Other Doors Soft Machine

• 1 Careless Eyes 02:28
• 2 Penny Hitch 06:49
• 3 Other Doors 04:51
• 4 Crooked Usage 08:29
• 5 Joy of a Toy 03:24
• 6 A Flock of Holes 02:18
• 7 Whisper Back 01:40
• 8 The Stars Apart 04:22
• 9 Now! Is the Time 02:16
• 10 Fell to Earth 05:51
• 11 The Visitor at the Window 04:08
• 12 Maybe Never 02:26
• 13 Back in Season 07:17
• Total Runtime 56:19

Info for Other Doors

"Other Doors" is Soft Machine‘s first studio album since 2018‘s ‘Hidden Details‘ and marks a new chapter in the history of the legendary prog/ jazz/fusion band - both an ending and a beginning - for this unique group that has now been in existence for 55 years.

This studio album sees the final studio appearance of drum legend John Marshall, who played his heart out on this album and since completing the recording and aged 81 has decided to retire because of ongoing health issues. The album also sees the introduction of bass player Fred Baker to the band following the retirement of Roy Babbington, who has played with the group since 1970.

The album features much great new music and inspired playing, as well as the reimagining of two Soft Machine classics - "Penny Hitch" (from ‘Seven‘) and "Joy of a Toy" (from the first album). Atmospheric improvisations, psychedelic free jazz, burning jazz rock, screaming guitar, hypnotic looped alto flutes, fretless bass grooves, powerful drums and experimental electronic music... Soft Machine continues to pursue its musically ambitious, wide ranging, jazz based music without boundaries. To create the most ambitious and adventurous heartfelt music the band can imagine.

The band is lead by John Etheridge from the celebrated ‘70s version of the legendary group, which recorded the acclaimed ‘Softs‘ album in 1975, and co lead by outstanding sax/ flute star Theo Travis(Robert Fripp/ David Gilmour/ Steven Wilson). Since 2021 Roy Babbington retired from public performance and his chosen successor on the bass is Fred Thelonious Baker, who has been a musician on the Canterbury scene for over 30 years - being a regular collaborator with the late Elton Dean, with Hugh Hopper and with guitarist Phil Miller.

John Etheridge, guitars
Theo Travis, tenor and soprano saxophones, flutes, Fender Rhodes piano, electronics
Fred Thelonious Baker, fretless bass
John Marshall, drums, percussion

Soft Machine
One of the greatest UK avant/jazz-rock bands of all time.

Their work, from their earliest performances as a psychedelic band who were contemporaries of, and shared stages with, Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd and the Jimi Hendrix Experience, all the way to being one of Europe's best known 'fusion' groups, has influenced several generations of bands, and continues to be name-checked by today's hip experimentalists.

Whilst the line-up of Soft Machine may have changed many times since the heady days of the late 1960’s, the band’s spirit of musical adventure, and the ease with which it freely avoids being pigeon holed and can move from powerful progressive jazz fusion to atmospheric psychedelia to free improvised jazz-rock to ambient loop music continues to make it both unique and totally contemporary.

John Etheridge
joined Soft Machine in 1975 for the ‘Softs’ album and then ‘Alive and Well’ and has been the main soloist of the band ever since then. Described by Pat Metheny as ‘One of the best guitarists’ he is hugely in demand and has also played with Caravan, Hawkwind, John Williams and Billy Cobham.

John Marshall
is the longest serving member of the band, he joined Soft Machine in 1972, He played on half of Soft Machine 5, and has been central to the band ever since. John was also a member of spin off groups Soft Works, Soft Ware and Soft Machine Legacy and as well as being a member of Soft Machine he has a distinguished career as one of the finest and most respected of contemporary drummers, playing with Jack Bruce, Nucleus, Eberhard Weber and John Surman.

Theo Travis
joined Soft Machine (Legacy) in 2006 taking over from the late Elton Dean. He plays tenor and soprano saxes as well as flutes and the Fender Rhodes electric piano. He has also performed and toured with Gong, Robert Fripp, David Gilmour and David Sylvian.

Fred Thelonious Baker
is one of Britain’s finest bass players. He replaced Roy Babbington in Soft Machine in January 2022 and was in fact chosen by Roy to be his successor. Fred is perhaps best known for playing in Phil Miller's Canterbury scene band ‘In Cahoots’. He has also played with many musicians and groups on the Canterbury scene, including Pip Pyle, Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper. Baker played in The John Etheridge/Ric Sanders Group in the early 1980s. He has also worked with his own group, the Fred Thelonious Baker Group who recorded a self-titled album in 1984.

This album contains no booklet.