Originally published in the NYC Jazz Record, NY@Night column, November 2018
SOFT MACHINE, Hidden Details (MoonJune, 2018)
–record release concert, Oct 13, the
Iridium, NYC
CD and
concert review by John Pietaro
Soft Machine, the Iridium, Oct 13, 2018 (photo by J Pietaro)
In the
wake of social change, counter-culture, mind expansion, Eastern religions, ‘Sgt.
Pepper’ and ‘In a Silent Way’, there came a convergence of artful rock and forward-looking
jazz. Amidst this, Soft Machine released its first recording. The band has
since survived personnel shifts, members’ deaths, breakups, spin-offs and
metamorphoses. As a golden anniversary celebration, John Etheridge (guitars),
John Marshall (drums), Roy Babbington (bass) and Theo Travis (saxophones and
keyboards) released ‘Hidden Details’, topping it off with a world tour.
Soft
Machine has not played New York since 1974, so the return was highly
anticipated by the cheering loyalists cramming the Iridium on October 13. The iconic
band, unfortunately, was twice beleaguered by technical difficulties. The
evening kicked off with “Hidden Details”, a gripping fusion number which saw veteran
drummer Marshall initially fumbling some over thriving riffs, meter changes and
rapid tempo. It all came together with a searing guitar solo but as Soft
Machine began another piece, Etheridge’s effects rig cut out. He handled it
well, joking with the sympathetic audience, “Right, stand down a second!”, but sometime
later, the guitar again fell tacit. As he tried to anxiously fix the problem,
the others ultimately left the stage during a torturous 20-minute procedure (it
frankly seemed ridiculous that a temporary trio couldn’t have played, stretching
out on the planned song to save the moment!).
The concert
material combined new works, older repertoire and some pieces as reimagined on
the new record. The melodic pairing of Etheridge’s wailing guitar and Travis’
tenor or soprano saxophones creates, both live and on record, a vital, classic
sound sometimes reminiscent of Weather Report, Traffic and the Mahavishnu
Orchestra. When the band launched into free segments, rocketing over uptempo
swing, as guitar and saxophone locked horns, Soft Machine was clearly in its
element. Marshall, a bit of British jazz royalty, has collaborated with the
Spontaneous Music Ensemble, John Surman, Eberhard Weber, Jack Bruce, Centipede
and the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, among many others. One of the
killer-dillers at the Iridium erupted into a lengthy drum feature which drove
the crowd to cheering hysterics, encompassing the best of post-bop while giving
a nod to the big band drummers who inspired him.
‘Hidden
Details’, in any case, is a highly memorable album. Pristinely recorded by Jon
Hiseman, who passed away shortly before the release, it captures the best of that
fore-mentioned musical convergence. Suffice to say, fans of both electric Miles
and King Crimson will welcome this into their collections. Etheridge is a living
master class in guitar virtuosity. His distorted sound shreds the jazz/rock
boundary on “Hidden Details” and “One Glove”, while on ballads “The Man Who
Waved at Trains” and “Heart Off Guard”, featuring Travis’ nimble flute and
sinewy soprano respectively, the counterpoint is elegant. Listen for the band’s
subtle interplay on “Ground Lift” and compelling free improvisation, “Flight of
the Jett”. But Soft Machine is at its collective best on the late Mike
Ratledge’s “Out Bloody Rageous”, a wondrous 15/8 which conjures the vibe of
Chico Hamilton, bits of Trane and something very much other. It’s the latter, however,
that best describes the mythic spectrum of Soft Machine’s first 50 years.
-------------------------------------
CREDITS:
Hidden Details – John Etheridge (gtr), Theor
Travis (sax, flute, keyboards), Roy Babbington (bs), John Marshall (dr), guest
Nick Utteridge (wind chimes, track 13)
1.
Hidden
Details
2.
The
Man Who Waved at Trains
3.
Ground
Lift
4.
Heart
Off Guard
5.
Broken
Hill
6.
Flight
of the Jett
7.
One
Glove
8.
Out
Bloody Rageous (intro)
9.
Out
Bloody Rageous (part 1)
10. Drifting White
11. Life on Brodges
12. Fourteen Hour Dream
13. Breathe
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