Soft Machine Legacy (John Marshall)

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Soft Machine withered slowly away twenty years ago after some fantastic albums and some not so fantastic albums. Their best music have some passionate fans. I am an unashamed fan of their music myself.  

John Marshall was the drummer in Soft Machine from Fifth (half of this album) to the end of the band. After doing a lot of other projects, he and some other ex Soft Machine members took up baton again under the name Soft Works and later; Soft Machine Legacy. They have just released a new live album and more is to come from Soft Machine Legacy next year.  

This interview could easily have ended up as a book so I had to reign myself in. But I still hope this interview is an interesting read. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Where
 do we start when it comes to a living legend. Your biography is both on
 Wikipedia and many other places so let us bypass that. But what made 
you take up jazz/fusion instead of going down the pop/rock route ?

Jazz
 was the music that really grabbed me while I was still at school and so
 that was the music I wanted to play. Pop music at that time was pretty 
uninteresting (there was no rock music as such then) and at first it 
never occurred to me to want to be involved with it. However as the 
British blues scene started to develop things became more interesting 
and eventually I joined Alexis Korner's Blues Inc. It was a very good 
band and Alexis always liked to use jazz musicians.  Later during the 
60's the scope of jazz developed into free and rock influenced areas. I 
had been playing some rock stuff on commercial type gigs and studio work
 and found I enjoyed it; so the opportunity to combine my experience in 
all these areas was very attractive.

Let's go over to Nucleus. You were one of founding members. Please tell us more about Nucleus and your time there.

Ian
 Carr was looking for a new direction after his band with Don Rendell 
ended. Karl Jenkins and I had played together in Graham Collier's group 
where we were doing material in odd time signatures and with a straight 
eighth feel. He liked the direction we were going in and the way Karl 
wrote and so he got the band together, originally with Jeff Clyne,Chris 
Spedding  and Brian Smith. (The first line up was with Bernie 
Holland Ray Warleigh but that didn't work out) 

The
 music was very strong and after winning first prize at the Montreux 
Jazz Festival we played at the Newport Jazz Fesival and the Village Gate
 in  New York. The idea was also to learn a few lessons from the rock 
scene in terms of organisation and presentation - we had our own pa for 
example; unknown then on the jazz scene. It wasn't easy though apart 
from a certain amount critcism for "going commercial"  it was quite 
difficult to get gigs.   I left Nucleus when Jack Bruce whom I'd worked 
with in the  Mike Gibbs orchestra and on whose albums, Songs For a 
Tailor and Harmony Row,  I'd played, asked me to join his  band. Ian and
 I remained very good friends and I rejoined the band for period in the 
80's. I was very glad to have been able to play a couple of numbers with
 the current version of the band on the Memorial Concert at the Queen 
Elizabeth Hall for Ian earlier this year.

Robert
 Wyatt exited Soft Machine in well known circumstances and you entered 
what was loosely called a band. How was your time there and what is you 
views on each of the studio albums you recorded with Soft Machine ?

I
 joined half way through the fifth album. There had been a difference 
over musical policy between Elton Dean and Robert's replacement, Phil 
Howard, on the one side and Hugh Hopper and Mike Ratledge on the other: 
Elton and Phil wanting to go in a very free direction and Hugh and Mike 
wanting a more structured approach. The upshot was that Phil left and 
they asked me to join. 

The philosophy of the band was similar to mine: 
the music should develop and reflect the personalities of the people 
involved. So that whenever there's a personnel change the music starts 
there. The history and traditions of the band will lie in the playing of
 the existing members. It doesn't have to be worked on in itself. 
Therefore each album will have a different character. At the time you 
just get on and try to make some music that sounds half reasonable. I 
don't really listen to albums I've made - they belong to the time they 
were made and my concern is for the present. Doubtless some of the music
 will be OK, some not so.

About
 Graham Bennett's Soft Machine biography called Out-Bloody-Rageous. Have
 you read it and do you find it accurate enough to recommend this book ?

I
 don't know about the time before I joined but what I've read about the 
later period it seems pretty accurate. I think I supplied some of the 
factual stuff: tour dates etc. I didn't go into much of the dynamics of 
the band; so that part of it is not as comprehensive as Graham probably 
would have liked. He's done an impressive job, I think. 

What is your view on the twenty plus live Soft Machine albums released after Soft Machine split up ?

Are
 there twenty ? - goodness.  I'm afraid I tend not to listen to albums 
once they're made. They are what they are: documents of the band live - 
maybe a bit rougher at the edges but a different kind of energy than the
 studio albums.

Over to Soft Works and the Abracadabra album released in 2003. What is your views on that album ?

Soft
 Works was the brainchild of the amazing Leonardo Pavkovic. His energy 
got what seemed at first to me to be a slightly unlikely project off the
 ground. I seem to remember that the album went pretty well despite the 
fact that the first time we got together was in the studio. We 
subsequently did some really good gigs in Japan where the music really 
came together. Perhaps there are recordings of those concerts around 
somewhere. I'm sure they'd be really interesting.

Soft
 Works developed into Soft Machine Legacy and your first album was a 
live album in 2005 called Live in Zaandam followed by another live album
 and DVD in 2006 called Live at the New Morning. The studio albums is Soft Machine Legacy and Steam. Please tell us more 
about these albums.

The
 Zaandam album was originally intended as a work-in-progress cd to be 
sold on gigs. However it was released and seemed to be well received. 
 Because of other commitments Allan had left and fortunately John 
Etheridge was able to join us (as he did in the 70's). We decided to 
change the name to SML to acknowledge this fact. The New Morning album 
presented an opportunity to record a cd and DVD in a favourite venue of 
Hugh's and Elton's.

Although the band likes to record live, 
studio recording gives more of an opportunity to concentrate on details 
of playing and sound and of course it's easier to use overdubs and 
loops. Even in the studio however we mostly do the tracks as a 
performance rather than assemble them bit by bit. There's a mixture of 
both approaches on the two studio albums, Soft Machine Legacy and 
Steam. 

Steam was the first album for Theo 
Travis who had the difficult job of following in the footsteps of the 
late lamented Elton Dean. The band philosophy has always been for the 
music to change and reflect the styles and personality on any new member
 and Steam shows this in practice in that it shows Theo's strengths in 
his playing, writing and use of electronics.

Unfortunate,
 two of the original Soft Machine Legacy members has passed away. Elton 
Dean and Hugh Hopper is very much missed. What is your memories of these
 two great musicians ?

Yes,
 sadly we have lost Elton and Hugh. They were both highly individual, 
creative musicians and personalities. Their presence meant we had a 
special band: members who had been part of Soft Machine but not at the 
same time. So we had a group which was both new and old at the same time
 which wasn't interested in going over old ground. The current line-up 
reunites three of us who were together in the band at the same time plus
 a new member. So we still have elements of old and new, looking forward
 rather than backward.

Soft
 Machine Legacy has just released a new live album called Live 
Adventures. Please tell us more about this album Live Adventures.

The
 album was recorded on two gigs in Austria and Germany during a tour 
last October and they reflect the mixture of old and new I mentioned 
above. We have included material by Karl Jenkins,  Mike Ratledge and 
Hugh as well as from the current members. History again has repeated 
itself in that Roy Babbington has replaced Hugh.

What is Soft Machine Legacy's plans for this year and next year ?

We are hoping to be touring in Italy in the new year and in other parts of Europe in Apri/May period.
We also want to do a studio album some time during the year.

I
 am one of those who came to Soft Machine very late in life. Three years
 ago, to be more precise and I am now calling myself a Soft Machine fan.
 The interest in Soft Machine has also been fueled by the recent 
re-releases of the excellent Bundles and Softs. 
What is your view on the
 almost cult like interest in Soft Machine among the new generations of 
music lovers and what do you think is the enduring appeal of Soft 
Machine ?

It
 is very gratifying that music we made quite a long time ago still seems
 to stand up and is  found to be interesting by a new generation. We 
always aspired to a high standard of playing and writing. I our only aim
 has been to make good music and maybe that contributes to its lasting 
appeal.

You
 have also done tens of other albums I have not touched upon here (we 
would have ended up with a book). But as a whole, which five albums you 
rate as the best ones you have been involved in ?

This
 is a bit difficult because, as I mentioned before I don't like to 
listen to them once they're made. It's also difficult because I mostly 
like particular tracks rather than whole albums but apart from the Soft 
Machine and Legacy albums I would choose

Michael Gibbs						Mike Gibbs Orchestra

Nucleus								Elastic Rock

Jack Bruce							Harmony Row

Eberhard Weber's Colours 			Silent Feet

John Surman						Stranger than Fiction

Andersen/Tsabropoulos/Marshall		Achirana

Andersen/Etheridge/Marshall 			 In House			 

To wrap up this interview, is there anything you want to add to this interview ?

I'd
 just like to say that I've been very privileged to have played with so 
many fantastic musicians in many different contexts over a long time. 
I've been really lucky and I'm hoping to be able to continue to get away
 with it for a bit longer.

Thank you to John Marshall for this interview

Soft Machine Legacy's PA profile is here 
Soft Machine Legacy's homepage is here
Nucleus PA profile is here
Soft Machine's PA profile is here
Soft Work's PA profile is here

Please also note that there is many dozens of good Soft Machine videos on Youtube 
Check them out

A big thank you to Leonardo and Moonjune Records for setting up this interview

Edited by toroddfuglesteg - October 01 2010 at 16:53

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toroddfuglesteg Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Retired Joined: March 04 2008 Location: Retirement Home Status: Offline Points: 3658	Topic: Soft Machine Legacy (John Marshall) Posted: October 01 2010 at 16:51
	Soft Machine withered slowly away twenty years ago after some fantastic albums and some not so fantastic albums. Their best music have some passionate fans. I am an unashamed fan of their music myself. John Marshall was the drummer in Soft Machine from Fifth (half of this album) to the end of the band. After doing a lot of other projects, he and some other ex Soft Machine members took up baton again under the name Soft Works and later; Soft Machine Legacy. They have just released a new live album and more is to come from Soft Machine Legacy next year. This interview could easily have ended up as a book so I had to reign myself in. But I still hope this interview is an interesting read. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Where do we start when it comes to a living legend. Your biography is both on Wikipedia and many other places so let us bypass that. But what made you take up jazz/fusion instead of going down the pop/rock route ? Jazz was the music that really grabbed me while I was still at school and so that was the music I wanted to play. Pop music at that time was pretty uninteresting (there was no rock music as such then) and at first it never occurred to me to want to be involved with it. However as the British blues scene started to develop things became more interesting and eventually I joined Alexis Korner's Blues Inc. It was a very good band and Alexis always liked to use jazz musicians. Later during the 60's the scope of jazz developed into free and rock influenced areas. I had been playing some rock stuff on commercial type gigs and studio work and found I enjoyed it; so the opportunity to combine my experience in all these areas was very attractive. Let's go over to Nucleus. You were one of founding members. Please tell us more about Nucleus and your time there. Ian Carr was looking for a new direction after his band with Don Rendell ended. Karl Jenkins and I had played together in Graham Collier's group where we were doing material in odd time signatures and with a straight eighth feel. He liked the direction we were going in and the way Karl wrote and so he got the band together, originally with Jeff Clyne,Chris Spedding and Brian Smith. (The first line up was with Bernie Holland Ray Warleigh but that didn't work out) The music was very strong and after winning first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival we played at the Newport Jazz Fesival and the Village Gate in New York. The idea was also to learn a few lessons from the rock scene in terms of organisation and presentation - we had our own pa for example; unknown then on the jazz scene. It wasn't easy though apart from a certain amount critcism for "going commercial" it was quite difficult to get gigs. I left Nucleus when Jack Bruce whom I'd worked with in the Mike Gibbs orchestra and on whose albums, Songs For a Tailor and Harmony Row, I'd played, asked me to join his band. Ian and I remained very good friends and I rejoined the band for period in the 80's. I was very glad to have been able to play a couple of numbers with the current version of the band on the Memorial Concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall for Ian earlier this year. Robert Wyatt exited Soft Machine in well known circumstances and you entered what was loosely called a band. How was your time there and what is you views on each of the studio albums you recorded with Soft Machine ? I joined half way through the fifth album. There had been a difference over musical policy between Elton Dean and Robert's replacement, Phil Howard, on the one side and Hugh Hopper and Mike Ratledge on the other: Elton and Phil wanting to go in a very free direction and Hugh and Mike wanting a more structured approach. The upshot was that Phil left and they asked me to join. The philosophy of the band was similar to mine: the music should develop and reflect the personalities of the people involved. So that whenever there's a personnel change the music starts there. The history and traditions of the band will lie in the playing of the existing members. It doesn't have to be worked on in itself. Therefore each album will have a different character. At the time you just get on and try to make some music that sounds half reasonable. I don't really listen to albums I've made - they belong to the time they were made and my concern is for the present. Doubtless some of the music will be OK, some not so. About Graham Bennett's Soft Machine biography called Out-Bloody-Rageous. Have you read it and do you find it accurate enough to recommend this book ? I don't know about the time before I joined but what I've read about the later period it seems pretty accurate. I think I supplied some of the factual stuff: tour dates etc. I didn't go into much of the dynamics of the band; so that part of it is not as comprehensive as Graham probably would have liked. He's done an impressive job, I think. What is your view on the twenty plus live Soft Machine albums released after Soft Machine split up ? Are there twenty ? - goodness. I'm afraid I tend not to listen to albums once they're made. They are what they are: documents of the band live - maybe a bit rougher at the edges but a different kind of energy than the studio albums. Over to Soft Works and the Abracadabra album released in 2003. What is your views on that album ? Soft Works was the brainchild of the amazing Leonardo Pavkovic. His energy got what seemed at first to me to be a slightly unlikely project off the ground. I seem to remember that the album went pretty well despite the fact that the first time we got together was in the studio. We subsequently did some really good gigs in Japan where the music really came together. Perhaps there are recordings of those concerts around somewhere. I'm sure they'd be really interesting. Soft Works developed into Soft Machine Legacy and your first album was a live album in 2005 called Live in Zaandam followed by another live album and DVD in 2006 called Live at the New Morning. The studio albums is Soft Machine Legacy and Steam. Please tell us more about these albums. The Zaandam album was originally intended as a work-in-progress cd to be sold on gigs. However it was released and seemed to be well received. Because of other commitments Allan had left and fortunately John Etheridge was able to join us (as he did in the 70's). We decided to change the name to SML to acknowledge this fact. The New Morning album presented an opportunity to record a cd and DVD in a favourite venue of Hugh's and Elton's. Although the band likes to record live, studio recording gives more of an opportunity to concentrate on details of playing and sound and of course it's easier to use overdubs and loops. Even in the studio however we mostly do the tracks as a performance rather than assemble them bit by bit. There's a mixture of both approaches on the two studio albums, Soft Machine Legacy and Steam. Steam was the first album for Theo Travis who had the difficult job of following in the footsteps of the late lamented Elton Dean. The band philosophy has always been for the music to change and reflect the styles and personality on any new member and Steam shows this in practice in that it shows Theo's strengths in his playing, writing and use of electronics. Unfortunate, two of the original Soft Machine Legacy members has passed away. Elton Dean and Hugh Hopper is very much missed. What is your memories of these two great musicians ? Yes, sadly we have lost Elton and Hugh. They were both highly individual, creative musicians and personalities. Their presence meant we had a special band: members who had been part of Soft Machine but not at the same time. So we had a group which was both new and old at the same time which wasn't interested in going over old ground. The current line-up reunites three of us who were together in the band at the same time plus a new member. So we still have elements of old and new, looking forward rather than backward. Soft Machine Legacy has just released a new live album called Live Adventures. Please tell us more about this album Live Adventures. The album was recorded on two gigs in Austria and Germany during a tour last October and they reflect the mixture of old and new I mentioned above. We have included material by Karl Jenkins, Mike Ratledge and Hugh as well as from the current members. History again has repeated itself in that Roy Babbington has replaced Hugh. What is Soft Machine Legacy's plans for this year and next year ? We are hoping to be touring in Italy in the new year and in other parts of Europe in Apri/May period. We also want to do a studio album some time during the year. I am one of those who came to Soft Machine very late in life. Three years ago, to be more precise and I am now calling myself a Soft Machine fan. The interest in Soft Machine has also been fueled by the recent re-releases of the excellent Bundles and Softs. What is your view on the almost cult like interest in Soft Machine among the new generations of music lovers and what do you think is the enduring appeal of Soft Machine ? It is very gratifying that music we made quite a long time ago still seems to stand up and is found to be interesting by a new generation. We always aspired to a high standard of playing and writing. I our only aim has been to make good music and maybe that contributes to its lasting appeal. You have also done tens of other albums I have not touched upon here (we would have ended up with a book). But as a whole, which five albums you rate as the best ones you have been involved in ? This is a bit difficult because, as I mentioned before I don't like to listen to them once they're made. It's also difficult because I mostly like particular tracks rather than whole albums but apart from the Soft Machine and Legacy albums I would choose Michael Gibbs Mike Gibbs Orchestra Nucleus Elastic Rock Jack Bruce Harmony Row Eberhard Weber's Colours Silent Feet John Surman Stranger than Fiction Andersen/Tsabropoulos/Marshall Achirana Andersen/Etheridge/Marshall In House To wrap up this interview, is there anything you want to add to this interview ? I'd just like to say that I've been very privileged to have played with so many fantastic musicians in many different contexts over a long time. I've been really lucky and I'm hoping to be able to continue to get away with it for a bit longer. Thank you to John Marshall for this interview Soft Machine Legacy's PA profile is here Soft Machine Legacy's homepage is here Nucleus PA profile is here Soft Machine's PA profile is here Soft Work's PA profile is here Please also note that there is many dozens of good Soft Machine videos on Youtube Check them out A big thank you to Leonardo and Moonjune Records for setting up this interview Edited by toroddfuglesteg - October 01 2010 at 16:53

Mellotron Storm Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: August 27 2006 Location: The Beach Status: Offline Points: 13593	Posted: October 01 2010 at 22:24
	Awesome ! The man has had quite the career and his work with NUCLEUS and SOFT MACHINE in particular will always be treasured.
	"The wind is slowly tearing her apart" "Sad Rain" ANEKDOTEN

Todd Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator RPI / Heavy Prog Team Joined: December 19 2007 Location: California Status: Offline Points: 3472	Posted: October 02 2010 at 01:23
	Amen, John. Thank you Torodd for allowing this glimpse.
	"I have seen the broken sky turn blue." My Gnosis Ratings

Man With Hat Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Collaborator Jazz-Rock/Fusion/Canterbury Team Joined: March 12 2005 Location: Neurotica Status: Offline Points: 166183	Posted: October 02 2010 at 01:30
	Another great interview! Long live the machine.
	Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect.

Sean Trane Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Prog Folk Joined: April 29 2004 Location: Heart of Europe Status: Offline Points: 20300	Posted: October 02 2010 at 01:40
	John marshall is a fave drummer of mine. Thanks for the great job, Todd
	let's just stay above the moral melee prefer the sink to the gutter keep our sand-castle virtues content to be a doer as well as a thinker, prefer lifting our pen rather than un-sheath our sword

fuxi Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: March 08 2006 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 2459	Posted: October 03 2010 at 06:08
	Thanks a lot for the interview! I, too, love Marshall's playing, especially on: Eberhard Weber's Colours Silent Feet I also enjoy: Michael Gibbs Mike Gibbs Orchestra John Surman Stranger than Fiction Andersen/Etheridge/Marshall In House I now know I'll definitely have to explore the OTHER albums he recommends, viz.: Nucleus Elastic Rock Jack Bruce Harmony Row Andersen/Tsabropoulos/Marshall Achirana This gives me something new to do! For which I thank you too.

eve656 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: October 03 2011 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 2	Posted: October 03 2011 at 02:50
	I assume that most of us first heard Robert Wyatt during his tenure with Soft Machine. The consensus is that they peaked with '3', Robert's penultimate studio appearance. Later Soft Machine albums are over-shadowed, as though his departure after '4' was fatal... But I regard the dark and troubled '5' as a smoldering victory. Phil Howard's drumming on the opening three tracks is mesmerizing (John Marshall can't top him), Elton Dean glows on Mike Ratledge's hot compositions, and I believe this is Soft Machine's most undervalued release.