I'm out of the frying pan and into the fire so to speak now.... (finished my job, now getting ready to return to Holland and have a baby girl) Continue wishing me luck, and do check back once in a while-- there's loads of good stuff still to come......
Soft Machine - Seven
Columbia, 1973Mike Ratledge: organ, electric piano, synthesizer
Karl Jenkins: oboe, baritone sax, soprano sax, recorder, electric piano
Roy Babbington: bass, double bass
John Marshall: drums, percussion
The usual suspects show up for this late Soft Machine album (usual suspects for post-Fourth albums, that is). Hugh Hopper left after the album before this one, but Roy Babbington is not a newcomer to the Soft Machine. This album is good, but the overall atmosphere is different from previous albums... There are some proto-ambient keyboard fiddlings that add a distinct flavor to the very interesting jazz-rock fusion that you knew would be there, because it IS the Soft Machine after all.
"Seven definitely sounds to me like an album by a band at a crossroads. I don't know of anyone who would rank it among Soft Machine's best work and I wouldn't do so, either. But I don't think it's bad by any means, and if you've liked Soft Machine up until this point I suspect you'll like this album too, even if it is probably an example of water-treading. The songs are still knotty and still have that immediately-recognizable "Soft Machine" quality. The album is a mixture of mid-tempo fusion songs and slower, more gently ambient pieces in the style that the band experimented with on the studio portion of the previous album. This is Karl Jenkins' doing, based on the songwriting credits. He splits them with Mike Ratledge, save for John Marshall's obligatory percussion solo (which I find to be surprisingly listenable). For what it's worth, Jenkins isn't too proud to acknowledge his atmospheric forebears; one of the better trance-like pieces is called "The German Lesson."" - Matt P. (http://www.progreviews.com)
"SOFT MACHINE settles into a sedate mix of jazz and progressive rock on "Seven", suggesting the mellower side of KING CRIMSON and CAMEL minus the vocal identity. The tracks usually fade into one another, separated by short instrumental segues and occasionally veering into different directions during a single song, led by KARL JENKINS' solos and MIKE RATLEDGE's keyboard patterns. Drummer JOHN MARSHALL takes the spotlight for "D.I.S." but otherwise remains in the background, as does bassist ROY BABBINGTON; for the most part, it's Ratledge who anchors the material. Compared to the work of, say, BRAND X, "Seven" is a dreamy affair, making use of mesmerizing keyboards, percussive effects that evoke wind chimes, bubbling basswork, and horns that occasionally approach the phrasing of a violin (in fact, JEAN-LUC PONTY fans may find this music reassuringly similar). Although the band generates some interesting grooves on "Tarabos" and "Down the Road", even these are contained in well-defined borders.
"Seven" does not boast stunning solos or grandiose ideas; it's understated but effective as a collage of small, soft pieces placed together. Though hardly a jewel in the genre, and limited by a lack of fresh ideas, at least it's not standoffishly noisy." -Philo
FILL YOUR EARS
4 comments:
this is my favourite soft machine, but then again i'm more into 70's fusion than 60's uk psych. i managed to find a original copy of this on vinyl after downloading it here. thanks alot!
I just bought this album on vinyl, but I have a different cover than this; it just has all four of them in four corners, kind of like the Beatles' "Let It Be."
I remember picking up soft machine 7 when it came out in the us in 1974. Seven is an excellent album with suberb sound engineering similar to 6. Karl jenkins oboe playing is some of the best recorded. Marshall smokes the drum set and Mike Ratledge adds some interesting compositions. Ok, it is a more commerical attempt but it is Soft Machine and it is a dynamic musical journey which is devoid in todays corporate music formulas. I was fortunate to see their last tour in the US when they performed bundles. Marshall did DIS and Mike Ratledge anchored the group.
Thanks for the share!
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