Soft Machine - Fifth

Robert Wyatt's departure prior Fifth was arguably the most serious band-member loss Soft Machine ever had to endure. Not only was the main tie to rock music, a good drummer, a solid composer, and the only vocalist lost, but also sense of anarchy, eccentricity and warmth was robbed too.

However, Softs could still pull off a potent statement. Wyatt's initial replacement on drums was the flamboyant Australian guy Phil Howard, a friend and musical partner of Elton Dean. His drumming was freely structured, so you could not trace real time signatures, but a pulse beneath the dense unpredictable polyrhythms. This of course wasn't to the liking of Mike Ratledge and Hugh Hopper and Howard's free-jazz orientation led to his dismissal.

First two compositions, "All White" and "Drop", by Ratledge, present the avant-jazz sound at its most compelling. Howard creates an intense pulses on these two tracks which have, despite chaos, quite driving grooves. These two pieces are also the standout tracks on the album. "All White" starts with eerie saxophone lines on the background of spooky drone until the drums come in and we're off to jazzy realms. This tune altogether sounds remarkably colder compared to the warmth of Third and Fourth. Actually, practically the whole album is cold and bleak in mood and it's also purest jazz played by SM with few if any rock sensibilities. So this demonstrates that Wyatt's departure made a huge difference.

"Drop" is the closest thing reminiscent of earlier days, as it sounds a bit like a Third outtake with its psychedelic tape-loops in the beginning and intense fuzz-organ solo following,not to mention that bass and drums are also groovy, if reminiscent of the conflict between freeform exuberancy (Howard) and more disciplined approach (Hopper).

"MC" sounds like a rewrite of "Fletcher`s Blemish" on Fourth, only where that improvisational tune was hot and dramatic, this is cold as ice. Also, this is arguably the least successful Hopper pen for the Softs. There are some atmospheric cymbal washes and brushing from Howard on it, though.

But Howard was naturally forced to leave the group and in was John Marshall, whose drumming is more solid and he sounds more like a professional, if a bit stiff and masturbatory, especially as demonstrated on his drum solo "LBO" (clearly a filler). Although minimalist, "As If" is the closest as it gets to the avant-garde jazz with Marshall, even though the BBC Radio recording with Howard on drums has more urgency to it.

"Pigling Bland" is actually taken from the "Esther Nosejob" suite played live in the Wyatt-era. This is definitely the most melodic moment on the bleak austere improvisational jazz record, but one needs to dig out Virtually live performance (with Wyatt drumming) to see how the band has changed rapidly. Without Wyatt to inject the sense of warmth and freewheel into it, the tune now sounds cold and restraint.

Fifth ends with "Bone", which is actually an ambient track based on Dean's introductory sax solo to "All White", only that Ratledge is playing the solo in his fuzz organ solo which sounds truly night-marish and the background droning only provokes more eerieness. As for Dean, he contributes an uncredited freeform, out of control recorder playing in the background, it being a lone fragile voice among the cruel and bleak surrounding sounds.

To compare with Fourth, Fifth sounds quite different, the overall feeling is cold and detached as opposed to the inviting warmth of predecessor. This may be due to Wyatt having gone, but his passionate drumming is not the only factor gone. Hopper's fuzz bass sounds are almost absent from here too, likewise, most of the keyboard work is done by electric piano, only a few fuzz-organ solos here, which is sad, considering how diverse and inventive keyboardist Ratledge had been, from fuzz attack to sweet psychedelic organ flourishes. Electric piano sound just doesn't have enough warmth on here. At least the free-form leanings are still present, which would start to disappear after Karl Jenkins replacing Elton Dean and leading SM to the point where they were the Soft Machine in name only.