One of the last of the 70s fusion bands, Soft Machine is still alive and well, even though this release will be the last one featuring the venerable drummer John Marshall, goes out in style here. With guest bassist Roy Babbington on a couple of tracks, John Etheridge/eg, Theo Travis/ts-ss-fl-key-el and Fred Thelonious Baker/b mix fusiony excursions with deft solos and duos.
On the chamber side, Etheridge is graceful on “Whisper Back”, Babbington and Baker duet on a fragrant “Now! Is The Time” Travis hovers in electricity on “Maybe Never” with some mystical flute and guitars hovering on “Careless Eyes”. There’s lots of spacey tones of bas and guitar on “Crooked Usage”, Etheridge twangs out on a rockish “Joy of a Toy” and the mood gets dark for “Penny Hitch”. Travis’ flute veers around a noir alley on the journey of back In Season” and hovers on the echoey “The Vistor At The Window”, painting a Monument Valley of moods for “A Flock Of Holes”. The band is its edgy best with Etheridge and Travis digging into the extroverted “Fell To Earth”. Still plugged in after all these years, and with the retirement of King Crimson, the last of the Old School proggers still standing. And standing tall.