Breda Reactor

• Artist: Soft Machine
• Rating:
• Release Date: June 21, 2005
• Genre: Rock

Review

In January 1970, Soft Machine worked as a quintet, retaining the services of sax/flute player Lyn Dobson from the previous septet version of the band. Three months later he was gone and the group carried on as a quartet. The quintet recorded only one piece, "Facelift," which appeared on the seminal Third. Breda Reactor presents a near-complete concert performed in Breda, Netherlands, on January 31, 1970. The sound quality is better than on other Soft Machine documents released by Voiceprint, but is still a far cry from the comparatively hi-fi CD Noisette taken from a live performance on January 4, 1970, and released by Cuneiform five years earlier than this one. Tape hiss and distortion abound, some parts are very muddy, and the bass and organ rule the sonic spectrum, leaving very little room for Wyatt's drums (which tend to disappear in the background) and the reeds. That being said, Noisette presents a truncated set on a single CD, while Breda Reactor contains a whole (well, almost) concert split across two discs. The set list is rigorously the same, except for the tracks omitted on the Cuneiform album. Among these is the 22-minute "Facelift," a classic if Soft Machine ever had one, here given a thunderous reading. Dobson's Roland Kirk-esque flute solo at the end eases some of the audio shortcomings. By all means, acquire Noisette first: beside the sound quality argument, Elton Dean was in much better shape for that earlier show, and the fade-out two minutes into the encore of "We Did It Again" is frustrating. ~ François Couture, All Music Guide

Tracks

CD 1

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Eamonn Andrews	Mike Ratledge	Soft Machine	(12:53)
Mousetrap	Hugh Hopper	Soft Machine	(5:35)
Noisette	Hugh Hopper	Soft Machine	(0:38)
Backwards	Mike Ratledge	Soft Machine	(4:25)
Mousetrap (Reprise)	Hugh Hopper	Soft Machine	(0:15)
Hibou, Anemone and Bear	Mike Ratledge	Soft Machine	(9:25)

CD 2

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Facelift	Hugh Hopper	Soft Machine	(21:48)
Moon in June	Robert Wyatt	Soft Machine	(7:14)
12/8 Theme	Hugh Hopper	Soft Machine	(5:16)
Drum Link	Robert Wyatt	Soft Machine	(1:08)
Esther's Nose Job	Mike Ratledge	Soft Machine	(7:43)
Pigling Bland	Mike Ratledge	Soft Machine	(3:23)
Cymbalism	Robert Wyatt	Soft Machine	(1:58)
Out-Bloody-Rageous [Excerpt]	Mike Ratledge	Soft Machine	(2:21)
Esther's Nose Job (Reprise)	Mike Ratledge	Soft Machine	(1:56)
We Did It Again	Kevin Ayers	Soft Machine	(2:19)

Credits

Robert Wyatt (Drums), Robert Wyatt (Vocals), Elton Dean (Saxophone), Elton Dean (Sax (Alto)), Lyn Dobson (Flute), Lyn Dobson (Harmonica), Lyn Dobson (Sax (Soprano)), Lyn Dobson (Sax (Tenor)), Lyn Dobson (Vocals), Hugh Hopper (Bass), Brian Hopper (Liner Notes), Brian Hopper (Coordination), Mike Ratledge (Piano (Electric)), Robin Ayling (Executive Producer), Dallas Simpson (Mastering), Paul Younghusband (Graphic Design), Paul Younghusband (Layout Design)