Soft Machine - [2LP Columbia reissue]24bit/96kHz LP Rip

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Soft Machine - [2LP Columbia reissue]24bit/96kHz LP Rip

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The Soft Machine plunged deeper into jazz and contemporary electronic music on this pivotal release, which incited the Village Voice to call it a milestone achievement when it was released. It's a double album of stunning music, with each side devoted to one composition – two by Mike Ratledge, and one each by Hopper and Wyatt, with substantial help from a number of backup musicians, including Canterbury mainstays Elton Dean and Jimmy Hastings. The Ratledge songs come closest to fusion jazz, although this is fusion laced with tape loop effects and hypnotic, repetitive keyboard patterns. Hugh Hopper's "Facelift" recalls "21st Century Schizoid Man" by King Crimson, although it's more complex, with several quite dissimilar sections. The pulsing rhythms, chaotic horn and keyboard sounds, and dark drones on "Facelift" predate some of what Hopper did as a solo artist later (this song was actually culled from two live performances in 1970). Robert Wyatt draws on musical ideas from early 1967 demos done with producer Giorgio Gomelsky, on his capricious composition "Moon in June." Lyrically, it's a satirical alternative to the pretension displayed by a lot of rock writing of the era, and combined with the Softs' exotic instrumentation, it makes for quite a listen . Not exactly rock, Third nonetheless pushed the boundaries of rock into areas previously unexplored, and it managed to do so without sounding self-indulgent. A better introduction to the group is either of the first two records, but once introduced, this is the place to go. by Peter Kurtz

Soft Machine était le plus jazzy des groupes de rock progressif britanniques de la fin des années 60. Cet album est leur chef-d'oeuvre. C'est également un des disques emblématiques de la période hippie, avec ses quatre chansons sur deux disques. En première partie d'Hendrix en 1968, Soft Machine était un trio, mais sur Third, on retrouve cinq autres musiciens dont des cuivres et un violon. Le joliment arrangé "Slightly All The Time" du clavier Mike Ratledge contient des cuivres puissants et des percussions terrifiantes de la part du batteur Robert Wyatt, qui emmène le rock "Moon In June" avec sa force et ses paroles (Wyatt, qui est devenu hémiplégique à la suite d'un accident, sort encore de bons disques de chanteur- compositeur). On pourrait penser que la musique a été composée sous l'influence des grands albums de 1969 de Miles Davis, In A Silent Way et Bitches Brew. Cela donne un disque qui représente son époque, mais qui a surtout très bien vieilli. –John Milward

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Soft Machine - [2LP Columbia reissue]24bit/96kHz LP Rip

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