progshine If you're a Progger that has a minimum of interest in what happened in the early days you're aware of the Soft Machine name. Soft Machine was a band that existed between 1968 and 1981 or so and released many albums, especially in the Jazz Rock/Fusion field. In the early 2000's the band got together again, but as it wasn't the original line up anymore they decided to form an 'almost' new band, Soft Machine Legacy and so far they have released a mix of albums. The live albums have Soft Machine old works mixed with new tracks. The studio albums are filled with completely new material.

Burden Of Proof (2013) is their 3rd studio album and it was released by Moonjune Records with Esoteric Antenna distribution. The album was produced by the band itself and recorded by another big name in the Jazz Fusion scene, Beppe Crovella, at the Electromantic Synergy Studio, in San Sebastiano da Po, Italy, in August 2012.

If you know the band's sound already you'll not be surprised with what you're going to find in Burden Of Proof (2013). John Marshall (drums and percussions), Theo Travis (saxophones, flutes and piano), John Etheridge (guitars) and Roy Babbington (bass) keep delivering the Jazz Fusion of the previous works.

The album starts with the title-track and soon jumps to 'Voyage Beyond Seven'. The third track, the guitar-driven 'Kitto' is quite interesting. But so far the Smoky Jazz Club feeling of 'Pie Chart' is the most interesting, full of great saxophones lines the music takes you for a ride, like a movie.

'JSP' is nothing more than a minute noise, and quite unnecessary on the album. The following track, 'Kings And Queens' is another great example on the album, hypnotic bass riff and great flute work. 'Fallout' is one more good track full of weird tempo riffs. The middle gets a bit boring tough. Then comes another quick-one-minute kind of track 'Going Somewhere Canorous?', another unnecessary piece of music.

'Black And Crimson' continues with the Burden Of Proof (2013) path and by now it's very clear that Soft Machine Legacy is a great band when they actually write their material with a good melody line, like on this one. They're a far better band then when they just keep playing in some improvised jam. Especially after the next track 'The Brief', then it's even more clear.

To finish the album we have 3 more tracks. 'Pump Room', a good mid-tempo theme with weird guitar solos and 'Green Cubes' comes in the improvised format again. The last one is 'They Landed On A Hill' with its space rock feeling of emptiness.

Burden Of Proof (2013) is for sure the best album of Soft Machine Legacy so far, but really not my cup of tea. Maybe I'm not the best person around to review a Jazz Fusion album, but the improvised-jam-in-the-studio kind of thing bothers me. For my own good sake in this album the band decided to bet their coins in a 50/50 game. And when they play rehearsed compositions they do great!

(Originally posted on progshine.net)

kev rowland The Softs are back with their first studio album since the passing of Hugh Hopper in 2008, as incredibly it is six years since the release of ‘Steam’. The line-up is John Etheridge (electric guitar), Roy Babbington (bass), John Marshall (drums and percussion) and Theo Travis (tenor sax, flute, piano), which has to make it one of the longest serving line-ups in the extremely long history of the band (either as The Soft Machine, Soft Machine, The Softs, or Soft Machine Legacy). They may have been going down this furrow of jazz-fusion for more than thirty years, but they still don’t show any sign at all of slowing down or running out of ideas. A special mention must go to Andrew Tulloch who mixed and mastered this album as the sound is incredible, allowing every touch and nuance to shine through.

The album is a combination of pre-agreed structures and melodies with improvisation and the result is a delight from the beginning to end. The interaction between all of the musicians is of the type that only comes with years of playing in this sort of environment, where there is trust between everyone and a firm understanding of what they are all working towards. “Kings & Queens” is a masterpiece of understatement with Roy’s simple repeated bassline allowing the others to expand the theme. While on “Fallout” Roy and John Etheridge start the piece linked as one, in perfect harmony and control before they start to expand. Everyone interested in fusion and jazz will have come across Soft Machine sometime in their musical education, and take it from me that ‘Burden of Proof’ is a more than worthy addition to their body of work. www.moonjune.com

js Soft Machine and/or Soft Machine Legacy is one of the longest running acts in the world of fusion, with its founding members working together in various groups since the mid 60s. “Burden of Proof” is the latest from Legacy, and finds these jazz veterans offering up a wide smorgasbord of styles, its as if they are giving us a sampler of all the different flavors modern fusion can be these days. Interestingly enough, after years of changing members and musical visions, this album has a few moments that recall the classic III and IV albums from the early 70s, a sound that has not showed up for the Machine in a while. In fact, when this CD opens with ambient tape looped Fender Rhodes piano, it sounds like a direct tribute to their third album.

Although all of the players on here are technically proficient, there is a nice subtle approach to this music, the best versions of Soft Machine were not about flash as they were more about atmosphere. Still, when its time for an intense solo, guitarist John Etheridge and woodwind player Theo Travis do not hesitate to bring it on. Another interesting aspect about this CD that recalls their earlier days is the bands reliance on free-form jamming. Many tunes develop into free sessions that vary from intense and busy, such as on “The Brief”, to more quiet and spacey as on several other tracks.

One of the best tracks on “Burden” is “Kings and Queens”, which recalls classic Soft Machine with its repeating laid back bass line backed by atmospheric keyboards and topped with an excellent flute solo by Travis. Overall, long time fans of this group will probably want to pick this up, it’s a fairly solid disc from a group of veterans who have managed to maintain their creativity and enthusiasm over the years.

kev rowland Soft Machine were formed in 1966, and have long been seen as one of the most influential of all of the ‘Canterbury Scene’. Over the years they had quite a few musicians through their ranks, but by the early Eighties it appeared that it was finally over with everyone going their separate ways. However, in 2002, four former Soft Machine members - Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, John Marshall and Allan Holdsworth - toured and recorded under the name Soft Works. From late 2004 onwards, with John Etheridge replacing Holdsworth, they have toured and recorded as Soft Machine Legacy. Elton Dean passed away in February 2006, and the band continued with British saxophonist and flautist Theo Travis (formerly of Gong and The Tangent). In 2008 Hopper was sidelined by leukemia and the band continued live performances with Fred Baker, although following Hopper's death in 2009, the band announced that it would continue with Roy Babbington once again stepping into the role formerly held by Hopper, as he had done previously in 1973 after the release of ‘Six’.

It is this line-up that was recorded at two dates in October 2009 that makes up this album. Apart from Theo, all of those involved had played and recorded with the Softs in the Seventies so what we have here is not some hackneyed tribute band, but one that is truly valid and able to bring the incredible jazz and fusion of the band’s history back to life. These guys know the songs intimately, as well as each other, and the result is a seamless electric performance that will delight fans of any era of the band. They certainly progressed and changed over the years, yet they have refused to rest on the history and instead the vast majority of the songs are from ‘Steam’ with just a few such as “Facelift” and “Song of Aeolus” from the distant past.

My personal favourite is probably “The Nodder” which contains a delicacy and control that is sublime, with John getting some wonderful notes out of his guitar. If you enjoy your fusion then this is very much for you. www.moonjune.com

snobb The first Soft Machine Legacy studio album is very much a John Etheridge work. Yes, there are at least two original core-members from the original Soft Machine on board - sax player Elton Dean and bassist Hugh Hopper, and fourth member, drummer John Marshall, has a much longer history in the original Soft Machine than guitarist John Etheridge himself.

Even more - half of the material on this release is old Soft Machine compositions, reworked for this album. But the thing I missed most in this album's music is Soft Machine's spirit. All of this music is fully instrumental and balances somewhere between jazz-rock and instrumental rock, but comparing this with the classic Soft Machine sound reveals a lack of complexity and spirit.

On this album four Canterbury Scene veterans play relaxed and a bit unfocused hard rock variations on themes from Soft Machine's legacy. All of these musicians were original members of Soft Machine in different times, and even more strange that they often sound like a quality tribute band. This music is generally straight forward heavy-edged instrumental rock with an overloaded and almost shredding guitar sound. Hopper's bass is somewhere deep under the surface and generally has no influence on the whole sound. Dean's sax solos are sad, uninspired and sound more like attractive add-ons than part of the music. It's a pity that Dean's last released work (he died a few months after this album's release) isn't his best or greatest work.

This album is mostly for Soft Machine/Canterbury Scene collectors and heavy fans.