Land of Cockayne | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 1981 | |||
Recorded | June & July 1980 | |||
Studio | Pye Studios & Riverside Studios in London | |||
Genre | Jazz rock | |||
Length | 43:51 | |||
Label | EMI EMC 3348 | |||
Producer | Mike Thorne | |||
Soft Machine chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Land of Cockayne is the tenth studio album by the jazz rock band Soft Machine, released in 1981. The title refers to the medieval land of plenty. It would be the last album released under the Soft Machine name until Hidden Details in 2018.
In 1979, Karl Jenkins, who had been a member of Soft Machine from May 1972 to the band's split in December 1978, was among a number of top session musicians put together for an ad hoc band called Rollercoaster, recording a Stevie Wonder tribute album called Wonderin' (1980). After that album was completed, a number of the Rollarcoaster musicians decided to record another album together, this time under the Soft Machine name. [2] Some of the musicians involved in the project would be part of Soft Machine's next live line-up, which played a six-night residency at Ronnie Scott's in 1984.
All compositions by Karl Jenkins.
Soft Machine
Additional personnel
Soft Machine are an English rock and jazz band from Canterbury formed in 1966 by Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen and Larry Nowlin. As a central band of the Canterbury scene, the group became one of the first British psychedelic acts and later moved into progressive and jazz rock, becoming a purely instrumental band in 1971. The band has undergone many line-up changes, with musicians such as Andy Summers, Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, John Marshall, Karl Jenkins, Roy Babbington and Allan Holdsworth being members during the band's history. The current line-up consists of John Etheridge, Theo Travis, Fred Thelonious Baker and Asaf Sirkis.
Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins,, HonFLSW is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song "Adiemus", Palladio (1995), The Armed Man (2000), his Requiem (2005) and his Stabat Mater (2008).
The Beach Boys is the 25th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on June 10, 1985. Produced by Steve Levine, the album is the band's first after the drowning of founding member Dennis Wilson. It was also the band's first album to be recorded digitally and the last released by James William Guercio's Caribou Records. The record sold poorly, charting at number 52 in the U.S. and number 60 in the UK.
Rain Dances is the fifth studio album by English progressive rock band Camel. It was released in 1977 on Gama Records/Decca Records, and brought a major change to the band's lineup, by replacing bassist Doug Ferguson with ex-Caravan member Richard Sinclair and by adding saxophonist Mel Collins, formerly of King Crimson.
Bundles is the eighth studio album by the jazz-rock band Soft Machine, released in 1975.
Six is the sixth studio album by the jazz rock band Soft Machine. Originally released in 1973 as a double LP, the first disc is a live album and the second disc is a studio album. This is the first album to feature Karl Jenkins as a member the group, replacing Elton Dean. Jenkins eventually became the de facto leader and main composer of the group.
Fourth is the fourth studio album by the rock band Soft Machine, released in 1971. The album is also titled Four or 4 in the USA.
Seven is the seventh studio album by the jazz rock band Soft Machine, released in 1973. Bassist Roy Babbington, who had previously worked with the band as a session musician on the Fourth (1971) and Fifth (1972) albums, joined the band as a full-time member, replacing Hugh Hopper, who left to begin a solo career. This line-up change meant more than half of Soft Machine was now former members of the band Nucleus.
Fifth, is the fifth studio album by the jazz rock band Soft Machine, released in 1972. In the US the album was identified on cover and label by number (5).
Mad Dog is the fourth solo studio album by the English rock musician John Entwistle, who was the bassist for the Who at that time. It was his last solo studio album for six years, and the debut album by his band John Entwistle's Ox.
Soft Heap was a Canterbury scene and jazz-rock supergroup founded in January 1978 and active throughout the Eighties.
"Stormtrooper in Drag" is the debut single by Paul Gardiner, who was the bass player in Gary Numan's backing band. Numan is featured on the single as a co-composer, producer, musician and vocalist.
I Can See Your House from Here is the seventh studio album by English progressive rock band Camel. Released in 1979, a new line up was introduced with founding members Andrew Latimer (guitar) and Andy Ward (drums) joined by bassist Colin Bass and keyboardists Jan Schelhaas and Kit Watkins who both replaced founding member Peter Bardens. At one point, the album was going to be called Endangered Species.
Vocalese is the ninth studio album by Jazz band The Manhattan Transfer, released on September 3, 1985 on Atlantic Records. Recording sessions took place during 1985. Production came from Tim Hauser and Martin Fischer. This album is considered to be The Manhattan Transfer's most critically acclaimed album. It received 12 Grammy nominations, making it second only to Michael Jackson's Thriller as the most nominated individual album. It also received extremely high ratings from music critics, including a 4.5 out of 5 stars rating from Allmusic. The album peaked at number 2 on the Top Jazz Albums and number 74 on the Billboard 200. The album's title Vocalese refers to a style of music that sets lyrics to previously recorded jazz instrumental pieces. The vocals then reproduce the sound and feel of the original instrumentation. Jon Hendricks, proficient in this art, composed all of the lyrics for this album.
Softs is the ninth studio album by the jazz rock band Soft Machine, released in 1976.
Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris is a (mostly) live album by the jazz rock band Soft Machine, released in 1978. It is their first album recorded entirely without any founding members of the band, as Mike Ratledge left the group during recording of the previous album Softs. It is also first album since their debut not to include any wind instruments.
Back to Oakland is the fourth album by Bay Area based band Tower of Power, released in early 1974 on Warner Bros. Records. It was voted by Modern Drummer magazine as one of the most important recordings for drummers to listen to. The cover photography was by Bruce Steinberg at San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, San Francisco, California.
Wonderin' is a tribute album featuring jazz-funk cover versions of Stevie Wonder songs. It was recorded by the ad hoc band Rollercoaster made up of leading UK session and jazz musicians from British jazz-rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s such as Soft Machine, Blue Mink and Nucleus.
Merry Christmas from the Beach Boys is an unreleased studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys. Planned for issue in November/December 1978, the content was a mixture of original songs penned by the group and traditional standards, similar to their 1964 release The Beach Boys' Christmas Album.
Hidden Details is the eleventh studio album by the jazz rock band Soft Machine, released in September 2018.