Soft Machine are certainly one of the acts that has released the most live albums. It's almost impossible to determine exactly how many have been released over the years. So, let's not get into that, but I can tell you that Drop is one of the many albums where you can hear the band's jams and improvisations. The album was out of print for a long time, but now there's a new edition available thanks to Moonjune Records. On this one hour long album you can hear a line -up which only existed for five months. It included Mike Ratledge (Lowrey organ, Fender Rhodes electric piano), Elton Dean (Saxello, alto sax, Fender Rhodes electric piano), Hugh Hopper (bass guitar) and Phil Howard (drums). Drop includes a recording of a concert from the German tour in the fall of 1971. Unfortunately, the exact location is apparently no longer known. This recording is certainly very special and rather rare because it includes Howard on drums. Rare and special because Australian Phil Howard left only a sparse mark on Soft Machine's history, having only been with the band for five months. When Robert Wyatt left the group, Elton Dean brought Howard with him, who had previously played drums in Dean's quartet. After 30 concerts and the unfinished sessions for the fifth Soft Machine album, Howard left again. Apparently, he was let go because his expressive, very free, and jazzy style overwhelmed or confused the rest of the band. This you can certainly hear on Drop. In those days the Muppets Show and Animal were not born yet. But if it was broadcasted at the time Howard certainly would have given the name Phil "Animal" Howard. His playing is all over the place during this recording. You almost think he has ADHD. Not that it bothers me. Not at all because his playing is very strong. The recordings presented here at least demonstrate that Howard was an excellent and captivating drummer who was able to put his own stamp on the music he played. The band's performance is exceptionally intense and wild. The band practically blasted through their program by the Australian, inspiring virtuoso instrumental performances. The band is on full steam here. With Ratledge's wildly complex keyboard excursions on organ, Fender Rhodes, and electric piano, Dean's insane saxophone outbursts, Hopper's always fat-sounding bass, which also likes to play itself into the foreground, as well as Howard's drumming, which thunders wildly through every track. He even gets his own drum solo which you can hear on Dark Swing. The music on this CD was recorded en route to the Fifth album and therefore many songs on this live album appeared later on Fifth as well. Which was released in 1972 and featured the drummers Phil Howard and John Marshall. The last one continued with the band after the first one left. Of course, you have to love big jams and improvised music to fully understand what the musicians were trying to do with their music. For a lot of music lovers, it all sounds too chaotic. But it doesn't mean the musicians are no masters on their instruments which they certainly are. You only need to understand what they do. The recordings made here sound rather good and have a good stereo mix. Drop is a truly excellent and timeless document full of first-class jazz-rock. Only for lovers of progressive rock a tough one to go through. In the Netherlands, we have a saying, "What the farmer doesn't know, he doesn't eat." That probably says it all. *** Henri Strik (edited by Dave Smith) Where to buy? |
