Elton Dean(Alto sax/saxello)、Robert Wyatt(drs/vo)、Mike Ratledge(hohner pianet/organ)、Hugh Hopper(b)の前記した'70年作『THIRD』制作時の4名に、同作にも参加したリン・ドブソンも加えたクインテット編成による2公演を収録。
LP:SIDE A～C/DVDには、フランスのTV番組"Pop Deux"にて放送された'70年3月2日パリ, Theatre De La Musique公演の音源/映像をそれぞれ収録。既に本音源/映像を使用したアイテムは数多く出ておりますが、本作は正確な曲順への変更や、音質/画質共に更なる向上が図られた正に決定版的クオリティーを誇る内容。冒頭'Eamonn Andrews'のRobert Wyattのけたたましい手数による強烈なドラミングから圧巻され、この時期特有の二管の掛け合いや、独特のプレイ/サウンドを披露するHugh Hopper、Mike Ratledgeの両名が演出するまさにカンタベリーと思わせる浮遊感など、楽曲内のスコアとインプロの境目をしなやかに行き交いつつ更なる昇華が試みられた先鋭的パフォーマンスは唯一無二。SIDE Dには'70年1月オランダのアムステルダムでの同編成による公演のライブ音源を収録。こちらは抜粋収録ながらも『サード』収録の代表曲'Facelift''Moon in June'を含む内容で、音質的にはパリ公演に譲るものの、それ以上に熱のこもった切れ味の鋭い演奏となっております。初期のサイケデリック・ロックからフリー・ジャズ/インプロビゼーションへとスタイルが傾倒してゆくこの時期は、バンド及びカンタベリー・シーンの長い歴史においても非常に独創的といえるジャズ・ロックを追求した期間であり、凄烈なプレイが繰り広げられた名演が存分に堪能できる、全プログレ・ファン必携といえる作品です!
マスターはIan Beaboutによる新規リマスタリング・TV放送用に使用されたライン音源とオーディエンス音源を組み合わせたエディット音源(パリ公演のみ)を使用。DVDにはボーナスとして3月2日パリ公演のオーディエンス音源全長を収録。

発売・販売元 提供資料 （2023/02/13）

Soft Machines French tours of late 1969 and early 1970 have been the subject of several releases, official and otherwise. Some, including Voiceprints Facelift, were drawn from hopelessly dodgy audience recordings and are, despite being licensed, simply substandard bootlegs. Others, such as Cuneiforms Noisette, offer carefully curated performances using the best sources possible. The three-disc Facelift France & Holland adds another dimension to Cuneiforms curatorial excavation of Soft Machines history. Though the band had toured France at the end of 1969 as a septet with a brass section, they were a quintet in early 1970 when they returned to complete the 30-date tour. In addition to drummer Robert Wyatt, bassist Hugh Hopper, saxophonist Elton Dean, and keyboardist Mike Ratledge, the Softs brought English saxophonist Lyn Dobson along. This release contains a restored DVD/video of the bands stellar performance at Paris Theatre de la Musique. It was originally broadcast in two edited 40-minute segments in April and July 1970 on French televisions Pop 2. Painstakingly cleaned thanks to the vault discovery of an earlier work-in-progress edit of the first set, the producers used audience sources as patches to remove fake clapping and noise. The concert is as compelling to watch as to listen to. Wyatts completely unhinged physicality is on full display here. Soft Machines interplay throughout is disciplined, instinctive, and sophisticated. The DVD offers the only existing footage of the quintet lineup that existed only from January to March. The first audio disc replicates the Paris performance. While the mix is a bit thin in places, the sound remains detailed and dynamic. In addition to scorching versions of "Mousetrap," "Eamonn Andrews," and "Noisette," this is the only professionally recorded performance available of "Out-Bloody-Rageous" with Dobson. There is one caveat: the full version of Ratledges killer "Slightly All the Time" sounds less than optimal. Along with almost half of the second set, it was left out of the edited broadcast. An audience recording of the tune has been inserted back into this performance for historical significance, but this is a tiny quibble. The second audio disc contains Soft Machines Concertgebouw appearance in Amsterdam that January. Its source is an unusually clean soundboard tape. In addition to a moody, sinister opening reading of "Facelift," it features a true rarity in the live performance of Hugh Hoppers "12/8 Theme." A studio version didnt appear until the bassist released his 1996 Monster Band album. The concert also offers a sprawling, completed version of "Esthers Nose Job" -- truncated for the Pop 2 performance. France & Holland showcases Soft Machine at an exciting juncture. Absent for much of 1968 due to U.S. tours with Jimi Hendrix Experience and a brief split, this return, following the septet dates in December 1969, reveals a band that had all but completely abandoned the vanguard pop psychedelia of earlier albums to develop a unique approach that embodied both the emergent prog rock and electric jazz scenes. This is indispensable. ~ Thom Jurek

Rovi