John Etheridge on democracy in Soft Machine, Mike Ratledge's compositions and "Etika"

[@Alun49]

It is nice to hear John speak so warmly of Mike Ratledge. He was an utterly amazing composer and I feel he seemed to fall into a subordinate role when Karl Jenkins joined which is an utter shame. Ratledge's work on the early Soft Machine albums remains utterly remarkable. A true genius.

[@theloniousratledge8835]

Mike Ratledge, già dal '73, era stanco di essere un musicista professionista, ed era stanco di comporre musica. Quindi, di conseguenza, ha lasciato i Soft Machine nelle mani di Karl Jenkins, un compositore molto prolifico. È stato un vero peccato, perché era un grande cervello musicale.

[@jonnykhatru]

I wish we could tell Mike how much we appreciate the music he gave us

[@bakeone4406]

Can't say enough good about Etheridge. Incredibly solid and innovative musician w/ a fantastic track record who had the impossible task of playing in Holdsworth's shadow. His work on the Darryl Way Wolf records right up to the new stuff is excellent. When seeing back to back recent Soft Machine gigs he always hits you with something new... even with the between numbers wise cracks.

[@rapidfirerob4]

Saw Soft Machine a week ago at Yoshi's Oakland. Just great. John is still hilarious.

[@coadmiller5010]

Very informative, I dig the respect he has for Ratledge as a composer, And Etika is a real nice piece.. and who can fault Jenkins as a composer? --even if he did dominate... And props to Americ for keeping the flame all these years... The diehard Softs fan.

[@LittleDrummerBoy234]

Thanks

[@pobinr]

Imagine having to follow in holdsworths footsteps in soft machine. But Softs is great. John did a great job

[@philipatoz]

As a guitarist myself, I love how Etheridge talks of the acoustic piece he composed, but had to later relearn and figure out exactly what chords he used, etc. I've certainly done that - with old bits I'd put down on tape, decades before - as in, how the heck did I play this or that. And that's without even thinking about a piece that one has composed using an alternate tuning!

[@soulvigilante]

It's vindicating to hear John confirm what I'd always suspected. Ratledge was a brilliant writer but not the most assertive person to begin with. He fired Robert Wyatt to placate Elton Dean. After Dean left, Ratledge was feeling particularly defeated and unmoored, allowing Jenkins to storm in and claim the band name for his own.

[@TLGProduktions]

I agree. With Allan coming in as well that meant a total of three soloists and by then it was inevitable that Mike would leave.

[@underworldent4817]

yes , and jenkins has to be the most banal member of sm. they certainly began a downhill slide after he joined.

[@soulvigilante]

@@underworldent4817 Banal is probably the fairest description. Maybe Ratledge fizzled out after _Fourth_ regardless. It would be nice if he'd do an interview explaining his experience. But, without his side of the story, I can only speculate he poured himself into "Teeth" and was disheartened with the results. That and "Drop" are two of my favorite pieces of his, but there is a clear nosedive in ambition in between.

[@johnayres2303]

@@soulvigilante Agree, Drop is my favourite SM piece and the BBC concert version.

[@andrewarthurmatthews6685]

This just confirms my feeling about KarlJenkins . Wish the rest of the band had been more forceful and stand up to Jenkins.

[@nicolaslopezcuartas5920]

Which version of Chloe and the pirates is that? It sounds good

[@aymericleroy8500]

www.discogs.com/fr/Soft-Machine-Legacy-Steam/release/2653017

[@mnbv990]

I can't hear what he's saying!!!

[@andrewarthurmatthews6685]

Who is this Leonado ?

[@olliebeak131]

Who is this Leonardo he's going on about?

[@RezaRyanOfficial]

Leonardo Pavkovic of MoonJune Records.

[@coadmiller5010]

Americ... sorry I misspelled your name.. Aymeric...

[@rossrossa7596]

no mike ratledge,no kevin ayers,and no robert wyatt...no SM lads sry not sry

[@keithchiv6166]

it s a bit sad that that unique, inspirational soft machine that i was lucky to see in the 60s has been reduced to mediocre jazz rock twiddling . etheridge sounds a bit drunk,too.

[@harrythomson6035]

"Mediocre jazz rock twiddling"?? Have a word with yourself, sir!

[@keithchiv6166]

@@harrythomson6035 well, i speak as someone who saw that unique 'zootgoose' of that kind of psychedelic , mystical ethos of 67-70 that really couldnt last,, and even mike ratledge was affected by the change in the 70s,not to say that soft machine wernt doind good stuff though.

[@brainhackmusicbox]

@@keithchiv6166 Mediocre jazz rock twiddling - yessss!++++ Everything after Five is music for supermarkets, unfortunately((( Three & Four was too powerful to keep the bar further.

[@keithchiv6166]

@@brainhackmusicbox thanks ! at last someone who can see the way it all fell apart,though the whole dumbing down of the 70s that lead to punk.glam, disco,and worse.

[@PeffDada]

@@brainhackmusicbox My goodness, give me the adress of the supermarket where they play Six, Seven, Bundles and Softs and I will buy everything there for the rest of my life.