Soft Machine
Land of Cockayne

Cokaygne was the term used in medieval times in England and Scotland to identify a mythical land of abundance, where idleness, luxury, and all kinds of freedom reign without limits or controls, and where the restrictions of society and religion have no reason to exist. This utopian place seems to have been the last stop that Soft Machine decided to make before finally disbanding in 1980, right after finishing the recordings of this Land of Cockayne which would find its place on store shelves only the following year.

To be honest, the band had already reached the end of the line in 1978, at the end of the tour from which the live Alive and Well - Recorded in Paris was extracted, but two years later, Karl Jenkins called back his companions to create what appears to be more of his solo project than the band's last album. The tracks indeed all bear his signature, and the resulting music is a soft jazz fusion, perhaps sometimes too accessible and not very innovative, but certainly refined, elegant, and extremely pleasant to listen to.

Together with Karl and drummer John Marshall, Allan Holdsworth returns on guitar and Ray Warleigh on alto sax and flute, while making their first appearance in the ensemble are former Cream's Jack Bruce on bass, John Taylor on keyboards, and Dick Morrissey on tenor sax. Besides the guests, consisting of guitarist Alan Parker and backing vocalists Stu Calver, John Perry, and Tony Rivers, an orchestra is also present in four tracks of the album.

Wind instruments are the true protagonists of the scene, and if Dick's saxophone opens the curtain with the soft tones of "Over'n'Above", Ray's flute immediately responds with the ethnic atmospheres of "Lotus Groves". The challenge is interrupted only by the penetrating orchestral movement "Isle of the Blessed", which introduces "Panoramania", one of the most successful pieces on the album, in which John Taylor crafts a splendid keyboard solo that spans much of the composition. Allan's superb guitar first makes itself known in the majestic airs of "(Black) Velvet Mountain" and then in a duet with Ray's sinuous sax in "Sly Monkey", while John Marshall with his drums chases, among absurd tempos, Dick's sax, dominant in the spectacular "Hot-Biscuit Slim". Ray, through his wind instruments, also embellishes the shorter episodes, such as the languid "Behind the Crystal Curtain", the oriental-tinged "Palace of Glass", and the concluding "A Lot of What You Fancy...".

The record in question sparks divergent opinions (to use a euphemism) among Soft Machine enthusiasts: on one side, the early fans, clinging to the experimental masterpieces of the past and detractors of the work by Karl and company, on the other, jazz lovers, who see in the band's latest efforts their qualitative peak. Far from there being a right and wrong side (we are practically talking about two groups as well as two completely different styles), let's avoid unnecessary comparisons, which can risk making us approach a new listen with prejudice and distrust, and let's focus on the music, excellent from the first to the last note.