BBC in Concert 1971

• Artist: Soft Machine & Heavy Friends
• Rating:
• Release Date: July 12, 2005
• Type: Live
• Genre: Rock

Review

Recorded on March 11, 1971, BBC in Concert 1971 was done after Robert Wyatt had recorded his last album (Fourth) with the band, but several months before he was out of the Soft Machine lineup. Unsurprisingly, then, it finds the group as oriented toward out-there jazz as they ever were with Wyatt on drums, to the point where it's not so much jazz-rock fusion as near-avant-garde jazz. Too, it was also a point in Soft Machine's evolution where the lineup could actually change during the performance, which is why this particular disc bears the billing "Soft Machine & Heavy Friends." The first song, the ten-minute "Blind Badger," is actually the Elton Dean group (which soon evolved into Just Us) with Mike Ratledge on electric piano; the next, "Neo-Caliban Grides," is the actual quartet that comprised Soft Machine at this point, with the addition of Phil Howard (later to replace Wyatt) as a second drummer; and the 32-minute medley features the Soft Machine quartet plus Roy Babbington and Neville Whitehead on bass, Mark Charig on cornet, Ronnie Scott on tenor sax, and Paul Nieman on trombone. Only the closing "Slightly All the Time"/"Noisette" is just the core Soft Machine quartet. It's all rather confusing (though the liner notes explain things in cohesive detail), the larger point to take away being the energetically complex, constant direction-changing performances themselves, though it's not easily digested by those who like memorable structures or riffs. Note, incidentally, that most (though not all) of this material was previously issued on the 1993 release BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
John Peel Introduction		Soft Machine & Heavy Friends	(1:02)
Blind Badger		Soft Machine & Heavy Friends	(10:07)
Neo-Caliban Grides		Soft Machine & Heavy Friends	(5:41)
Out Bloody Rageous (Excerpt)/Eamonn Andrews/All White/Kings and Queens		Soft Machine & Heavy Friends	(31:58)
Slightly All the Time (Excerpt)/Noisette		Soft Machine & Heavy Friends	(6:00)

Credits

Mike Ratledge (Group Member), Roy Babbington (Group Member), Elton Dean (Group Member), Jeff Griffin (Producer), Mark Ellidge (Photography), Mark Charig (Group Member), Miki Dandy (Remastering), Ronnie Scott's Quintet (Group Member), Duncan Heining (Liner Notes), Hugh Hopper (Group Member), Robert Wyatt (Photography), Mark Ellidge (Cover Photo), Neville Whitehead (Group Member), Paul Nieman (Group Member), Phil Howard (Group Member), Michael King (Remastering), Hugh Hopper (Liner Notes), Robert Wyatt (Group Member), Elton Dean (Liner Notes)