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Title: Not really Soft Machine - and not very good
Review: Stiff, uninspired "jazz rock fusion" at its worst. This doesn't even bear comparison with the band heard on the first three Soft Machine albums, largely because it isn't the same band. The only member left is keyboardist Mike Ratledge, and he lets newcomer Karl Jenkins create most of the alleged "music" on here. The playing is efficient, predictable, spiritless and dull, and the compositions are purely mundane exercises in jazz rock. On top of this, the production is dry and ugly, making it perfectly clear that this version of the Softs had nothing to say and were saying it in the most unpleasant manner possible. If any record ever deserved the phrase, "A Must To Avoid," this one certainly does.
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