Not just a reissue of the classic Peel Sessions material, much of it of classic status since 1977's "Triple Echo" compilation. Hux Records have put together the definitive version of Soft Machine's studio sessions for the BBC (there have been several live releases as well), beginning with a double-CD focussing on the Robert Wyatt years, i.e. 1967-71.

The December 1967 session hasn't been heard, at least not in anything resembling a decent sound quality, since it was first broadcast. Miracle, here it is, sounding miraculously fresh. The first two of the five songs were not available as performed by Soft Machine until now - "Clarence In Wonderland" was recorded by Kevin Ayers on his second album "Shooting At The Moon", and "We Know What You Mean", re-titled "Soon Soon Soon", was cut in 1969 but not released until the "Odd Ditties" compilation in 1976. This version of the latter is a real gem, as are the three songs that popped up on the band's debut album a few months later - "A Certain Kind", "Hope For Happiness" and "Lullabye Letter". Here we are witnessing the birth of the classic early Soft Machine sound - the first recorded examples of Mike Ratledge playing his newly acquired Lowrey Holiday Deluxe organ, rather than the cheesy-sounding Vox Continental he used on the earlier sessions.

The next session (June 1969) encapsulates the dramatic move from progressive pop, with the classic trio rendition of Robert Wyatt's "Moon In June" epic (including the famous re-written lyrics about the BBC), to the experimental jazz/rock amalgam of the "Third" and "Fourth" albums : the "Facelift" medley has a guest appearance by Brian Hopper on saxophone, the closest thing to a documentation of his time as auxiliary member of the live group.

Next we are treated to one of the major finds of this release : Robert Wyatt's solo recording, surprisingly in the context of the legendary "septet" session of November 1969, of "Instant Pussy". This is the only complete version of the piece, with the opening 'song'. Robert was apparently reluctant about this coming out at all, judging it a sub-Leonard Cohen exercise. While not a masterpiece, it is rather pleasant, in spite of Robert's rather crude piano playing, and is nothing short of magic when, towards the end, it moves into the 'famous' motif the later versions (by Matching Mole, and under the name "To Caravan And Brother Jim" on Robert's debut album "The End Of An Ear") were based on, with Robert vocalising on top of it. The same formula is applied, a year and half later, to a similar solo rendition of "Dedicated To You, But You Weren't Listening".

The first CD closes with the "Third" medley of "Slightly All The Time" and "Out-Bloody-Rageous", but, unlike the 1990 release, it is presented complete, with the full version of "Eamonn Andrews" that concludes it.

The second CD sees the band giving full rein to its jazz inclinations. "Virtually" is a shortened version of the sidelong epic on "Fourth" (basically it's Part 2 & 3). "Fletcher's Blemish", which comes next, is totally unreleased. Frankly, I never really understood what the 'theme' to this Elton Dean 'composition' is. I would rather call this a 12-minute improv, and a good one at that, with Ratledge playing mostly acoustic piano, a rare treat. "Neo-Caliban Grides" follows, raising the same question as to it's 'theme'. Clearly we are really close here to the kind of music Soft Machine would play with Phil Howard, Robert's replacement, in the "Fifth" period, reinforcing the impression that Robert's departure didn't, in itself, mark such a musical 'revolution' in the band. Soft Machine had been playing this type of free-jazz-rock, with increasingly minimalist compositions, for quite a while already. The later medley of "Eamonn Andrews" / "All White", also previously unreleased, is a good example of that - examples of Mike Ratledge moving away from scored pieces into more skeletal themes that leave a lot of space for band interaction and individual expression. By the way, this particular track is really excellent.

The collection closes with one of my very favourite performances by Soft Machine - the incredible septet session from 1969. This has been restored to its original form, with the short 'drumlink' re-injected between "Mousetrap" and "Esther's Nosejob", resulting in a continuous 21-minute medley (it would have been nice to index the various themes, though). The septet line-up of Soft Machine had a frustratingly short lifespan, and its recorded output is consequently, and sadly, very small. This, plus the radio sessions on the recent Cuneiform release "Backwards" and some of the material on "Fourth" (especially "Teeth"), is nothing short of a treasure. Nick Evans' trombone solo on "Backwards" stands as one of the culminating points in the band's history.

Needless to say, this double-CD is an absolute must-own - even for those who bought the original release, since this has no less than 40 minutes of previously unreleased material, a good third of the total playing time. Add to this a glossy and well-illustrated booklet with informative liner notes by Mark Ellingham and short contributions from Kevin Ayers and Hugh Hopper - and you have one of the great classics of Canterbury music.