--- product_id: 17303829 title: "Drop" brand: "soft machine" price: "£26.96" currency: GBP in_stock: true reviews_count: 10 url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/17303829-drop store_origin: GB region: Great Britain --- # Drop **Brand:** soft machine **Price:** £26.96 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Drop by soft machine - **How much does it cost?** £26.96 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/17303829-drop) ## Best For - soft machine enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted soft machine brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description In the early seventies West Germany was a great touring area for British rock bands. Here bands like Steamhammer, East of Eden or Curved Air got almost even greater success than in their homeland. This also included the Canterbury scene Jazz Rock band Soft Machine, the band was announced high, especially in college towns. These recordings were recorded during the tour in Germany in 1971. The tracks are known pieces from the legendary albums of the band "Third" (1970) and "Fifth" (1972), but the sound here is very dynamic and therefore novel. First of all the release shows an even greater devotion to Jazz and Free Jazz. The quality of free spirited saxophonist Elton Dean together with the influence of the brilliant drummer Phil Howard is outstanding. Most of the titles come from the pen of mastermind Mike Ratledge, who as always makes a convincing figure behind his Rhodes piano, and Hugh Hopper on bass is an institution in Soft Machine; been microstructure. These four guys supply an incredible stage performance, full of variety, Tempi and chord changes, intensity and playfulness. Excursions in Free Jazz realm certainly delight as the successful versions of Soft Machine, classics like "All White", "Slightly All The Time" or "As If", as examples only. A captivating sound document, which was prepared by Sireena sound guru Marlon Klein meticulously for a release on vinyl. The album is released, as we know it from Sireena, in a limited edition in colored 180 gram heavy weight vinyl. ## Images ![Drop - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41M5VOeAVbL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐ For completists only *by J***O on Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2014* For those not already intimately familiar with the work of prog-rock pioneers The Soft Machine, this latter-day discovery is a wildly inappropriate place to start. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the band was their near-constant revolving-door personnel lineup (their Wikipedia page lists 21 unique configurations and an exhaustive timeline chart). However, one could make the (oversimplified) case that the group underwent three basic phases, each underscored by the central creative force in the group. The frontman of the first wave of The Soft Machine was undoubtedly Robert Wyatt, distinguishing himself with a simultaneously inimitable percussive and vocal style. Though an active contributor from the start, keyboardist Mike Ratledge would gradually impose his penchant for long-form instrumental suites to establish the group's identity throughout the second phase, marginalizing Wyatt's role to the background and eventually purging him from the band altogether. Karma would soon manifest itself with the inclusion of multi-instrumentalist Karl Jenkins, who would ultimately oust Ratledge from the band, officially divesting the Soft Machine of its last remaining element of continuity.After Robert Wyatt's unceremonious departure, Australian drummer Phil Howard was brought in at the insistence of saxophonist Elton Dean. This short-lived lineup left a legacy of one three-track session with John Peel and half the band's fifth album. Before the release of "Drop", these six tracks represented the only glimpse into what this version of the group sounded like. Now, Machineheads have an idea of what they sounded like in concert.It is not difficult to understand, hearing this album, why promoters dropped shows at the time and why the group succinctly changed course after a few months. Howard's unique contribution to the Soft Machine sound is his cacophonous wail of cymbal crashes and fills. During passages that are supposed to be free-form, he excels in this regard. However, across the more structured pieces in their repertoire, Howard's aimless noodling adds nothing to the effort. Whereas Keith Moon-style percussive anarchy can be seductive to many aspiring drummers, it only works when it retains some degree of responsiveness to what the rest of the band is playing. Howard's thunderous double-bass attacks and flailing cymbals have no sense of purpose, nor do they align to any debatable degree with what the group is trying to do throughout the majority of the show. Though there are moments where the rhythm actually lines up with the song (particularly during "Pigling Bland"), these are few and far between, and the listener is left with the impression that Howard must have turned off his monitor. Hugh Hopper's bass playing most overtly reflects this frustration; one can almost picture the sullen expression on his face as he listlessly plucks away a two-note line on "Slightly All The Time." The title track, which appears to have been written by Ratledge to accommodate this new sound, is where the approach of this version of The Soft Machine works best, though the potential of this stylistic direction would seem quite obviously finite.Nonetheless, "Drop" is a fascinating relic for the devoted Machinehead. Those like myself who enjoy hearing all the newly-unearthed recordings of each of the band's incarnations get to witness a musical collective whose technique and compositions evolved on a seemingly near-weekly basis. However, to casual listeners, the band's already inaccessible complexity would likely be strained beyond the bounds of patience listening to this floundering mess of a performance. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Dark Swing *by S***E on Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2009* "Dark Swing" is the title of Phil Howard's 2-minute drum solo on this live set and would have been a better title for the album, for the liner notes are all about his short-lived contribution to the ever-changing band. Thanks to his propulsive, explosive drumming, this is the Machine in overdrive: I've never heard them so driven, so intense, so nerve-wracked. (They must have dropped from exhaustion after each set.) Even the usually placid "Slightly All the Time" sounds like Keith Moon arranged it. I prefer the sensitivity and dynamics Robert Wyatt brought to the drum stool, but here's one more live concert to savor (or to endure, for neophytes) in soundboard-plus quality from a seemingly inexhaustible supply of tapes. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Free Blowing *by P***N on Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2009* This is a reasonable sounding soundboard recording of the short-lived "Soft Machine" line-up which recorded the "Side One" material of "Fifth"(I.E. keyboardist Mike Ratledge, bassist Hugh Hopper, Saxophonist Elton Dean & drummer Phil Howard).Howard, an Australian was a member of Dean's side project/group "Just Us", who recorded Dean's first solo album(other Soft machine members guested on that album and some of those selections found their way into Soft Machine's set)Howard & Dean were of the "Free Blowing"(almost totally improvised) school of jazz. Dean had limited interest in adhering to composed structures and Howard had no interest whatsoever. Undoubtedly technically skillful, Howard's playing is often cacophanous and harsh. This "Free Blowing" put Dean & Howard at odds with Hugh Hopper and(especially) the classically trained Ratledge.This group was not well received by audiences and club owners found them to be too avant-garde. After a club owner dropped them(from a support slot for Weather Report) after one gig, Howard was forced out(though he kept his gig with "Just Us") and Dean quit 3 months later. Their replacements,John Marshall & Karl Jenkins took the group in a more mainstream Jazz-Rock Fusion direction. Phil Howard moved to New York in the mid-1970's and he never played again. No one knows his whereabouts, or if he is still alive. Presumably, his recording royalties are held in escrow.This disc is useful because it gives you an idea of how the "Side Two" material of "Fifth" would have sounded with Phil Howard on drums. As such, it is an essential document for Soft Machine fans. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/17303829-drop](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/17303829-drop) --- *Product available on Desertcart Great Britain* *Store origin: GB* *Last updated: 2026-04-22*