Soft Machine - "Floating World Live" Review

Artist/ Band: Soft Machine
Title: Flaoting World Live
Label: Moonjune Records
Year of Release: 2006
Artist/ Band Link (click for details/ ordering)

The Review:

Soft Machine has had several incarnations of the band over the years ranging from a Canterbury style to a jazz-rock and fusion side. Each incarnation has remained true to the over-all vibe that mad Soft Machine famous. In the mid-seventies, a radio program captured a live performance just after the release of Bundles and now in 2006 it’s released in it’s full glory as Floating World Live, thanks to MoonJune Records. This is an era of the band I’m not familiar with but have heard wonderous things about, so it was exciting to be able to hear the band in a live setting, especially to hear Allan Holdsworth at this time in his musical career. Even though, for the most part, Allan is a soloist he does interact with the other band members quite well. It’s amazing how well since he had only joined a few months earlier, and would leave just a couple months later.

Floating World Live is, in my opinion, a very important document of all musical history, especially for fans of fusion and jazz-rock as well as those that have followed bands like Soft Machine. You really won’t be disappointed with this album, in fact, you’ll play it again and again. To say this is highly recommended is an understatement!

Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on May 23rd, 2006

Tracks:

1. The Floating World

2. Bundles

3. Land Of The Bag Snake

4. Ealing Comedy

5. The Man Who Waved At Trains

6. Peff

7. North Point

8. Hazard Profile (Part One)

9. J.S.M.

10. Riff III

11. Song Of Aeolus

12. Endgame

13. Penny Hitch (Coda)

Reviewed Discography

Here are other reviews by this artist at ProgNaut.com.

"Floating World Live" 2006
"Land of Cockayne" (Archive - 1981) 2010 [LH]