATES France
MR. SIRIUS Japan
THE MUFFINS United States
NATIONAL HEALTH United Kingdom
OCARINAH France
PANTHEON Netherlands
PAZOP Belgium
JOHN G. PERRY United Kingdom
PICCHIO DAL POZZO Italy
THE POLITE FORCE United Kingdom
PIP PYLE United Kingdom
QUANTUM JUMP United Kingdom
QUIET SUN United Kingdom
SHORT WAVE United Kingdom
RICHARD SINCLAIR United Kingdom
SOFT HEAP United Kingdom
SOFT MACHINE LEGACY United Kingdom
THE SOFT MACHINE United Kingdom
SOFT MOUNTAIN Multi-National
SOFT WORKS United Kingdom
STUBBS Japan
SUPERSISTER Netherlands
SUPPLY DEMAND & CURVE Ireland
TORTILLA FLAT Germany
TRAVELLING France
TWENTY FIVE VIEWS OF WORTHING United Kingdom
VOLARÉ United States
THE WILDE FLOWERS United Kingdom
THE WINSTONS Italy
ROBERT WYATT United Kingdom
ZOPP United Kingdom
ZYMA Germany

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