SOFT MACHINE – FLOATING WORLD LIVE (Moon June Records) (RM 2 x LP/ CD) (1975/ 2025)

When writing about the Moon June 2009 release of a live performance on Radio Bremen in January, 1975 by the line-up that had released “Bundles” a few months later, I was blown away by the quality of the music. The only original member of Soft Machine on this recording was Mike Ratledge, and on first listening his contributions seem rather peripheral with little of the trademark Lowry organ sound of early Soft Machine but he is there contributing two compositions and two co-writes. Karl Jenkins played a major part in the writing and his ‘Floating World’ makes you think you are listening to Jade Warrior, a very good thing! On ‘Bundles’ Roy Babbington’s repetitive bass riff, John Marshall’s flailing drums and Allan Holdsworth’s scintillating mazy guitar runs, to electric piano counterpoint (Jenkins and Ratledge both play keyboards) sees the band hit an early creative peak. Roy Babbington’s intriguing bass creation ‘Ealing Comedy’ is a welcome interlude in a maelstrom of music, with Holdsworth’s guitar playing simply breathtaking on ‘Land of the Bag Snake’. That ends side one of the vinyl.

Side two begins with a well-received violin solo played by Holdsworth on Ratledge’s ‘The Man Who Waved at Trains’ which is underpinned by a laid-back bass riff and some delicious cymbal work from John Marshall. Another Ratledge composition, ‘Peff’, follows which allows space for Jenkins to have a blow on soprano sax while the experimental ‘North Point’ has Ratledge filing off volleys from his synth.

Drum rolls introduce the heavy rocking ‘Hazard Profile’ Part One which starts the third side of vinyl (There are 5 parts on the ‘Bundles’ album) which builds to an amazing climax as Holdsworth’s fluency on guitar begins to border on the impossible; love the fuzzy bass as well. Frustratingly, just as he scales the heights there was a break in the radio transmission and the music had to be faded out. Marshall’s 10-minute drum creation ‘JSM’, and I use the word ‘creation’ advisedly, for this is one of the most interesting drum/ percussion solos I’ve ever heard, concludes side three.

Side four starts with the funky ‘Riff III’ (A relation presumably of ‘Riff’ and ‘Riff II’ on the ‘Six’ album), one of only two whole band compositions and once again, in Roy Babbington’s words, Holdsworth “blows the pants off everybody!” Ironically Holdsworth was the first guitarist in The Soft Machine since Daevid Allen left in 1967 and he does tend to dominate proceedings when ‘he’s in’. Not that that’s a bad thing but I would have liked to have heard some keyboard solos as well- the electric piano provides backing only. There are three encores starting with Jenkins’ lovely piano led ‘Song of Aeolus’ with Holdsworth in glorious reflective and poignant mood; this would end up on the next LP “Softs”; then there’s ‘End Game’, a funky number with an amazing drum intro, the guitar once again the dominant force, the number fading anti-climatically. ‘Penny Hitch’ is the tranquil coda.

Critics were divided about the “Bundles” era but I’ll go with one train of thought as expressed in Paul Stump’s history of progressive rock that what we hear here was “a vivid and colouristic revolution in the entire feel and timbral materiality of the band’s sound”. Sadly, what is captured here didn’t last long for within in a year both Holdsworth and Ratledge had departed, with another guitar maestro John Ethridge coming in on Holdsworth’s recommendation.