Originally released in 1976, Softs was something of a make-or-break album in Soft Machine’s career. It came after the band had suffered a serious setback in the abrupt departure of guitarist Allan Holdsworth, who quit to join Tony Williams’ Lifetime in the USA.
He took off just as Bundles, their first album for EMI’s Harvest label, came out in 1975, adding insult to injury. Fortunately, he made amends by suggesting his replacement should be the relatively unknown John Etheridge.
What Softs makes abundantly clear is that, whereas Holdsworth’s fiery legato technique tended to skim over Karl Jenkins’ ornately structured contributions, Etheridge digs deeper into the material. The former Darryl Way’s Wolf and Global Village Trucking Company member’s rockier thrust gives Soft Machine a harder, defined edge.
Newly remastered for vinyl, the band basks in Softs’ pristine sound, both comfortable and in control, with Jenkins now on keyboard duties alone, and veteran sessioneer Alan Wakeman, picking up the sax.
A tangible gravitas haunts the expansive Jenkins-composed suite that comprises side one. Utilising more colours and textures than any previous Soft Machine releases, The Tale Of Taliesen’s stately meandering is interspersed by Etheridge’s breakneck soloing, while the marimba-infused rhythmic undergrowth of Ban-Ban Caliban sets up Wakeman’s euphoric choruses.
Song Of Aeolus ushers in a windswept ending replete with slow-churning strings and woebegone guitar. With all three threaded by crossfades laced with burbling synthscapes – the sole contribution of departing founder Mike Ratledge – the dynamic twists and thoughtful depths of the mix suggest these pieces aren’t so much produced as dramatised.
Etheridge not only continues touring around the world with Soft Machine – he still has fire under his fingertips
Though lacking the same compositional clout, the second side is not without impact. Out Of Season’s solemnly-repeating keyboard phrases possess an austere tension; while the sparring match between Etheridge’s abrasive runs and John Marshall’s surging drums during The Camden Tandem erupts into a frantic sprint – not unlike those between John McLaughlin and Billy Cobham, a similarity that is strikingly reinforced by the Mahavishnu-like chimes of Nexus.
Sometimes unfairly overshadowed by the high watermark achievements of Holdsworth and Bundles, Softs deserves its time in the spotlight. Nearly 50 years after saving the day as the new boy, Etheridge not only continues touring around the world with Soft Machine – he still has fire under his fingertips. Let’s hear it for the underdog.
Softs is on sale now via Esoteric Recordings.
