Jet Propelled Photographs - Soft Machine

Advantages: Excellent musicianship, full concert, excellent sound
Disadvantages: No older songs

...There are now more archival live recordings of the Soft Machine in existence than studio albums and British Tour '75 represents one of the more interesting periods of the band's ever changing face. The Soft Machine was, essentially, a blanket name for four distinctly different bands - they started off as a pop/psychedelic combo similar to very early (ie pre-Piper At The Gates of Dawn) Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd, then drifted into the higher echelons of prog with their 1970 masterpiece Third, before becoming a fusion outfit (often dubbed Britain's answer to the Mahavishnu Orchestra) and ending their career as a distinctly British jazz band. Recorded at Nottingham University (in 1975, as the title suggests) very shortly after guitarist Allan Holdsworth left the band (to be replaced by John Etheridge), British Tour captures the Softs... Read review

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Advantages: Good music, mixture of styles
Disadvantages: Lacks originality in places

..." listed as track 6 and "All you have to do" being absent). Ok first before the real body of the review...Who are jet? Well Jet are an Australian Punk/grunge/hard/pub rock band, with hits from their first album such as "Will you be my girl" and "Rollover DJ", this is a follow up to that album (Get Born-2003). They took the name from the Wings song. The album opens with the very short track "L'espirit D'escalier" which is basically a sample of the final track more than anything and lasts for about 23 seconds. Perhaps unfair to class it as a trackl as such, but if you do you cant really rate it at all. 1/10 (or N/A tbh) Holiday opens the album properly with a steady and strong musical interlude before Nic Chester (the lead singer) vocal's kick in with a disturbingly indie feel which suits the rough sound of the song. A catchy chorus... Read review

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Advantages: SUPERIOR RELEASE FROM SUPERIOR BAND
Disadvantages: THE SECRET MACHINES STILL A SECRET

...I'm gonna go track for track on this as its a personal favourite and I can imagine myself writing an epic novel about all the underlying meaning...yada yada yada... P.S. beware the serene sleeve for a learned monster lies within!!!!!!!! The opening track induces paranoid images of having to survive a post-apocolyptic world, brought about by an invasion from ... somewhere...something. With its hard edged and driven lyrics backed up by guitar somewhat reminiscent of U2s 'The Fly' and subtle keyboard work, amounting to the sound of a distant but welcoming carnival. Track two, for me is the LPs best track. A kick-ass attitude propelled message, telling you that walls are for breaking through rather than having your back up against. Allowing the listener to overcome the desperation of the lyrics and to somehow rise above. Track... Read review

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