Soft Machine - Seven (12 tracks) +Album Reviews

Awesome remastered edition of the prog-rock classic!!! It's

Jason Pumphrey | Falls Church, Virginia United States | 03/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What a great classic album from 1973!!! Soft Machine's "Seven" album get's the 24-bit remastering that it deserves!!!! The sound is full and detailed!!! Great booklet with photos and liner notes too!!! "It's Seventh Heaven"!!! Top notch musicianship from Mike Ratledge,John Marshall,Karl Jenkins and Roy Babbington!!! An excellent spin!!! Two thumbs up!!! Five stars!!! A+"

(Now wet's be ve-wy, ve-wy qwiet)

yinyangofbang | Phoenix, AZ | 04/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Writing this makes me feel as though I'm Elmer Fudd, sneaking up on Bugs so that he doesn't hear me, but here goes anyway: I like this CD. I mean, I REALLY like this CD. In fact, I've liked it since its original release, which was my introduction to the band. Oh sure, I've since gone back and listened to their earlier material - you know, the stuff that's venerated by so many that there are probably several world religions based on it by now. And sure, the earlier stuff is indeed most excellent. But the criticism of this band for its evolution is as misplaced as was the criticism of Dylan when he similarly evolved some years earlier. Dylan clearly knew what he was doing, and he exposed his critics as tired old folkies. In retrospect, those that criticize this release are tired old hippies. Get over it folks - this is good stuff. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that it's an important CD. Not as important as Bitches Brew, but similar. These guys weren't the technicians that Miles' sidemen were, but that's really the point, isn't it? Miles used the world's best musicians to show that jazz and rock could combine to make an eminently listenable brew. This contemporaneous release showed that similar results could be achieved (albeit on a smaller scale) by musicians who were mere mortals. As such, it has become a touchstone for many who have followed (Medeski Martin & Wood, etc.). So you see, it's not so blasphemous after all. Go ahead, give it a spin. You won't turn into a pillar of salt, I promise."

A well oiled Machine

Octoworm | 12/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album has received some unfair criticism as being either a sellout or evidence of musical decline. My own opinion is that this is the record Soft Machine had been building up to. There's a reason why it sold so well; it's simply their best work.

True, Seven is not as complex and chaotic as much of Soft Machine's earlier work, but the seeeming simplicity can be deceptive. It reveals a level of maturity with the band more focused on solid songcraft and entrenched grooves. On this album they sound like they have nothing left to prove and can instead enjoy themselves."

A great album of spacey jazz rock with some experimental ten

Jeffrey J.Park | Massachusetts, USA | 10/12/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 1973 album would be the last by the band for a few years (until Bundles, which was released in 1975). On the whole, I think that this is a fantastic jazz rock effort from the band and although it is not as "out there" as Third, this album is still very interesting. Soft Machine always had a unique take on jazz rock and fused elements of minimalism with some great instrumentals. This combination is still very much present on Seven - in short, there is plenty here for the Soft Machine fan to enjoy.

The lineup at this point included Mike Ratledge (organ, synthesizers (mostly moog I think); John Marshall (drums and percussion); Roy Babbington (electric and acoustic bass); and Karl Jenkins (oboe, baritone and soprano saxophones; recorder; and electric piano). All of the musicians are excellent and the rhythm section of Babbington and Marshall is formidable - these guys can play fairly well. In fact, Roy's bowed acoustic bass solo on Down the Road is well played and very creative (it does not sound like a bass actually). One addition that I especially appreciate is the use of synthesizers - in Mike's hands they are used very tastefully and add a lot to the overall sound along with his trademark distorted organ tone.

The music on this album runs the gamut from very spacey and dreamy passages to vigorous jazz rock instrumentals that feature a heavy ostinato played in unison on the bass and the synthesizers. Typically, Karl solos over these sections. Some of my favorite tracks however, include the spacier and more experimental pieces such as the percussion heavy and psychedelic D.I.S (written by John Marshall) and Karl Jenkin's Carol Ann, which features some haunting sax playing and eerie synthesizer parts. Mike Ratledge's minimalist tendencies are still felt here and there and he develops some very nice hypnotic ostinatos on the organ (Penny Hitch is a great example of this). Many of the spacier sections are used to link several tracks together into mini-suites of sorts. It works very well.

All in all this is a superb album of jazz rock and is highly recommended along with Third (1970); Fourth (1971); Five (1972); and Six (1973)."

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