Originally finding his footing along Brian Auger in his various rock and fusion endeavors, guitarist Gary Boyle eventually put together his own ensemble of Brit players. The early formations of Isotope – the resulting combo – have been figured to have heavily influenced subsequent bands in the genre, specifically in the UK. And despite the fact that June of ’72 was relatively early for such a compendium of sounds to be concocted, Soft Machine had been kicking around for a number of years at that point and had already released five volumes of its music. Using that group as a marker, the sounds that Isotope levied upon the record buying public had as much to do with slinky funk and rock as jazz, this accounting for progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1025">the band’s US deal with Motown.

Another, more tangible link to the Softs, though, was the inclusion of Hugh Hopper into Isotope’s second line up as it was preparing to tour as well as record its 1975 album Illusion. The addition of Hopper  - and a new keyboardist – may have changed the way that Boyle approached shredding. The new baser possessed a rather unique approach to his instrument, at times coming off like a keyboard or alternately just laying down a good funk, but with huge bands of notes. It’s during his brief stint in Isotope that the band is considered to have reached its pinnacle.

That’s of course debatable seeing as Boyle and an assemblage of players would continue on under the banner of Isotope for a few years after Hoppers departure just prior to the ’76 recording of Deep End – although he does appear on a single track that he composed. But while under the employ of Boyle, Hopper and crew were able to raise a surprisingly unified fusion sound that, while derivative, came off as its own.

This band, much like the Softs, were a live group. And as Isotope toured a variety of colleges and not so swank jazz clubs in Europe and the States to solidify some compositions, it was caught in the act a few times. Over at Elastic Rock, which specializes in bootlegs of the prog and psych variety, is a live date from the ensemble having been recorded at the beginning of ’75. Here the quartet only gives listeners a scant three songs. And while each is plied for a good amount of time, the entire deal is finished within twenty minutes.

It is amusing to here the announcer crop up every once in a while and make some inane comment, but even that small distraction doesn’t detract from the recording, which sounds surprisingly clear.

The first two tracks get into hyper-speed territory and make each song – “Ilusion” and “Rangoon Creeper” – a bit too much. Boyle does get excitable on the set’s closer, “Spanish Sun,” but only for a short passage before returning to the songs contemplative, slow tempo. It just comes off jazzier than everything else, which might not be what fusion fans look for. But between that solitude of the last track and the nonsensical frenetics of the previous offerings, there’s a bit of something for every geek.