soft machine Tale of Taliesin

[@KRAZEEIZATION]

I’m always looking for new old music. Soft Machine rock!

[@TravisSchenck-x9x]

Check out Dr. Hook

[@TravisSchenck-x9x]

Or Clutch

[@talibe801]

Soft Machime was the second concerti saw live,first was Genesis in 75,and two years later Soft Machine,what great memories from those times.

[@robertmcdougall3166]

This is just absolutely immense. Saw John Marshall on tour, I honestly wonder why he did not get the recognition he fully deserved. For me those haunting tones from the superb guitar work of John Etheridge are almost spellbinding.

[@charuan12]

John Marshall is a freaking genius, man.

[@georgeb7332]

So true. He adds fire to anything he plays on. His work with Eberhard Weber is stunning too.

[@FriedBananasEnthusiast]

Ghhhfruutf

[@eduardoalmeida61]

a overclocked drummer genius

[@TheGordem]

When I saw them in 2018 he did a 5 minute solo, I would buy a whole album of him just doing that. The crowd was spellbound.

[@cosmicdankhead9171]

@@TheGordem Hidden Details tour? Probably the most epic concert I've ever been to.

[@c0gsinc0gs]

"I was in many shapes, ". . . I was rain-drops in the air, I was stars' beam; I was a word in letters, I was a book in origin; I was lanterns of light for a year and a half; I was a bridge that stretched over six estuaries; I was a path, I was an eagle, I was a coracle in seas; I was a bubble in beer, I was a drop in a shower; I was a sword in hand, I was a shield in battle; I was a string in a harp enchanted nine years. . . ." The Battle of the Trees by Taliesin (translated by Patrick Ford)

[@marcmeyssonnier5568]

Un de mes morceaux préférés de ce groupe flamboyant et plein de génie. De nos jours ce genre de musique n'existe pratiquement plus et cela est bien triste. On ne nous sert que de la mauvaise soupe.

[@linogabino]

Heureusement que ce genre de musique n’existe plus. J’ai vu ce groupe à l’époque, il y avait encore Mike Ratledge. On avait juste envie de demander au guitariste de dégager.. insupportable, 3000 notes à la seconde… inutile.

[@jorgegonzalez-larramendi5491]

Va à Bandcamp. Cherche Soft Machine, et essaye un peu de MoonJune Records...

[@bobbysteel7062]

John Etheridge KILLING it on guitar. wow.

[@ristokolttonen9208]

Yes, he is really good

[@mrsp3992]

If you like notes per second, he's unbeatable.......

[@michaelgraham9774]

​@@mrsp3992Oh shut up

[@maxinemckenzie5765]

"Softs" is a beautiful L.P to Trip to...and Etheridge takes care of Holdsworth's "Bundles" input admirably.

[@uncleremus5046]

Very haunting melody I love it.

[@mootbooxle]

It took me a long time to get into the post-Wyatt stuff...but it has become an enduring favorite! Especially “Bundles” and “Softs”! Holdsworth and Etheridge, both brilliant players. This lineup is stellar!

[@ronniechilds2002]

Same here. But I ended up with all their albums one through seven, and they were all very good, even when they reached the point of no original members.. Soft Machine 7 is really good.

[@mateoito8266]

It so looks like the guys from the factory just came down jamming on a sunday, loving it

[@cuebj]

Except that the Canterbury sound musicians were unlikely to have been anywhere near a factory - neither the musicians nor any of their families.

[@ayuh8911]

Sure thing, honey.

[@Rockprog101]

what a great album "softs" was.

[@adecirkett5351]

Saw John Etheridge at Hastings Sea Fishing club bar, playing with a few local lads, was a great evening and only £8, beer was good as well.

[@gfunkusarelius]

some people just dont like the cleaner, more technical later stuff. it is quite different than the earlier stuff. but i like both

[@caryheuchert]

Soft Machine always had good taste in their material throughout their different phases.

[@mononoaware1960]

Man John Etheridge doesn’t get mentioned nearly enough in the jazz rock fusion world! Soft Machine’s Alive and Well has some of my favorite jazz rock guitar ever recorded. Bill Connors is another monster player who doesn’t get brought up enough either, the first and only album he did with Return to Forever also contains some very inspiring guitar playing.

[@ristokolttonen9208]

Quite true!

[@robertmarles9665]

Yeah, strange that John Etheridge isn't more famous, it's a bit of a mystery.

[@MrMjp58]

Agreed. Bill Connors’ contribution to RTF and fusion guitar playing in general was incalculable. So little, but so much.

[@gspsutube1]

Bill Connors play with Return To Forever's Hymn To The Seventh Galaxy, released when Billy Cobham's Spectrum was heard often on radio. I liked Connors more than I liked John McLaughlin. Connors has a good sense of melody rather than a frenzied modal effusion.

[@michaelgraham9774]

Bill Connors absolutely smashes on that album as well as the live performances they did for it. Al is a very inspiring technical player but is creatively a league down from Bill in my opinion

[@gfunkusarelius]

you could argue that soft machine spent more time as a smooth fusion band than as the original psychedelic jazzrock band. personally i prefer their early stuff by far, but they were constantly evolving as a band.

[@zachjohnson637]

Smooth?!

[@gerardotejada2531]

@@zachjohnson637 Land of Cokayne and Karl Jenkis solo stuff.

[@Jlipnicki]

Never a dull moment, also had great titles for their pieces, once Wyatt left they were an entirely different thing, jazz fusion gets a bad rap. There is a lot of energy here and imagination. Six is a remarkable double album despite the terrible cover.

[@dannycheesums]

The new lineup live is fantastic by the way

[@audiononsense1611]

Agree 100%

[@francoisgil69]

30 ans que je l'écoute avec la même émotion ! La grâce !

[@えびから-v1i]

何ですかこのかっこいいバンド!!!かっこよすぎるじゃないですか!今まで知らなかった自分が恥ずかしいです! I'm Japanese juniorhighschool student What's this cool band !!! It's too cool! I'm embarrassed that I didn't know before!

[@cuebj]

Many of the Canterbury Sound musicians, who included original and subsequent members of Soft Machine, also worked with the Japanese percussionist, Stomu Yamash'ta. Perhaps you know his LP Freedom is Frightening

[@LouisFLamas]

Just think as a teenager I was able to experience them in concert way back in the day. In Houston, Texas, they opened up for Jimi Hendrix around 1968 or 69 at The Houston Music Hall.

[@0holland41]

Damned, i wish i was there. I remember climbing through the window of some place NE Houston that played blues and rock bands ex Taj Mahal, as a 14 year old. But to see Hendrix and Soft machine in Houston - Wow. Never even knew he played there. Wow. It was great that Hendrix always believed in and promoted Soft Machine - they often had such bad reviews as an experimental post rock, improvisational pre fusion band.

[@LouisFLamas]

@@0holland41 Yes. Hendrix and Soft Machine were good friends. I got to experience Hendrix 5 times and Soft Machine 3 times back in the day. Man. I will cherish those moments.

[@ICH_SAGS_DANN_MAL_SO]

That was the REAL SM!

[@cultofmao]

This tune is stuck in my head, heard it a long long time ago and every now and then it just pops back into my mind, but its always good it returns :)

[@MysteryZen77]

class act musicianship~! immense sonic cheers~! ~ SOFT MACHINE~!

[@davidbrothers3788]

The sg one of the most diverse guitars around you can play anything on them and they look so cool

[@ristokolttonen9208]

You are right. I have three SGs. 1968 has P90s, 1973 has mini humbuckers and 1976 has standard humbuckers. All unique and perfect!

[@davidbrothers3788]

@@ristokolttonen9208 give me one ill take the one you play the least

[@anthonyrichard461]

This one is actually a Les Paul. Weird enough but Gibson quit making Les Pauls in 1960/61 and used SG's with Les Paul Headstocks until 69/70ish then start making Les Pauls with Les Paul bodies again. All the while the SG was still being produced during this time period. This one seems to be a Les Paul custom with the fancy binding and headstock bling.

[@davidbrothers3788]

So its a sg/les paul so to speak why did gibson quit making les pauls then?

[@anthonyrichard461]

@@davidbrothers3788 Gibson still made Les Pauls during this brief period of about 7-8 years but had SG bodies? Very confusing I know. Google 1962 Les Paul it will be an SG bodied guitar. I don't know the reason. I think around 69/70 they went back to the traditional Les Paul bodies of the 1950's. Good day

[@kasmeria]

Marvelous guitar playing. Underrated band in general.

[@dodibenabba1378]

By who? Only those opinion whose opinion is ill informed...

[@dr.juerdotitsgo5119]

They kind of were the british answer to Mahavichnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, and such. So yeah, they were a little underrated in a sense

[@RA-VEN8]

@@dr.juerdotitsgo5119 They were around before both of those 2 bands you mentioned So...Yeah...

[@dr.juerdotitsgo5119]

@@RA-VEN8 Granted but they were more like a experimental "jam band" back then. They only embraced that instrumental american jazz rock format in the seventies.

[@RA-VEN8]

@@dr.juerdotitsgo5119 My notifications are just full of everyone needing my attention. Take what I say with a grain of salt. I'm not hating on anything I enjoy all.

[@dietmarsimon]

I'm totally blown away by John Etheridge. His Tone is perfect. His technique is unique.

[@avictorbell2835]

One of the most underrated groups Soft Machine in all it's many forms never got the accolades it deserved

[@jonathanroberts6110]

I saw them do this on a Granada TV show called So It Goes in August 1976. Changed my idea of what great guitar playing was in under 4 minutes!

[@openurchakras870]

this is one of my favorite songs ever. roy is such a cool guy i got to meet him and john marshall in portland 2019. an amazing show and these dudes are really cool. i’m glad i got to talk to roy about jazz and other amazing music. he showed me some sheet music and explained it to me. it was really cool it’s brilliant music. wont ever forget that. left me w great advice and told me he was glad to see young people into his music still, amazing show.

[@duchamp11]

Roy and the two Johns are touring again - saw them recently. Amazing.

[@mickeygallo6586]

Etheridge at the top of his game... Soo fast with a lot of chromatics in there but there are skips and it's phrased together real smooth... Somehow it's still musical. Wish this was better known so some modern shredder could do an in-depth analysis on his playing here. It certainly deserves it!

[@BradMaestas]

Wow. A Fender Bass-VI! Didn't know Babbington used one of those before. Great vid. Thanks!

[@shishyupal]

Marvelous hypnotizing piece. I love the haircut of the keyboard player, like a playmobile !

[@kactus_3008]

This is Sir Karl Jenkins, a welsh man that composes now solely for the upper classes, like Mike Oldfield, you know...😉

[@cbbohn8107]

A true bowl cut!

[@bintangdomena]

Great tune and the ever present, ever victorious Moog Mini!!

[@flame-sky7148]

Thank you so much, what a great band and great quality.

[@sueipas]

the tale of taliesin is featured in the album called Softs, issued in 1976 after Bundles.

[@TheGordem]

Etheridge, Marshall and Babbington are STILL playing NOW in 2019, with the wonderful Theo Travis on sax/flute/keys. Not resting on their laurels but still coming out with terrific new material. I have seen them twice in the past two years and have tickets to see them again later this year. If they are going to play in your town don't miss them.

[@rdavis666]

TheGordem Saw them at Backstage, Kinross, on Friday evening. Did not disappoint. Theo has written some new material for them. New album 2020?

[@1167400]

Going to see them Oct 17/23 in Toronto!

[@mannyzorgan6324]

You're in for a real treat! Saw them this last February in Falmouth UK with line-up of John Etheridge, Theo Travis, the awesome Fred Thelonius Baker on bass (first saw him decades ago playing a solo electric bass set supporting Allan Holdsworth in Portsmouth UK) and the amazing Assad Sirkus on drums. Very loud and incredibly fat ( especially the bass) - pure joy!! Also saw John playing more or less acoustically with the exquisite violinist Christian Garrick (who also plays with Budapest Cafe Orchestra) only 3 miles away from where I live in a tiny village called Constantine, Britain's southernmost venue. Equally enjoyable even though just the two of them. John is a musician's musician, very approachable and friendly, who never let fame go to his head and who likes to play to a small audience as much as a large one. If you didn't already know, John also played with Darryl Way (after he'd left Curved Air) in Darryl Way's Wolf, who made 3 or 4 albums (that I know of), all heavily featuring his incredibly fluent and exciting guitar-playing - apparently still available and well worth checking out!! 👍 ENJOY!!!

[@alaincelos476]

I did seen around twenty bands in thé 70s ....Soft machine with Mike Ratledge ( one of my fave Lowrey player) but there was Jenkins and thé gossipy Elton Dean .....thé worst every concert i d Seen ..did leave before the end !

[@carlosalbertosandoval2810]

Que bárbaro!!!Por Dios!!!!Que sonidos!!! Qué música!!!Belleza de música!

[@marcfedak]

thanks gfunkusarelius for posting this. I never heard later soft machine after mike ratledge left before. Even though I prefer the Kevin Ayers and Robert Wyatt era soft machine slightly more (their vocals adds a warmth to the band's atonal experimentalism), this piece is excellent, and reminds me somewhat of early Mahavishnu Orchestra at the end,

[@perromanchado]

I was at a jazz seminar many years ago where John Etheridge taught guitar. Great player & a lovely bloke.

[@vincentcarrot]

Can we not only appreciate the music and the video but also the fact that this upload has to be one of the oldest on YT?

[@Samstar369]

Listening to this makes me feel like a balloon that’s burst. I’m all stretchy like a condom.

[@dominicstewart-guido7598]

Was looking for the jojo reference

[@GalaxyRover1020]

Great stuff, one of my favorite versions of the band. The pairing of John Marshall and John Etheridge was brilliant.

[@Mariana-my8lu]

I always like to listen to this song on a boat, to always stay safe.

[@alexi4860]

John Etheridge is hidden gem. Very badass guitarist

[@furnaze]

Blimey! John Etheridge was super cool even then! Thanks to the person who posted this!

[@milesvanrothow2067]

Pure magic. Total mastery. An emotional journey.

[@claudio130]

Soft Machine of powerfully talented musicians!

[@Kohntarkosz]

I like that SG Custom that John Etheridge is playing here. The pickguard arrangement is unusual, with a black lower pickguard, and the top pickguard being white. I wonder if it was stock that way, or if he took the pickguard off an SG Standard to replace the stock lower pickguard.

[@pandstar]

Ah great! A vid of John Etheridge. What a treat. One of the greats of fusion guitar.

[@MrRichulan]

Karl Jenkins is nowadays one of the most important composer of classical music! Also worth listening. Wellknown from "Palladio" played by "Escala"!

[@philipatoz]

Oh, and notice how, at least for MOST bands, the more dressed-down/less theatrically attired its musicians are, often the higher the quality of the music. These guys just show up in casual street attire, but they are serious professionals - letting the music speak for ITSELF! Look ma, no capes and no glitter!

[@ristokolttonen9208]

Exactly!

[@PointOfNoReturn2112]

While you harp on about boomer music your daughters and granddaughters are twerking to rap.

[@qqwords]

❤❤❤фри джаз психоделия...

[@michaelgraham9774]

​@@PointOfNoReturn2112Rap is perfectly valid. Nothing wrong with what you said

[@michaelcarrig627]

What about Soft Machine in the 17 years prior? What about Mick Robson or Genesis or Frank Zappa? This is such a silly observation.

[@berndgruner8510]

Danke..für.das..Konzert..in..Nordhausen...Danke

[@d.r.mathias9648]

Unbelievable. I've been listening to everything under the sun for 60 years and just ran across this band. I've heard of John Etheridge, but only on a recording with Any Summers. Great music.

[@Russpng]

Great to see them at HRH last week - thankfully they played this.

[@mkd9189]

Who is here in 2021 and just had a mind blowing experience?

[@56drummer]

this is absolutely fantastic - what a great band

[@cosmicdrifter287]

well oiled shiny machine.

[@cheddarpuff]

Absolutely magical

[@thatmuse76]

Ugh!!! For historical perspective I am glad you put this on here, but this Soft Machine in name only. This is the kind of music you'd expect from later Focus.

[@rosyrose2112]

I love this music! 😊

[@Ginbat86]

Thanks Ralphy,great band!!!!!!!!!!!

[@gfunkusarelius]

i appreciate your sentiment, and i personally like the wyatt-era softs better, but i don't see any evidence that they are less cognizant of the overall music they are performing. i just think it is a different sound.

[@gfunkusarelius]

It's amazing- get enough hits on any video and you start to attract trolls and jokers. Worst comments used to be people arguing about early vs late Soft Machine. Now we have totally unrelated potty talk.

[@ahaha1113]

この半年の間に出会った一番のアルバム Softs ライブバージョンもいいなあ〜 ジョンエサリッジはなんて愛嬌のある人物なのだろう

[@abc123gpl]

i love it ! cheers from germany.

[@padredeusdiaz1830]

SUPER GRUPO SOFT MACHINE LOS ESCUCHO DESDE 1970 SIEMPRE GRANDE, SALUDOS FROM MEXICO CITY

[@WorkmanJohn]

Dreamy..spacey, melodic..love this song

[@kingtarkus]

@stereom Thank you. The chronology on the Calyx website says for this month that Wakeman left and was temporarily replaced by Ray Warleigh (apparently not yet, though.)

[@cristianofiorentini9165]

Immensamente straordinari...semplicemente Soft Machine!!!

[@darrenlawrence5736]

This clip was from a Granada TV music programme called So It Goes. It was shown in 1976.

[@shirleymental4189]

Twat. it was the Sooty show.

[@Snakepit4321]

this is fucking EPIC. imagine hearing those haunting guitar licks high on lsd back in the day when shredding wasn't even around to be over rated. fuck

[@ristokolttonen9208]

So very true!

[@kevinobrien1259]

Alvin Lee was shredding back in 1968 mate.

[@valrup2066]

Absolutely. Shredding in 1976. Ahead of its time.

[@intrsoul]

from Wiki: Roy Babbington used a Fender Bass VI exclusively during his tenure with Soft Machine (1973-1976)

[@dayuhanspace]

but it looks like a baritone guitar with a jazzmaster tremolo on it

[@alexanderlucas8397]

Vincent Van gogh it’s definitely a regular Bass VI. Late 60s model I suppose.

[@blmrgtr]

Fantastic stuff!

[@Passion535]

This guys guitar style is much better than most current fast picking guitarist today, Not all but a lot of them!! Bravo!

[@tomtrana3449]

He played on the albums of Darryl Way' s Wolf!

[@X10090]

That's the music which give feelings about mystic and secred parts of life ... great song ...

[@brunovallesmunoz4757]

Soft Machine without original members.....Still an amazing top class act!

[@pascaljeanne8002]

had the album ! one and only soft album great !

[@Opuskrokus]

What a show! Four introverts playing to themselves!

[@CookinginRussia]

A pale shadow of the studio recording, but still great - and extraordinarily difficult because of all of the time signature changes and odd measures.

[@stevepearce1227]

Saw 3/4 of this lineup play this very song a couple of hours ago. Only change is Theo Travis in place of Karl Jenkins.

[@rdavis666]

Steve Pearce Saw them at the Backstage, Kinross, just over a week ago. They still cut the mustard! Theo Travis brings a new dimension to their music.

[@TheGordem]

@@rdavis666 I was there too, and the previous gig 12 months before. I hope you will be at their next gig there this year! Theo is a perfect fit in the band IMO, but I don't know if he will be there this time since he has recently joined King Crimson.

[@Blaizerous]

Wow, great guitar solo! I just noticed that I have the same setup in my drums than SMs drummer. When I built my drums, I think that no one even thinks to have that kind of setup.

[@christoguichard4311]

Has a Mahavishnu vibe about it.

[@GregBeard-pn4bv]

Some wonderful music by soft machine.i hav cd "softs"brilliant"

[@73shadow94]

Fantastic especially if you have heard it live.

[@TonyHookedonVanlife]

this is amazing

[@TheSeptemberRose]

Great stuff!!!!!!!!!!

[@Tarabos1]

I refuse to argue about musical passions !

[@gabrielrearte3050]

"Softs" is a masterpiece

[@cloudysky82]

AHHHHH I LOVE THIS SONG!!

[@MataNuiOfficial]

really makes you wanna hide a boat on top of another boat

[@Mauripsu]

Yeah, love listening to this when I'm feeling deflated

[@tumbo55]

Great band. Saw them 1976 or 1977 in Lyon/France

[@ristokolttonen9208]

This is amazing!

[@UelEdamregf]

Tambien en la música hay puntos fundamentales de inflexión, el de este grupo es sin duda uno de ellos. Geniales y creativos adelantados a su tiempo, como debe ser.

[@kevfullo]

thanks for the sweet upload

[@jefferyroy2566]

No members from the group's classic lineup, combined with not one but two guitarists, make some fine music. For those of us who were exposed to the first four numbers albums as they came off the press, it's just not the same. Robert Wyatt leaving to found Matching Mole was a blow that removed a cornerstone of the group's psyche. Mike Ratledge, the cornerstone for much of the group's sound, hung around until Allan Holdsworth (and previous others) joined for "Bundles," Mike's final work with SM except for a backup role on "Softs." Their last studio album of the 20th century, a failed effort titled "Land of Cockayne," saw Karl Jenkins in the Ratledge role, which somehow ended the group for good. The release of "Hidden Details" in 2018 by the core of the final Soft Machine phase, is something I'll be listening for the first time after this is posted. Will that come with any regrets?

[@gfunkusarelius]

@saberliner14 no, this is more like '76. their first album (totally different lineup) was '68.

[@odoce01]

Sensacional, as músicas do Soft´s são extremamente complexas e inebriantes...

[@gfunkusarelius]

It's on the album "Softs"

[@josealexandreferreiradasil2054]

Soft Machine e suas músicas que quanto mais escutamos, mais adoramos. Como eram bons no que faziam.🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@2wayplebney]

Unutterably cool.

[@albertfish69]

john etheridges vibrato is one of the best ive ever seen