The Soft Machine's long history was written in constant transition and punctuated with brilliant studio recordings, no two of which were made by exactly the same line-up. Yet from their inception in 1967 to their demise in 1981, they employed only three drummers: original member Robert Wyatt, latter-days holdout John Marshall, and for five months in 1971, free jazz purveyor Phil Howard. Drop was recorded during Howard's short stay, and is a unique document as only a few other examples of his playing with the band are currently available.

It has often been said of the Softs, that their internal tension is what created a lot of the music, as four (or more) members with very different musical interests and goals fought to push their vision forward. This live recording highlights that tension more than just about any other, as the older members of the band try to fit their jazz-rock into or around Howard's freewheeling and powerful style. That works best on the opener, Elton Dean's "Neo Caliban Grides". With no real periodic rhythm or meter to cling to, all four members boil up some fairly hot freeness. It's only a bit later on that things get a bit sticky, and occasionally threatens to collapse altogether. If we go back and check out Howard's one studio recording with Soft Machine � 5 � we can hear what he's playing around the solid throb that Mike Ratledge and Hugh Hopper are laying down. It's not so much free as polymetric, laying groups of 3 or 5 over the basic time signatures. In the studio it sounds fairly tight, but in the heat of a concert it sometimes comes close to chaos, as Howard suddenly remembers a transition or time change in the arrangement and rushes to hit it. It's also fascinating to witness Hopper, who was usually a tight, clockwork mechanism, occasionally abandon rhythm completely for short periods and then come up with spontaneous lines that adhere to the drummer's spikes and jabs. For all the weirdness this push/pull manifested, it also stoked quite a bit of fire. Witness Ratledge's solos throughout, and Dean barely caring to state a theme as he rushes toward freedom.