The Soft Machine [Cardboard Sleeve (mini LP)] [SHM-CD] [Limited Release]

Soft Machine - The Soft Machine (UK 1968) A wild, freewheeling, and ultimately successful attempt to merge psychedelia with jazz-rock, Soft Machine's debut ranges between lovingly performed oblique pop songs and deranged ensemble playing from drummer/vocalist Robert Wyatt and organist Mike Ratledge. With only one real break (at the end of side one), the songs merge into each other -- not always smoothly, but always with a sense of flair that rescues any potential miscues. Wyatt takes most of the vocals, and proves himself a surprisingly evocative singer despite his lack of range. Like Pink Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Vol. 1 was one of the few over-ambitious records of the psychedelic era that actually delivered on all its incredible promise. Originally recorded as demos by the Soft Machine's first manager Giorgio Gomelsky in April 1967, these are the only recordings (bar one obscure single) featuring the group's original guitarist Daevid Allen and bassist Kevin Ayers alongside Ratledge and Wyatt. The album comes with Die cut front cover with moving inter-locking wheels. Personnel: * Robert Wyatt, drums, lead vocals * Mike Ratledge, Lowrey Holiday De Luxe organ, piano * Kevin Ayers, bass, lead vocals * Hugh Hopper, bass (Track 13) * The Cake, backing vocals Original Tracklist: 01."Hope for Happiness" (Brian Hopper, arr. Robert Wyatt / Mike Ratledge / Kevin Ayers) 4:21 02."Joy of a Toy" (Ayers / Ratledge) 2:49 03."Hope for Happiness (reprise)" (B. Hopper, arr. Wyatt / Ratledge / Ayers) 1:38 04."Why Am I So Short?" (Hugh Hopper / Wyatt) 1:39 05."So Boot If At All" (Ratledge / Ayers / Wyatt) 7:25 06."A Certain Kind" (H. Hopper) 4:11 07."Save Yourself" (Wyatt) 2:26 08."Priscilla" (Ayers / Ratledge / Wyatt) 1:03 09."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