The Soft Machine (Soft Machine album)

The Soft Machine
Studio album by The Soft Machine
Released December 1968
Recorded April 1968 at Record Plant Studios, New York City
Genre Psychedelic rock, canterbury scene
Length 41.30
Label

USA: ABC Probe CPLP 4500

France: Barclay
Producer Chas Chandler, Tom Wilson
The Soft Machine chronology

The Soft Machine
(1968)		 Volume Two
(1969)
Singles from The Soft Machine
  1. "Joy of a Toy" b/w "Why Are We Sleeping?"
    Released: November 1968
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Allmusic [1]

The Soft Machine, as reissue also titled "Volume One", is the debut album by the British psychedelic rock band, Soft Machine, one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene. The band, founded in 1966, recorded and released this studio album during their 1968 tour of the USA. It was produced by Chas Chandler and Tom Wilson.

This album fused psychedelic rock with jazz and soft rock, making it highly experimental. The work on this album was one of the essential roots in progressive rock and jazz-fusion.

The song "Joy of a Toy" is one of the first compositions to feature a bass guitar melody played through a Wah-wah pedal.

Track listing

Side one
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Hope for Happiness"  Kevin Ayers, Mike Ratledge, Brian Hopper 4:21
2. "Joy of a Toy"  Ayers, Ratledge 2:49
3. "Hope for Happines (Reprise)"  Ayers, Ratledge, B. Hopper 1:38
4. "Why Am I So Short?"  Ratledge, Ayers, Hugh Hopper 1:39
5. "So Boot If At All"  Ayers, Ratledge, Robert Wyatt 7:25
6. "A Certain Kind"  H. Hopper 4:11
Side two
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
7. "Save Yourself"  Wyatt 2:26
8. "Priscilla"  Ayers, Ratledge, Wyatt 1:03
9. "Lullabye Letter"  Ayers 4:32
10. "We Did It Again"  Ayers 3:46
11. "Plus Belle qu'une Poubelle"  Ayers 1:03
12. "Why Are We Sleeping?"  Ayers, Ratledge, Wyatt 5:30
13. "Box 25/4 Lid"  Ratledge, H. Hopper 0:49


Live performances of We Did It Again were sometimes as long as 45 minutes.


The 2009 Remastered Edition includes as bonus tracks also "Love Makes Sweet Music" and "Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin'", respectively Side A and Side B of their first single, issued in 1967.

Personnel

Additional personnel

Sales chart performance

Year Chart Position
1969 Billboard 200 160[2]

References

  1. ↑ Bush, John. "The Soft Machine [Volume One] - Soft Machine | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  2. ↑ Soft Machine allmusic.