Search - Soft Machine :: Rubber Riff

Don't Bother

08/24/1999

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This is mostly jingles they hoped to sell - really has nothing to do with the Soft Machine... There is even a bit that that sounds incredibly similar to the theme song to the Mary Tyler Moore show..."

Pure Jenkins

Robert Carlberg | Seattle | 03/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

""They have their nerve calling this Soft Machine"? Well in point of fact it was originally released as "Library Music" under Karl Jenkins' name, never called, or intended to be called a Soft Machine album. Get your facts straight. This re-issue may be a little disingenuous but that's Voiceprint's fault, not the band's.



Actually, for those of us who think Karl's long convoluted melody lines which weave through ostinato backdrops with serpentine fluidity are the height of late Softs, this album is the bee's knees. Elton's endless wheedling solos and Ratledge's cascades of spastic notes have their place, and it's not here! If unusual chord progressions, unlikely turns of phrase and masterful composing are more to your liking, this LP showed where Jenkins would soon take the Ship of Softs. This is Bundles, Softs and Alive & Well boiled down to their essential nature, in 3-minute songs without any of the self-indulgent rockstar pretensions.



In fact, I'd go so far as to say this is one of my favourite instrumental rock albums, on par with the rehearsal-intensive music of National Health, Turning Point or Gilgamesh. The bum rap it gets from SM purists is entirely undeserved, IMO."

Not that much of a trainweck.

R.Cittern | Springfield | 07/12/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I will say that I'm a Soft Machine completist,but oddly I don't have Volume 1 and 2. And actually this album isn't that bad depending on taste of music, but tracks like Melinda and Little Miss B makes you want to say "Can it get any worse?". This album also shows Karl Jenkins stance as a flute player which is impressive on Travelogue. This album features John Etheridge as permanent replacement,but don't look for his intensifying solos here. Highlights are Jombles,A Little Foating Music and Sam's Short Shuffle. Two and a half stars really."