The Untouchable
	previously released material
	Released on 1990
	no chart information
	Find it at GEMM
CCSLP 281 cover

C astle cobbled together a solid collection from Soft Machine’s Harvest catalog -- Bundles, Softs and Alive and Well -- for the double-album compilation The Untouchable (aka The Collection). By the time Soft Machine had signed to Harvest, much of the band’s original strangeness had departed (along with their original members), but they were still a formidable fusion outfit. Led by original keyboardist Mike Ratledge and relative newcomer Karl Jenkins, the band lays down some impressive grooves punctuated by solos from Jenkins and guitarists Allan Holdsworth and John Etheridge. The five-part “Hazard Profiles” (from Bundles) is excellent, at times invoking the pent-up power of King Crimson (circa Starless and Bible Black). Ratledge’s lone contributions to this collection, “The Man Who Waved at Trains” and “Peff,” feature some equally frenzied music. At times, Soft Machine’s mix of steady riffs and dizzying solos is mesmerizing, as on “One Over the Eight” and “Huffin.” But the band is equally capable of creating subdued settings; Jenkins’ “Song of Aeolus” and “Soft Space” are fine examples of this. If the compositions occasionally evade recollection, the solos do not: John Marshall’s percussive interludes and John Etheridge’s awe-inspiring guitar work are highlights (the two even share the spotlight for a rare guitar-drum solo on “Camden Tandem”). Altogether, The Untouchable is a nice sampler from the band’s later days, and proof that the band was still a breeding ground for good ideas and great playing until the end.

CCSLP 281 inner gatefold	CCSLP 281 back cover

TRACK LISTING

record one

1. HAZARD PROFILE PART 1    (Karl Jenkins)    9:15
2. HAZARD PROFILE PART 2    (Karl Jenkins)    2:15
3. HAZARD PROFILE PART 3    (Karl Jenkins)    0:33
4. HAZARD PROFILE PART 4    (Karl Jenkins)    1:25
5. HAZARD PROFILE PART 5    (Karl Jenkins)    5:17
6. THE MAN WHO WAVED AT TRAINS    (Mike Ratledge)    1:52
7. PEFF    (Mike Ratledge)    3:43
8. FOUR GONGS TWO DRUMS    (John Marshall)    2:20
9. BAN BAN CALIBAN    (Karl Jenkins)    9:28
10. SONG OF AEOLUS    (Karl Jenkins)    4:20
    
    record two
    
1. AUBADE    (Karl Jenkins)    1:52
2. SECOND BUNDLE    (Karl Jenkins)    2:34
3. KAYOO    (John Marshall)    3:28
4. CAMDEN TANDEM    (John Etheridge/John Marshall)    2:01
5. NEXUS    (Karl Jenkins)    0:49
6. ONE OVER THE EIGHT    (Karl Jenkins/John Marshall/John Etheridge/Alan Wakeman/Roy Babbington)    5:26
7. ETIKA    (John Etheridge)    2:19
8. PUFFIN    (Karl Jenkins)    1:18
9. HUFFIN    (Karl Jenkins)    0:41
10. THE NODDER    (Karl Jenkins)    7:12
11. SOFT SPACE    (Karl Jenkins)    5:23

CREDITS

ROY BABBINGTON -- bass guitar
STEVE COOK -- bass guitar
JOHN ETHERIDGE -- acoustic and electric guitars
ALLAN HOLDSWORTH -- electric, acoustic and 12 string guitars
KARL JENKINS -- oboe, piano, electric piano, soprano saxophone, pianette, string and mini moog synthesizers
JOHN MARSHALL -- drums, percussion
MIKE RATLEDGE -- organ, electric piano, synthesizer
RICK SANDERS -- violin
ALAN WAKEMAN -- soprano and tenor saxophones

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