With the release of
Floating World Live, as of 2006 there were four CDs on the market -- two studio and two live discs -- representing the peak of
Soft Machine's "guitar fusion" years.
Bundles and
Softs (studio) and
Floating World Live and
British Tour '75 (live) are all recommended to anyone for whom jazz-rock fusion doesn't cause a breakout in hives, with the live discs capturing inspired performances and having an edge over the studio efforts. The expertly recorded
Floating World is clear evidence that
Allan Holdsworth was just what
Soft Machine needed in the mid-'70s. By the time this live German show had been (partially) captured by Radio Bremen in January 1975,
Holdsworth had been with the band for slightly over a year, and
the Softs had already recorded
Bundles with him. This is a killer live set, and
Holdsworth's lightning-fast scalar runs, wide-interval leaps, and expressive note-bending over the band's vamps and composer
Karl Jenkins' chordal changes -- not to mention his prominent positioning in the mix -- make
Floating World a must-hear for any fans of the blurry-fingered axeman. He plays a touch of beautiful violin as well. No wonder jaws were dropping all around -- and apparently including the jaws of his bandmates, for
Floating World sounds rather less like the work of a fully collaborative band and more like a live date by a guitarist-led fusion outfit than the
British Tour '75 recording from later that same year after
John Etheridge had joined the group following
Holdsworth's departure.