Third (Soft Machine album)

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Third
Third cover
Studio album by Soft Machine
Released June 6, 1970
Recorded IBC, London, April-May 1970 ("Facelift" live in Croydon, January 1970)
Genre Progressive rock, Canterbury scene, jazz fusion
Length 75:15
Label Columbia Records
Producer Soft Machine
Professional reviews
Soft Machine chronology
Volume Two
(1969)		 Third
(1970)		 Fourth
(1971)

Third is a 1970 double LP by Soft Machine, with each side of the original vinyl consisting of a single long composition. Its music explores the emerging jazz fusion of the type present on Miles Davis' Bitches Brew, which was released in the same year. Third is considered by many to be the seminal recording to emerge from the Canterbury scene, featuring incredible interplay between the band's members, led by keyboardist Mike Ratledge, Elton Dean on woodwinds, Robert Wyatt on drums and Hugh Hopper on bass. The track "Slightly All The Time" was used as the background for the syndicated "Realities" news program distributed by many 1970s-era "underground" radio stations. The album remained in print in the Columbia U.S. catalog throughout the 1970s and into the '80s despite its unusual format, based largely on word of mouth reviews.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Facelift" (Hugh Hopper) – 18:45
  2. "Slightly All The Time/ Noisette/ Backwards/ Noisette (Reprise)" (Mike Ratledge) – 18:12
  3. "Moon in June" (Robert Wyatt) – 19:08
  4. "Out-Bloody-Rageous" (Mike Ratledge) – 19:10

[edit] Personnel

  • Mike Ratledge - Hohner Pianet, Lowrey organ & piano
  • Hugh Hopper - bass guitar
  • Robert Wyatt - drums, vocals, plus (uncredited) Hammond Organ, Hohner Pianet & piano (3)
  • Elton Dean - alto saxophone & saxello (except 3)
  • Lyn Dobson - soprano saxophone & flute (1)

with


[edit] References

v • d • e
Soft Machine
Kevin Ayers • Elton Dean • Hugh Hopper • Mike Ratledge • Robert Wyatt
Daevid Allen • Roy Babbington • John Etheridge • Karl Jenkins • John Marshall
Steve Cook • Marc Charig • Lyn Dobson • Nick Evans • Jimmy Hastings • Allan Holdsworth
Brian Hopper • Ric Sanders • Alan Skidmore • Rab Spall • Andy Summers • Alan Wakeman
Studio Albums
The Soft Machine (1968) • Volume Two (1969) • Third (1970) • Fourth (1971) • Five (1972) • Six (1973) • Seven (1973) • Bundles (1975) • Softs (1976) • Land of Cockayne (1981)
Singles
"Love Makes Sweet Music" (1967) • "Joy of a Toy" (1968)
Live Albums
Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris (1978) • Live at the Proms 1970 (1988) • BBC Radio 1967-1971 (2003) • BBC Radio 1971-1974 (2003) • Soft Machine and Heavy Friends (2005) • Softstage (2005)
Cuneiform albums
Spaced (1996) • Virtually (1998) • Noisette (2000) • Backwards (2002) • Live in Paris (2004) • Grides (2006) • Middle Earth Masters (2006)
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