The brief, vibrant and tumultuous Phil Howard Era of Soft Machine is documented on the well-curated and remastered live souvenir ‘Drop.’

Soft Machine’s peak roster playing at peak performance is reason enough to plunk down for ‘Høvikodden 1971’ if this boundary-pushing style of jazz-rock is your thing.

These rehabilitated acetates point the way for the career-defining music Robert Wyatt would record in the years that followed.