Soft Machine - "Seven" [1974] @ 192 (British Jazz Fusion)

There was a request for Soft Machine - Seven a little while back, and I had found a link for it from the Kukopolis blog (kukopolis.blogspot.com). Unfortunately, that rip was @ 128 kbps, so I tracked down a better rip @ 192 kbps, so here it is... enjoy!

By this album Soft Machine had mutated from a psychedelic acid rock/jazz combo into a disciplined British jazz fusion combo, with only keyboard player Mike Ratledge being an original member. But they're damn good: sax/piano player Karl Jenkins is bursting with melodic ideas, writing more than half the record and tossing off elaborate riffs ("Block"); drummer John Marshall (an associate of Jack Bruce) is extraordinarily dextrous, inviting comparisons with Bill Bruford; and bassist Roy Babbington holds down some really demanding lines and gets in a startling bowed standup bass solo ("Down The Road"). Meanwhile, Ratledge delivers refined, tasteful synthesizer voicings, and he orchestrates a thunderous suite that let's everyone show off impressively ("Day's Eye/Bone Fire/Tarabos") - although Jenkins' sophisticated tunes almost steal the show (the stately, uplifting "Penny Hitch"). The group had long since abandoned vocals. But complex overdubs and frequent stylistic shifts keep it interesting, from Marshall's spacey Eastern percussion piece "D.I.S." to Jenkins' romantic keyboard solo "Carol Ann." With key compositions like "Nettle Bed" and "Block" scattered everywhere, the only expendable tracks are the watery interludes "Snodland" and "The German Lesson/The French Lesson." Virtuosic and staggeringly intelligent, this is a classic example of the genre. Guitar phenom Alan Holdsworth would join the band for Bundles (1975).

reviewed by John Alroy @ http://www.warr.org

Line-Up:

-- Roy Babbington - acoustic & electric basses
-- Karl Jenkins - oboe, baritone & soprano saxes, recorder, electric piano
-- John Marshall - drums, percussion
-- Mike Ratledge - electric piano, organ, synthesizer

Keep Listening!!!!

http://rapidshare.de/files/22017376/Soft_Machine_-_Seven__1974_.zip.html