Soft Heap - Soft Heap

Review by Giovanni Cappellotto

Soft Heap was a short-lived, yet highly influential jazz-rock fusion band that emerged from the UK's Canterbury scene in the late 1970s. Their self-titled debut album, Soft Heap, released in 1978, is a masterpiece of progressive jazz fusion that showcases the individual talents of each band member.

The album opens with the upbeat and funky "Petit 3," featuring drummer Pip Pyle's signature complex rhythms and guitarist Mark Hewins' intricate guitar lines. The track seamlessly transitions into the atmospheric and dreamy "Equatorial Forest," which highlights the dexterity of keyboardist and saxophonist Elton Dean.

"Bone Fire," a catchy and upbeat tune with a driving bassline by Hugh Hopper, follows before transitioning into the more experimental "Blood Red," which features a haunting saxophone solo by Dean. The album's centerpiece, "Soft Heap'd," is a 15-minute epic that showcases the band's improvisational skills and tight musicianship.

The album closes with the atmospheric "Jubilee Approach," which features Hewins' delicate guitar work and Dean's soulful saxophone playing.

Artist: Soft Heap
Album: Soft Heap

1982

Rating: 5.0

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Filename: soft-heap-soft-heap.rar

MP3 size: 25.2 mb
FLAC size: 382.9 mb

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Tracks

Track	Duration	Preview
Petit 3'S	6:19
Terra Nova	10:2
A.W.O.L.	9:34
Fara	6:41
Circle Line	6:52
Short Hand	3:11
Petit 3's	6:20

Images

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Catalog Numbers

BELLE 172750
CRL 5014
14839
ECLEC2131
K22P-351

Labels

Belle Antique
Charly Records
Spalax Music
Esoteric Recordings
Seven Seas, Charly Records

Listen online

escuchar en línea
lyssna på nätet
ouvir online
kuunnella verkossa
online anhören
lytte på nettet
online luisteren
ascolta in linea
écouter en ligne

Formats

CD
Album
Limited Edition
Reissue
Remastered
Stereo
SHM-CD
Mini LP Sleeve
Vinyl
LP

Companies

Role	Company
Distributed By	Marquee Inc.
Manufactured By	Marquee Inc.
Printed By	Ichikudo Printing Co., Ltd.
Licensed From	Licensemusic
Phonographic Copyright (p)	Charly Records Ltd.
Copyright (c)	Charly Records Ltd.
Made By	Gothic Press Ltd.
Recorded At	Pathway Studios
Mixed At	Riverside Studios, London
Lacquer Cut At	Utopia Studios
Marketed By	Spalax Music
Remastered At	The Audio Archiving Company
Glass Mastered At	Sony DADC
Designed At	Hi Hat Design

Credits

Role	Credit
Artwork	Izumi Idogawa
Bass	Hugh Hopper
Design	Starshine Graphics
Drums	Pip Pyle
Mixed By	Anthony David
Piano	Alan Gowen
Synthesizer	Alan Gowen
Producer	Soft Heap, Wally Brill
Remastered By	Kazuo Ogino
Saxophone	Elton Dean
Engineer	Wally Brill
Coordinator	Mark Powell
Liner Notes	Sid Smith

Notes

Packaged in a mini LP sleeve with obi, Japanese liner notes and cloth CD sleeve in a resealable clear plastic sleeve.
Spalax Music Paris France
Made in EU
Recorded at Pathway, London
Mixed at Riverside
℗ 1978 Licensemusic.com ApS, An original BYG Music record.
8-page booklet with credits, notes & photos.
Made in the EU.
European Rock Collection, British Jazz Rock "CHARLY" Records
Manufactured By KING RECORD CO., LTD. Japan. Sleeve Printed in Japan by NPc.
Single sleeve with obi and insert.
Rear obi lists the 5 albums in this series, plus other Seven Seas titles.

Barcodes

Barcode (Text): 4 527516 603182
Barcode (Scanned): 4527516603182
Matrix / Runout: BELLE172750 1W
Mastering SID Code: IFPI L244
Mould SID Code: IFPI 4011
Rights Society: JASRAC
Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, etched): [Lyre symbol] CRL 5014 A1
Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, etched): [Lyre symbol] CRL 5014 B1
Barcode: 3 429020 148399
Matrix / Runout: DISCTRONICS S 14839 01
Mastering SID Code: IFPI L502
Mould SID Code: IFPI 8713
Rights Society: SUISA
Matrix / Runout (Side 1): CRL 5014 A1
Matrix / Runout (Side 2): CRL 5014 B1
Barcode (Text): 5 013929 723122
Barcode (String): 5013929723122
Matrix / Runout (Variant 1 & 2): Sony DADC ECLEC2131 02
Mastering SID Code (Variant 1 & 2): IFPI LY34
Mould SID Code (Variant 1): IFPI AEW26
Mould SID Code (Variant 2): IFPI AEW22
Rights Society: MCPS

About Soft Heap

Jazz-rock band formed in January 1978 by ex members of . "Soft" being an obvious reference to their past band, and "Heap" being the 4 initial letters of the musicians' first name : Hugh, Elton, Alan, and Pip. The band's direction was very jazzy and improvisational. Due to his commitments with National Health, Pyle couldn't be on the first tour, thus Dave Sheen replacing him and the band's name changing to Soft HeaD. The album 'Rogue Element (1978) was recorded on that tour. It was followed by an eponymous studio album, this time as Soft Heap (with Pip). Hopper was later replaced by John Greaves, and after Gowen's death in 1981, Mark Hewins joined on guitar. Mark : "John Greaves and I were given the opportunity to change the name of the group when we joined, but we all decided that in respect of Alan Gowen's memory we would keep the HEAP moniker (Hugh, Elton, Alan, Pip)... It could have been... Soft JEMP!". No records were released during the 80's, although the band kept gigging : four tours during the decade with a total of 25 European concerts, culminating with "a fantastic gig in a circus tent, built especially for us, at the Coutance Festival in 1989 - this was recorded and broadcast live by FR1 Radio" (Mark Hewins). A 1982 recording was eventually released as 'A Veritable Centaur' CD in 1995.

Members

John Greaves
Hugh Hopper
Elton Dean
Mark Hewins
Pip Pyle
Alan Gowen

Summary by Giovanni Cappellotto

Soft Heap's self-titled debut album is a must-listen for any fan of jazz fusion or progressive rock. It's a testament to the incredible musicianship and creativity of this talented group of musicians.