BBC RADIO 1971 - 1974

Whilst I wouldn't say this is quite as revelatory as Hux's previous 2CD set of BBC sessions from The Soft Machine, this compilation does provide a nice overview of their latter-day fusion-oriented era. Consisting of radio sessions recorded after the departure of Robert Wyatt, the sessions take in the span of time from Fifth (note the presence of transitional drummer Phil Howard on the first three tracks) to the threshold of Bundles.

It's over this period of time that the band's musical direction got increasingly influenced by Karl Jenkins - who co- composed a good chunk of Six, the first Softs album he appeared on - but that's all to the good as far as I'm concerned, because Fifth was a comparatively weaker album which found the Softs, having won their battle with Robert Wyatt in terms of rejecting his preferred direction of the group, no longer particularly sure of which way they actually wanted to go. Purists who prefer the early, far more psychedelic-influenced era of Soft Machine and don't care much for fusion won't find much to enjoy here, but if you're willing to regard the post-Wyatt Softs as essentially a different band (I've used the analogy "Nucleus by other means" before) and have a taste for jazz fusion, you may find this a useful avenue to explore.