Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or
view the MP3 Album.
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Now here's something that'll come as a surprise to most Soft Machine fans. A live album recorded during theur German tour in Autumn 1971. Yes, that's right. 1971. It's the lineup that featured Mike Ratledge, Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper and Phil Howard.
Which makes it a snapshot of a tumultuous period in Soft Machines history. They'd finally left behind any notion of being a rock band, having moved firmly into the world of improvisational jazz fusion. Drummer Phil Howard was only around for five months, appearing on half the "Fifth" album, but that in no way prepared me for the amazing and furious percussion work on display here.
Take a listen to the opening 'Neo Caliban Grides' and prepare to pick your jaw up off the floor.Now any fule kno that Messrs Ratledge, Dean and Hopper were amazing musicians, but hearing them backed by Howard takes things to a level I was unprepared for. It's an utter travesty that he vanished so completely after his overly brief tenure with the Softs.
It's a historical curio, so be prepared for a sometimes uneven listening experience. However, the music makes it all worthwhile and I know I'll be enslaved to 'Out-Bloody-Rageous' for a long while yet.
Which makes it a snapshot of a tumultuous period in Soft Machines history. They'd finally left behind any notion of being a rock band, having moved firmly into the world of improvisational jazz fusion. Drummer Phil Howard was only around for five months, appearing on half the "Fifth" album, but that in no way prepared me for the amazing and furious percussion work on display here.
Take a listen to the opening 'Neo Caliban Grides' and prepare to pick your jaw up off the floor.Now any fule kno that Messrs Ratledge, Dean and Hopper were amazing musicians, but hearing them backed by Howard takes things to a level I was unprepared for. It's an utter travesty that he vanished so completely after his overly brief tenure with the Softs.
It's a historical curio, so be prepared for a sometimes uneven listening experience. However, the music makes it all worthwhile and I know I'll be enslaved to 'Out-Bloody-Rageous' for a long while yet.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I've been looking forward to this for a long time and it does not disappoint. I've always enjoyed Phil Howard's contribution to "5" and I saw this line-up at Colston Hall in'71. This is an aggressive, angular band with plenty of swagger. You can see why Hugh and Mike felt threatened and why Elton loved it so. This CD could warm the coldest room in record time. A classic!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I was looking forwards to hearing this. There isn't a lot from the Phil Howard period apart from the sanitised side 1 of fifth and the BBC sessions CD. This is my favourite version of the softs- though I don't think the line-up had enough time to reach it's full potential.
The sound quality is pretty bad- Hopper's bass is distorted the whole way through and Ratledge's Fender Rhodes is muffled, while Dean's is too loud also the Lowery organ is too loud in places. It is also fairly obvious that the musicians can't hear each other properly- Dean misses his cue to pick up the head in "Slightly all the Time" and Hopper misses a cue at the transition section in "Drop". Phil Howard shows his strengths and weaknesses throughout. First the bad news- he needed to calm down at points and get more dynamics into his playing. He also has a tendency to lose the pulse when he gets carried away with the cross-rhythms. That said he is the most original and exciting drummer ever to be in the drum chair. The best track, I think, is "Slightly all the Time". This features one of Ratledge's best ever recorded solo's. Ratledge and Howard are superb together, which makes his decision to sack Howard a bit mystifying.
Overall(and despite the sound quality)this is a great CD, and it gives an indication of what might have been. Howard really comes into his own when supporting soloists(whether Ratledge or Dean)and Soft Machine were never really again a potent force after his departure. If there is a negative about the CD musically, it is that some of the Rhodes duets could have been subject to some editing- but otherwise highly recommended.
The sound quality is pretty bad- Hopper's bass is distorted the whole way through and Ratledge's Fender Rhodes is muffled, while Dean's is too loud also the Lowery organ is too loud in places. It is also fairly obvious that the musicians can't hear each other properly- Dean misses his cue to pick up the head in "Slightly all the Time" and Hopper misses a cue at the transition section in "Drop". Phil Howard shows his strengths and weaknesses throughout. First the bad news- he needed to calm down at points and get more dynamics into his playing. He also has a tendency to lose the pulse when he gets carried away with the cross-rhythms. That said he is the most original and exciting drummer ever to be in the drum chair. The best track, I think, is "Slightly all the Time". This features one of Ratledge's best ever recorded solo's. Ratledge and Howard are superb together, which makes his decision to sack Howard a bit mystifying.
Overall(and despite the sound quality)this is a great CD, and it gives an indication of what might have been. Howard really comes into his own when supporting soloists(whether Ratledge or Dean)and Soft Machine were never really again a potent force after his departure. If there is a negative about the CD musically, it is that some of the Rhodes duets could have been subject to some editing- but otherwise highly recommended.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
