Soft Machine, Switzerland 1974, with Allan Holdsworth

The legendary Soft Machine could hardly be said to have gone "soft" by 1973. Quite the contrary. Yet when guitarist Allan Holdsworth joined the band that year it gave the group a big boost and added a decidedly articulate new voice into the mix. They had up until then managed to carve a most distinctive sound by placing keyboard wizard Mike Ratledge into at times the role of the guitar soloist in the band and it worked very well indeed. Yet after seven albums and a great deal of wonderful music, there was a point where someone of the extraordinary caliber of Holdsworth, a one-in-a-million guitarist of genius, would give the band another sound shading and provide some new life. So they were fortunate that Allan was available and set about creating a new repertoire, much of which was included in their eighth album Bundles, another milestone recording for the Softs that was timely and of course well-received.

In the band at the time was Mike Ratledge, the only remaining original member, along with piano-saxman Karl Jenkins, bassist Roy Babbington and the potent John Marshall on drums. In tandem with Holdsworth they had a great deal of depth and versatility. Bundles showed that very much.

Now we have the treat of hearing the band live at Montreux, on the previously unreleased Switzerland 1974 (Cuneiform Rune 395/396) in a combo CD and DVD package.

The sound is pristine, the music complex and energized, and Holdsworth most definitely at his best. What's fascinating is that Allan had very much the fleet facility of his mature days, yet his sound is rather different, not as violin-like as in later years. That gives you another take on what he is playing and no the less interesting for it.

The music has it all and the band by then was in top form.

Of course you should have Bundles if you are a serious student of jazz-rock and fusion. But this live date has the spontaneous looseness and fire you get less of in the studio. The rhythm section kicks it hard, Ratledge and Babbington weave magic, and Allan Holdsworth gives notice to the world that he is a world-class player.

Very much recommended!

Copy this url into your browser to stream a nice excerpt: https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/switzerland-1974

Gary Husband Comes Through with "Dirty and Beautiful, Volume 1"

Gary Husband has impressed me in the past as a dynamically lively and exciting drummer and a musical mind as tunesmith, keyboardist and all-around positive force in the universe. Some of Allan Holdsworth's albums made with Gary are of the very best sort, and Gary's doing good things as keyboardist and drummer with John McLaughlin's new group (see earlier posting for a discussion of the latest album).

That's all true, but what of his new solo album, Dirty and Beautiful, Volume One (Abstract Logic 027)? The answer is, "Wheeew, yeah!"

This is one of those albums whose personnel alone is something you can't help but take note of in anticipation. There's both Allan Holdsworth and John McLaughlin, which is saying much; then Steve Hackett and Robin Trower; then there are the old Mahavishnu heavyweights Jan Hammer and Steve Goodman. There are other significant cats too. Does the music live up to the promise of who is involved? In every way it does.

Gary has put together a program of solid originals plus a brief look at a Miles Davis perennial and an engaging Allan Holdsworth piece. They all have melodic substance and serve as excellent platforms for some eloquent songbirds to gather and achieve ensemble and solo excellence. This is good rocking fusion the way you might anticipate it but with the Gary Husband flair for subtle sophistication. Allan Holdsworth sounds like you expect him to, beautiful tone and line as always. John McLaughlin lets out with a couple of solos that are some of the best I've heard from him in a long time, showing rock-crank-velocity and gritty tone. The other Mahavishnus (Goodman and Hammer) make appearances that show you they have not lost a thing, and, well, everybody else makes good contributions.

It's the cumulative effect of the Husband smart-fusion way that makes this album a thrilling experience, if you love fusion. This is what fusion is and still can be, a real art form. I can't recommend this highly enough!

Soft Machine with Allan Holdsworth

January 30, 2009—Soft Machine had a long and productive run and still exists today in the guise of Soft Machine Legacy. Sometime in the mid-‘70s the group had seven albums under their belt and were in a regrouping phase. Drummer Marshall and keyboardist Ratledge were still on hand from the second and first major phase of the group’s existence, respectively, but there were also several fairly new members as well—Jenkins on reeds, Babbington on bass. They switched labels from Columbia to Harvest and, most importantly, added guitarist Alan Holdsworth to the fold, a young, extraordinary musician at the beginning of his career.

The LP Bundles came out in 1975, simultaneously heralding the beginning and the end of this lineup, as Holdsworth left shortly thereafter to join Tony Williams’ New Lifetime. Just before that a live date was recorded, which found its way recently onto MoonJune Records (check out their site). That’s excellent music but I have already reviewed it for Cadence. Bundles was the beginning of this short-lived incarnation and it is really worth a listen for what Holdsworth brings into the band.

Yes, there is a subtle continuation of the shift from jazz-rock to fusion, if such categories ultimately matter in the long scheme of things. But what is most remarkable is how Ratledge’s initial concept and compositional clarity is widened by Holdsworth’s presence. And there are strong pieces by all members save Babbington. Misty minimalist excursions, forward-charging anthems and everything in between are present. It is a continually shifting prism of light twirling on a string. Well, no, maybe it isn’t. It’s great music. Holdsworth had then much of everything he was to carry forward into his playing with Williams and later his own series of bands: that wonderful tone and melodic sense, the rock drive and the dazzling runs of sophisticated note patterns. I am sorry I missed the album when it first came out. But it sounds good here in the new century. It sounds as good as anything out there now in this sort of bag. Grab onto the disk if you can find it.