Description

Both John Etheridge and Ric Sanders were latter day members of that most celebrated of Canterbury Scene bands Soft Machine. Following the split of Soft Machine Etheridge and Sanders went on to form another band which to be fair would certainly compare favourably to late period Soft Machine. The cover in which this album is wrapped will also be of interest to British fans as the album was originally entitled First Steps and the cover uses the trademark of Clarks shoes "First Steps" children's shoes trademark.

This band only made one album but it is an absolute gem of an album and one that hasmore… unfortunately been unavailable for many years. Re issued at long last on CD. I am actually dazzled by the virtuosity of guitarist John Etheridge. I must add however that this is no widdly widdly jazz-rock outing. The music for sure is predominantly jazz-rock but the playing throughout is tasteful and at times restrained. There are moments when the band does kick things off in grand style and the track Star Dance is a fine example of this and is at times reminiscent of the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

As you would expect from any former members of Soft Machine this album will already have a built in audience ready and very willing to step up and buy this album. There are however enough rock moments to interest the casual rock fan who may be aware of the names in fact there may well even be a few folk fans attracted by Ric Sanders inclusion. The Rest of the band is made up of drummer Mickey Barker who would go on to work with Magnum, bassist Jon Davey and keyboard player Dave Bristow. Of the tracks on offer here my favourites are the Softs like opener Ice Bells and the aforementioned Star Dance but I am also fond of the folky Wynsmead, which was a nod to where Ric Sanders had been with the Albion Band and also a pointer to where he was going with Fairport Convention.

I for one am glad to see this back on the shelves and I am sure that a great many Soft Machine fans will also be pleased to find this album available once more. As an example of early eighties jazz rock this album is a particularly fine example and one that should be experienced as soon as possible.

Tracks

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Info:

Category:

Music > Albums

Case Type:

CD

Release Type:

Retail

Comments:

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Cover Info:

Title:

John Etheridge, Ric Sanders - 2nd Vision (2000) Retail CD

Part:

Front

Dimensions:

1868 x 1872 px

Size:

998 KB

Downloads:

10 (0 today)

Uploaded:

Report a Problem Wrong Cover Duplicate Image Bad Quality Wrong Info

15/12/08 by pontiacc

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