HIDDEN DETAILS

Soft Machine was one of the biggest English names in the 60's and 70's. The birthplace of countless talented musicians and with a history full of accidents, the group was one of the forerunners of the psychedelic rock in England, alongside Pink Floyd, and then plunged from head in a very peculiar sound, with traces of free jazz, psychedelic and progressive. The band left classic and unforgettable works full of improvisations and is one of the greats of the Canterbury scene.

"Hidden Details" is the twelfth studio album of Soft Machine and that was released in 2018. The line up on "Hidden Details" is John Etheridge (electric and acoustic guitars), Theo Travis (tenor and soprano saxophones, flutes and fender Rhodes piano), Roy Babbington (bass guitar) and John Marshall (drums and percussion). "Hidden Details" had also the participation of Nick Utteridge (wind chimes) as a guest artist.

The Soft Machine fans had to wait more than forty years for finally have a real Soft Machine studio album, if we discard "Land Of Cockayne", a weaker album probably released due to contractual obligations. So, we can say that finally we have another great studio album by this great and pioneer band. With "Hidden Details" they present an amazingly fresh album. "Hidden Details" is being touted as the first official Soft Machine studio album since "Softs" released in 1976. In the interim, the band worked under the name of Soft Machine Legacy. Under that name, they released a slew of studio and live albums maintaining the high level creativity set by the first two incarnations of the band. At this point in their career, Soft Machine was able to cover all the different phases of their past, particularly their jazzy horn driven music of the early 70's, and their more muscular guitar driven jazz- rock of the mid of the 70's, making of this album a great listen.

"Hidden Details" has thirteen tracks, most of which are new compositions but there are a few re-imaginings of older Soft Machine classics from the 70's. The first track is the title track "Hidden Details". This is a bit an ominous track that offers a very exciting tenor saxophone solo from Travis, and a frankly guitar workout from Etheridge that responds to the Babbington's fuzz bass provocations. The second track "The Man Who Waved At Trains" is an extended re-working of the original "Bundles" album track from 1975, here with Travis given free rein to transform this composition into an entirely new beast with its airy electric piano and flute that adds to it a majestic element. The third track "Ground Lift" offers up some rampaging free-jazz, Travis squawking on his sax and Etheridge's wah-wah saturated guitar battling over Marshall's busy drumming. The fourth track "Heart Off Guard" is a more acoustic track that offers up some more tranquil sounds. It feeds into "Broken Hill" and "Drifting White". The fifth track "Broken Hill" also offers up some more quiet sounds, but this last one offers a bit of smattering prog sound with some psychedelic vibe. The sixth track "Flight Of The Jett" is a freely improvised track that gives to Marshall a chance to demonstrates what a subtle but powerful player he is. It's a great vehicle for Marshall's expert drum passages and percussive work, as well as an assortment of effects laden noises from Etheridge. The seventh track "One Glove" represents the album's first instance of catchy, groove laden jazzy funk, an Etheridge number that also contains a blazing guitar solo that will leave you breathless. The eighth and ninth tracks, "Out Bloody Intro" and "Out Bloody Rageous, Part 1" of their acclaimed third album, is simply great with Travis' great sax lines over some complex rhythms brought by Babbington and Marshall. The tenth track "Drifting White" is a very short and calm track very nice and beautiful to hear. This is a typical jazz/fusion calm piece. The eleventh track "Life On Bridges" is on contrary a lengthy piece that shows again Travis and Etheridge getting involved in a sensational battle between sax and guitar searching for the supremacy over frantic rhythms. The twelfth track "Fourteen Hour Dream" is another piece with more hook laden tracks with some tricky Marshalls drumming, a dreamy flute work and a tasty guitar solo. The thirteenth track "Breathe" is a flute looped inhale and exhale tracks that features only Travis flute and Marshalls's delicate cymbal work. This is a fittingly calm conclusion to a very fine album.

Conclusion: "Hidden Details" is one of the better Soft Machine albums that has become a worthy Soft Machine album and that will certainly be most appreciated by fans of the Canterbury scene, jazz fusion, jazz rock, psychedelic rock and progressive rock in general. "Hidden Details" is a thoroughly welcome and successful resurrection of the Canterbury veterans, which at least fans of the band and the genre shouldn't miss out on. This is jazz-fusion of the highest order, performed by master musicians still at the top of their game. The playing of the gentlemen is of a very high level with some of the best elements that constituted some of the best band's music. Somehow, the new album sounds a bit more like Soft Machine than before. For me, "Hidden Details" is one of the best works from the band since the mid of the 70's. It's almost perfect in many ways. This one will keep you coming back to it more times. So, this is highly recommended.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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