Years active: On and off for 53 years; latest edition of the band has been active since 2015.
Provenance: Canterbury, England.
Influenced by: Miles Davis, Terry Riley, Charles Mingus, Pink Floyd, the Dada movement.
Influence on: This Heat, Isotope, Ultramarine, Mushroom, Bongwater, Zen Mother.
Precautions: With no members in the group who performed on Soft Machine’s first two albums, it seems likely those amazing tracks may get little or no attention during the group’s two-night run at the Triple Door. And that prospect could justifiably bum out a lot of fans. To be fair, though, who could step up and replicate the vocals of Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers? Hardly anybody in the world. Let us hope the latest incarnation of Soft Machine at least tosses a couple of bones to folks who madly love The Soft Machine and Volume Two.
Essential songs: “Hope for Happiness”; “So Boot If at All”; “We Did It Again”; “Why Are We Sleeping?”; “Save Yourself”; “A Concise British Alphabet Pt. 2”; “Fire Engine Passing with Bells Clanging”; “Orange Skin Food”; “Moon in June”; “Out-Bloody-Rageous”; “MC”; “Soft Weed Factor”; “Chloe and the Pirates”; “Memories”; “Hazard Profile Part One”; “Land of the Bag Snake”; “Down the Road.”
Why You Should Give a Fuck: Soft Machine’s early years, as exemplified by debut LP The Soft Machine (1968) and Volume Two (1969), herald a distinctively heady take on psychedelia and progressive rock redolent of the Canterbury School: unconventionally pretty and pastoral melodies, swerving dynamics, arch, meta lyrics, and virtuosic, improv-jazz chops. Add the amazing duality of vocal styles purveyed by Robert Wyatt (flute-y af) and Kevin Ayers (bass-y af), and you have the recipe for immortal culthood. Jimi Hendrix (and/or his management) thought highly enough of Soft Machine to ask them to open for the Experience on their 1968 North American tour. That’s a hell of an endorsement.
A major shift in approach occurred with Third, as Soft Machine de-emphasized vocals and stretched tracks into spacious, sidelong labyrinths over two slabs of vinyl. Third is the epitome of epic eggheaded excursions for the long-attention-span and jazz-cigarette-smoking set. This was Wyatt’s penultimate recording with Soft Machine, and he really shines on the gorgeous, intricate prog-jazz ballad “Moon in June,” which features some incredibly rococo bass lines by Hugh Hopper.
Soft Machine attained another near peak with Six, which contains two of their greatest tracks: “The Soft Weed Factor” and “Chloe and the Pirates.” The former patiently unspools like an impromptu jam between Terry Riley and Miles Davis, its jazz minimalism and sidereal funk accruing sublime, mesmerizing power as it progresses. The latter is a spacey, portentous tone poem that Stanley Kubrick should’ve used in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The current Soft Machine lineup includes drummer John Marshall (who joined the band in ’72), bassist Roy Babbington (who joined in ’73), guitarist John Etheridge (joined in ’75), and keyboardist/woodwind specialist Theo Travis (2006). They released an album last September titled Hidden Details, whose 14 instrumentals recapture Soft Machine’s adventurous ’70s spirit; they’ve gone anything but soft over the decades. You can be certain that these gents will treat the band’s vaunted legacy with the utmost respect.
Soft Machine play Monday, January 28 and Tuesday, January 29 at the Triple Door with Moraine.
