SOFT WORKS

Abracadabra In Osaka MOONJUNE

Magic in the air at early Soft Machine reunion.

Back in 2003, the idea of a touring group of ex-Soft Machine members drawn from different points in the band’s history seemed fanciful. Yet this archive recording of Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper, Allan Holdsworth and John Marshall demonstrates what an inspired idea it was.

Newer material serves the quartet well. Marshall’s ever-inventive drumming maintains a tight framework through which Dean’s lofty sax scratches fiery trails and dreamy lines. Holdsworth provides tonal contrast against Hopper’s probing bass, laying down elegiac folds of synth-enhanced chords from under which his legato playing scuttles free. Nods to their vintage repertoire, including a glowering reworking of As If from 1972’s Fifth, gives them a foothold to explore their collective past without being overwhelmed by it – a tradition maintained by the current incarnation of Soft Machine.

Benefitting from Mark Wingfield’s sensitive restoration and mastering of the source material, the package also offers useful insights with sleeve notes from MoonJune Records’ Leonardo Pavkovic, and longtime fan Chris Hoard, the latter detailing the dream-cometrue nature of this gathering.