12. Soft MachineThird
The most innovative of the Canterbury scene, Soft Machine were in the process of splitting when Robert Wyatt penned ‘The Moon In June’ – the poppiest prog track of them all. The rest of the band, earnest jazzers to a man, must’ve been appalled at all the sumptuous melody. What a fabulous way to tender your resignation. In 1970 Soft Machine were the first rock band to play the Proms, and although not remotely her cup of tea I managed to persuaded my mum to take me. She got her own back on the night by wearing a bright orange plastic hat, which embarrassed the hell out of me. The sonic possibilities offered by an organ, drum, bass trio are massively increased by gratuitous use of fuzz and echo pedals – for when Hugh Hopper’s fuzz bass or Mike Ratledge’s blistering organ tone kicks in you know all about it sonically. Not for the faint hearted – the four long tracks of this album benefit from repeat listening, in time you’ll discover that every note is gold dust.
