The Soft Machine

Product Description
The first two albums by England's legendary Soft Machine, originally released in 1968 and 1969, remain among the most innovative and influential releases of that musically fertile era. These seminal LPs offered a visionary psychedelic-progressive-jazz-rock mix that helped to make the Soft Machine one of Britain's first significant underground bands, as well as a key force in the birth of both progressive rock and jazz-rock.

A product of the same fabled Canterbury scene that spawned such beloved cult acts as Caravan and Hatfield and the North, the Soft Machine was the rare art-rock combo whose members possessed the instrumental skills to execute their ambitious musical ideas, as well as a playful sense of humor that balanced the band's complex compositions and adventurous improvisations. By the time they began making albums, the Soft Machine was already a sensation in the budding U.K. rock underground, thanks to their now-legendary performances at such fabled London clubs as the UFO, the Speakeasy and Middle Earth, where they shared stages with the likes of Pink Floyd and Tomorrow.

The Soft Machine, co-produced by Chas Chandler and Tom Wilson, announced the band's arrival on the international scene in fine style. With an unusual three-man lineup comprised of Kevin Ayers on bass and vocals, Robert Wyatt on drums and vocals, and Mike Ratledge on keyboards, the album was recorded in New York, while the band was touring North America with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. In contrast to the extended pieces that would later dominate the Soft Machine's repertoire, the album focuses on shorter, more concise songs that nonetheless provide plenty of room for the musicians to demonstrate their varied abilities.

This landmark gem has been out of print for decades, but now it is back in a meticulously packaged Sundazed compact disc edition. Mastered from the original analog tapes, this lovingly restored album sounds as powerful and imaginative as ever.

01. Hope For Happiness
02. Joy Of A Toy
03. Hope For Happiness (Reprise)
04. Why Am I So Short?
05. So Boot If At All
06. A Certain Kind
07. Save Yourself
08. Priscilla
09. Lullabye Letter
10. We Did It Again
11. Plus Belle Qu'une Poubelle
12. Why Are We Sleeping?
13. Box 25/4 Lid

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007NUQIVU/?tag=imwan-20

Volume Two

Product Description
The aptly titled Volume Two introduced a retooled Soft Machine lineup, with Wyatt and Ratledge joined by bassist Hugh Hopper, an old Canterbury friend who had guested on the first album. The sophomore disc finds the threesome moving towards a more explicitly jazz-influenced sound, with an increased emphasis on instrumental material. The album is bookended by a pair of extended compositions, "Rivmic Melodies" and "Esther's Nose Job," which are broken up into shorter individual tracks bearing whimsically arbitrary titles. That approach was suggested to the band by Frank Zappa, whose Mothers of Invention album Absolutely Free was reportedly an influence on Volume Two.

The first two albums by England's legendary Soft Machine, originally released in 1968 and 1969, remain among the most innovative and influential releases of that musically fertile era. These seminal LPs offered a visionary psychedelic-progressive-jazz-rock mix that helped to make the Soft Machine one of Britain's first significant underground bands, as well as a key force in the birth of both progressive rock and jazz-rock.

This landmark gem has been out of print for decades, but now it is back in a meticulously packaged Sundazed compact disc edition. Mastered from the original analog tapes, this lovingly restored album sounds as powerful and imaginative as ever.

A product of the same fabled Canterbury scene that spawned such beloved cult acts as Caravan and Hatfield and the North, the Soft Machine was the rare art-rock combo whose members possessed the instrumental skills to execute their ambitious musical ideas, as well as a playful sense of humor that balanced the band's complex compositions and adventurous improvisations. By the time they began making albums, the Soft Machine was already a sensation in the budding U.K. rock underground, thanks to their now-legendary performances at such fabled London clubs as the UFO, the Speakeasy and Middle Earth, where they shared stages with the likes of Pink Floyd and Tomorrow.

01. Pataphysical Introduction – Part I
02. A Concise British Alphabet – Part I
03. Hibou, Anemone And Bear
04. A Concise British Alphabet – Part II
05. Hulloder
06. Dada Was Here
07. Thank You Pierrot Lunaire
08. Have You Ever Bean Green?
09. Pataphysical Introduction – Part II
10. Out Of Tunes
11. As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still
12. Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening
13. Fire Engine Passing With Bells Clanging
14. Pig
15. Orange Skin Food
16. A Door Opens And Closes
17. 10.30 Returns To The Bedroom

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007NUQIME/?tag=imwan-20

Good stuff, a bit pricy when the old One Way editions used to sell for $7-$8 brand new though.

The reason the One Way Soft Machine reissues were so cheap was that the sound was absolutely horrible!

Sundazed has never fibbed about using the original master tapes, AFAIK, so I'm hoping we'll finally get a good, clear version of the first album. I've bought three different pressings of that one so far and they're all varying shades of "murky".

I'll have to revisit mine. I don't remember them being all that bad.

The uk issues on UMC have bonus tracks that don't seem to be listed here, shame. They are only about $10 each on amazon uk.

I like the sound on the UK reissues, plus they have bonus tracks. I'm not sure why we need these.

The first Soft Machine album beat Led Zeppelin III by several years to the "spinning wheel" cover design. I think my LP copy is a white-label promo, but it definitely has the wheel cover.

Sundazed put these out on vinyl a couple of years ago, and they were advertised as coming from the original analog tapes. I thought they were the best sounding I'd ever heard, barring finding mint, original UK copies. That said, these will never be audiophile recordings, no matter what source is used, but I'd say they're worth a shot. FYI, they didn't reproduce the wheel cover, due to costs.

The UK Polydor version of the first album narrowed the stereo spectrum slightly. I'm curious to hear whether these revert to the sound of the old Big Beat disc.