Soft Machine discography

Last updated

Soft Machine discography
Studio albums12

Soft Machine are an English rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966. As a central band of the Canterbury scene, the group became one of the first British psychedelic acts and later moved into progressive rock and jazz fusion. [1] Having known numerous line-ups, the band currently consists of John Etheridge (guitar), Theo Travis (saxophone, flutes, keyboards), Fred Baker (bass) and Asaf Sirkis (drums).

Contents

Discography

Studio albums

YearAlbumLine-upAdditional musicians
1968 The Soft Machine Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin AyersHugh Hopper
1969 Volume Two Ratledge, Wyatt, HopperBrian Hopper
1970 Third Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Elton DeanLyn Dobson, Nick Evans, Jimmy Hastings, Rab Spall
1971 Fourth Evans, Hastings, Mark Charig, Roy Babbington, Alan Skidmore
1972 Fifth Side 1: Ratledge, Hopper, Dean, Phil Howard
Side 2: Ratledge, Hopper, Dean, John Marshall
Babbington
1973 Six Ratledge, Hopper, Marshall, Karl Jenkins
1973 Seven Ratledge, Marshall, Jenkins, Babbington
1975 Bundles Ratledge, Marshall, Jenkins, Babbington, Allan HoldsworthRay Warleigh
1976 Softs Marshall, Jenkins, Babbington, John Etheridge, Alan WakemanRatledge
1981 Land of Cockayne Marshall, Jenkins, Holdsworth, Warleigh, Jack Bruce, Dick Morrissey, Alan Parker, John Taylor
2018 Hidden Details [2] [3] [4] Marshall, Etheridge, Babbington, Theo TravisNick Utteridge
2023 Other Doors Marshall, Etheridge, Travis, Fred BakerBabbington

Live albums

RecordedReleasedAlbumLine-up
September 1967 – May 19682006Middle Earth MastersMike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers
March 19691996Live at the Paradiso 1969Ratledge, Wyatt, Hugh Hopper
November 1969 – May 19702002BackwardsNovember 1969 recordings: Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Elton Dean, Lyn Dobson, Mark Charig, Nick Evans
May 1970 recordings: Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Dean
January 19702000NoisetteRatledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Dean, Dobson
January 19702005Breda Reactor
January 19702022Facelift France & Holland CD 2
March 19702022Facelift France & Holland CD 1 + DVD
April 19702004Somewhere in SohoRatledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Dean
April 19702002Facelift
August 19701988 Live at the Proms 1970
October 19702006Grides
February 19712009Live at Henie Onstad Art Centre 1971
February 19712024Høvikodden 1971 (includes all of above plus another concert at the same venue the previous day)
March 19711998Virtually
March 19711993Soft Machine & Heavy Friends: BBC in Concert 1971
November 19712008DropRatledge, Hopper, Dean, Phil Howard
May 19722008Live in ParisRatledge, Hopper, Dean, John Marshall
June 19721994Soft Stage: BBC in Concert 1972Ratledge, Hopper, Marshall, Karl Jenkins
October – November 19721973Six Disc 1
May 19732010NDR Jazz Workshop Hamburg, Germany CD + DVDRatledge, Marshall, Jenkins, Roy Babbington
October 19732023The Dutch Lesson
July 19742015Switzerland 1974 CD + DVDRatledge, Marshall, Jenkins, Babbington, Allan Holdsworth
January 19752006Floating World Live
October 19752005British Tour '75Ratledge, Marshall, Jenkins, Babbington, John Etheridge
July 19771978 Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris Marshall, Jenkins, Etheridge, Ric Sanders, Steve Cook
February 20192020Live at The Baked PotatoMarshall, Etheridge, Babbington, Theo Travis

Compilation albums

YearAlbumNotes
1972Jet Propelled Photographs1967 demos by the line-up of Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers and Daevid Allen
1977Triple EchoA "best of" album, including both sides of their first single and material from all the albums up to Softs (the most recent at the time)
1990The Peel SessionsRadio sessions recorded during 1969–71
1996SpacedRecorded in 1969 by the line-up of Ratledge, Wyatt and the Hopper brothers Hugh and Brian as a soundtrack for a work by artist Peter Dockley
2001Turns On Volume 1Lo-fi recordings from April to December 1967
2001Turns On Volume 2Lo-fi recordings from November 1967 to August 1968
2003BBC Radio 1967–1971Radio sessions
2003BBC Radio 1971–1974Radio sessions

Other minor releases

These albums were either released by small labels with most of their content available on the main albums listed above or are reissues/"Best of" collections released by major labels with all previously released material.

YearAlbumNotes
1972Rock Generation Vol. 7One side only, April 1967 De Lane Lea Studios demo recordings with Giorgio Gomelsky.
1972Rock Generation Vol. 8One side only, more April 1967 demo recordings. This and the preceding entry were combined on many subsequent releases, under such titles as Faces & Places Vol.7 (BYG Records, 1972), At the Beginning (Charly Records, 1976), Jet Propelled Photographs (Piccadilly, 1980 [LP], Charly, 2003 [CD]), and several others. These issues contain the track "She's Gone", recorded in April 1967, which is not the same track released in Triple Echo.
19751&2 (Architects of Space Time)Double album reissue of the first two albums.
1990The UntouchableCompilation of tracks from Bundles, Softs, and Alive and Well.
1991As If...Curious (probably unauthorized) compilation with six Ratledge/Hopper compositions ranging from 1970's Third to 1973's Six.
1994Soft MachineLive At The Paradiso 1969 plus six tracks from Jet Propelled Photographs.
1995The Harvest Albums 1975–1978Box set of the Harvest-era albums Bundles (1975) to Alive & Well (1978).
1998 Canterburied Sounds (Vol. 1–4) Voiceprint Records released four CDs containing several tracks by various musicians from the Canterbury scene (mainly from the Soft Machine and the Caravan bands), compiled and with notes by Brian Hopper. The four single CDs are re-released in 2013 in a box set.
1998Live 1970
(also known as Live in Europe 1970)
Tracks 1–2 recorded on 13 February 1970 at Swansea (or 14 at the London School of Economics); tracks 3–11 also in Live at the Proms; here, with the edited version of "Out-Bloody-Rageous" from 11:54 to 8:46, and "Esther's Nose Job" split in seven contiguous tracks.
1999Fourth / FifthCD reissue of Fourth and Fifth, the first CBS-era album Third was already available on CD individually.
2001Man in a Deaf Corner: Anthology 1963–1970Disc 1 mainly containing live pieces from 1963 to circa 1967, with tracks 7–9 also in Turns On vol. 1 (respectively tracks 2, 1, 16); Disc 2 containing a recording at the Paradiso, 29 March 1969 (tracks 1–10) also in Live at the Paradiso (about 32 min out of 40 min); tracks 11–12 ("Facelift" and "Moon in June" – short versions) also in Live 1970 (respectively tracks 1–2); tracks 13–16 recorded at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon on 26 April 1970, also in Facelift (respectively tracks 4–7); track 17 is a Jakko Jakszyk rendition of "As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still" in conjunction with the two short tracks "That Still and Perfect Summer" and "Astral Projection in Pinner" to appear in his future album The Bruised Romantic Glee Club (Iceni 2006).
2004Six / Seven2-CD reissue of the last two CBS-era albums Six and Seven.
2005Out-Bloody-Rageous: An Anthology 1967–19732-CD compilation of tracks from up to, and including, Seven.
2005Orange Skin Food2-CD compilation of previously released live recordings; tracks from Somewhere In Soho, recorded 20–25 April 1971, Facelift, recorded 26 April 1970 and the entire Live in Europe 1970, recorded 13 or 14 February 1970 and 13 August 1970 at the Proms.
2010Original Album Classics5-CD box set of the 2007 remasters of the CBS-era albums Third,Fourth,Fifth,Six and Seven.
2011Tales of Taliesin: The EMI Years Anthology 1975–19812-CD compilation of tracks from Bundles to Land of Cockayne.
201368Credited to Robert Wyatt, it nonetheless contains an 18 minutes early version of "Rivmic Melodies" (to appear in the 1969 album Volume 2) and a 20 minutes early version of "Moon in June" (to appear in the 1970 album Third), both recorded in U.S. in 1968, after Soft Machine's first dissolution, and just before the new formation with Hopper in place of Ayers.
2013 Canterburied Sounds Re-issue in a single 4 CDs edition of the four titles previously released in 1998 by Brian Hopper on Voiceprint.
2014Tanglewood Tails2 CDs, Disc 1 with tracks 1–4 from 1963 (also in "Canterburied Sounds"), tracks 5–12 from 1967 studio recordings (also in Turns On vol. 1); Disc 2 with tracks 1–4 live from the Col Ballroom, Davenport, Iowa, 11 August 1968 (also in Turns On vol. 2), tracks 5–6 live from the Paradiso, Amsterdam, 29 March 1969 (also in Live at the Paradiso), tracks 7–11 live from the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, 26 April 1970 (also in "Facelift"). The quality of tracks are far better than in both volumes of Turns On (especially "She's Gone" – June 1967 version that now has a quality comparable to the Triple Echo version – that is up to now the only acceptable CD version of this track).
2014Turns On (An early collection)2 CDs – Reprint from Floating World Records of the two Turns On volumes of 2001, with the same track list. The low quality of the former editions was here maintained.
2014Live in 19704 CDs – Reprint of two live concerts. Disc 1 and Disc 2 recorded at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club on 20–25 April 1970 (already in Somewhere in Soho, Voiceprint, 2004), Disc 3 and Disc 4 recorded at Het Turfschip, Breda, Netherlands on 31 January 1970 (already in Breda Reactor, Voiceprint, 2005).
2014Live in the 70s4 CDs – Reprint of various live concerts. Disc 1 and the first four tracks on Disc 2 also issued as Live in Paris (Cuneiform, 2004); tracks 5–7 of Disc 2 also appear on Backwards (Cuneiform, 2002); Mark Charig is here wrongly mentioned as the trumpet player; Disc 3 was previously released as Noisette (Cuneiform, 2000) and Disc 4 was previously issued as Drop (Moonjune, 2008).
2015Hugh Hopper
Volume 9: Anatomy of Facelift
Five performances of "Facelift", 1969 through 1971.
2019Live in London in the early Sixties (LP)Eight tracks recorded live in 1963 in London, with Brian Hopper (sax), Hugh Hopper (cello, bass), Robert Wyatt (drums, voice), Kevin Ayers (bass, voice), Mike Ratledge (organ), Daevid Allen (guitar). These tracks are also in Man in a Deaf Corner (2001, 2 CD) as tracks 1.01–1.06 in a different remix.
2019Top Gear Live in London 1967–1969 (LP)Side 1 recorded in 1967 with the Ratledge/Wyatt/Ayers line-up; Side 2 recorded in 1969 with Ratledge/Wyatt/H. Hopper/B. Hopper line-up and including "Facelift" and "Moon in June".

Singles

Bootlegs

The 1960s

1968

  • 1968, 08–11, Live at Davenport, Iowa (supporting The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
  • 1968, 08–16, Live at the Merryweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland (supporting The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
  • 1968, 09–13, Live at the Hollywood Bowl, California (supporting The Jimi Hendrix Experience)

1969

  • 1969, 04–13, Live at the Country Club in London
  • 1969, 06–25, Live at the Ba.Ta.Clan in Paris
  • 1969, 08–09, Live at Plumpton Race Course – only "Moon in June" was performed
  • 1969, 10–05, Live at the Lyceum in London
  • 1969, 10–27, Live at the Liverpool University – Excerpt
  • 1969, 10–28, Live at Actuel Festival in Amougies, Belgium – Excerpt

The 1970s

1970

  • 1970, 01–04, Live at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon – This concert was published as Noisette (Cuneiform, 2000), but this official release lacks "Facelift" that was in part used for the Third album (1970), where it is joined by another version recorded 11 January and overdubbed. This concert is inserted here only because the version of "Facelift" herein contained (over 25 minutes long) is a very special version and the full song would deserve an official treatment.
  • 1970, 01–17, Live at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam
  • 1970, 04–04, Live at the Kolner Festival, Germany
  • 1970, 09–01, BBC Radiophonic WorkshopEamonn Andrews explained
  • 1970, 09–17, Alan Black "Sound of the Seventies" (broadcast 25 Sept.), recorded at the Camden Theatre in London
  • 1970, 10–24, Live at DeDoelen, Rotterdam – Excerpt

1971

  • 1971, 02–07, Live at the Roundhouse, London, UK
  • 1971, 03–21, Live in Het Turfschip, Breda, Netherlands
  • 1971, 06–07, Live at the Cafe au Go Go (the Gaslight) in New York City
  • 1971, 10–17, Donaueschinger Musiktage – This concert has appeared partially on Drop (Moonjune 2008)
  • 1971, 11–07, Live at the Berlin Jazz Festival – There exist two versions of this concert: the live recording and the radio broadcast (with German DJ inserts) – this concert has appeared partially on Drop (Moonjune 2008)

1972

  • 1972, 04–22, Live at Palazzo dello Sport in Bergamo, Italy
  • 1972, 04–24, Live at the Piper Club in Rome
  • 1972, 06–07, Live at King's Cross Cinema
  • 1972, 12–03, Live at Fairfield Halls, Croydon, UK

1974

  • 1974, 03–11, Radio Interview with Mike Ratledge and Allan Holdsworth for an American radio broadcast
  • 1974, 03–13, Live at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York
  • 1974, 03–17, Live at "My Father's Place" in Roslyn, New York
  • 1974, 03–23–24, Live at the Howard Stein's Academy of Music in New York
  • 1974, 08–10, Live at Le Naiadi, Pescara, Italy
  • 1974, 09–20–24, Villa Pamphili Festival in Rome

1975

1976

  • 1976, 02–18, Live at the Palasport in Reggio Emilia, Italy
  • 1976, 08–08, Live in Trieste, Italy
  • 1976, 10–09, Live in Roskilde, Copenhagen
  • 1976, 12–03, Live at the Palais des Sports in Paris

Discography

YearAlbumSoft Machine members involved
The Wilde Flowers
1965–69The Wilde Flowers(released in 1994)Ayers, B. Hopper, H. Hopper, Wyatt
The Keith Tippett Group
1970You Are Here... I Am ThereCharig, Dean, Evans
1971Dedicated To You, But You Weren't ListeningBabbington, Charig, Dean, Evans, Howard, Wyatt
Centipede
1971 Septober Energy Babbington, Charig, Dean, Evans, Jenkins, Marshall, Wyatt
Elton Dean
1971Elton Dean(re-released as Just Us in 1998)Dean, Babbington, Charig, Howard, Ratledge
Karl Jenkins (re-released as Soft Machine in 1994)
1976Rubber RiffJenkins, Babbington, Etheridge, Marshall
Hopper / Dean / Tippett / Gallivan
1977Cruel But FairH. Hopper,Dean
1977Mercy Dash(released in 1985)H. Hopper, Dean
Elton Dean, Alan Skidmore, Chris Laurence, John Marshall
1977El SkidDean,Marshall
Planet Earth
1978Planet EarthJenkins,Ratledge
Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Alan Gowen, Dave Sheen (re-released as Soft Head in 1996)
1978Rogue ElementH. Hopper,Dean
Soft Heap
1979Soft HeapDean, H. Hopper
1979Al Dente(released in 2008)Dean, H. Hopper
1982–83A Veritable Centaur(released in 1995)Dean
Rubba
1979Push ButtonJenkins, Ratledge
2nd Vision
1980First StepsEtheridge,Sanders
Rollercoaster
1980 Wonderin' Jenkins,Morrissey,Parker,Ratledge,Warleigh
Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Vince Clarke, Frances Knight
1998The Mind in the TreesH. Hopper,Dean
Soft Works
2003AbracadabraDean,Holdsworth,H. Hopper,Marshall
2003Abracadabra in Osaka(released in 2020)Dean,Holdsworth,H. Hopper,Marshall
Soft Mountain
2003Soft Mountain(released in 2007)Dean,H. Hopper
Soft Bounds
2005Live at Le TritonDean,H. Hopper
Soft Machine Legacy
2005Live In ZaandamDean,Etheridge,H. Hopper,Marshall
2006Soft Machine LegacyDean,Etheridge,H. Hopper,Marshall
2006Live at the New MorningDean,Etheridge,H. Hopper,Marshall
2007 Steam Etheridge,H. Hopper,Marshall,Travis
2010Live AdventuresBabbington,Etheridge,Marshall,Travis
2013 Burden of Proof Babbington,Etheridge,Marshall,Travis
Delta Saxophone Quartet
2007Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening: The Music Of Soft MachineH. Hopper (as a guest on some tracks)


Notes

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitch Mitchell</span> English drummer and child actor (1946–2008)

    John Graham "Mitch" Mitchell was an English drummer and child actor, who was best known for his work in the Jimi Hendrix Experience for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2016, Mitchell was ranked number 8 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time".

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Soft Machine</span> British rock band

    Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-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.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Jenkins</span> Welsh musician and composer (born 1944)

    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).

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Hopper</span> Musical artist

    Hugh Colin Hopper was a British progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and other bands.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Kramer</span> British audio engineer and producer

    Edwin H. Kramer is a South African-born recording producer and engineer. He has collaborated with several artists now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, the Kinks, Kiss, John Mellencamp, GRODD and Carlos Santana, as well as records for other well-known artists in various genres.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Caravan (band)</span> English band from the Canterbury area

    Caravan are an English rock band from the Canterbury area, founded by former Wilde Flowers members David Sinclair, Richard Sinclair, Pye Hastings, and Richard Coughlan in 1968. The band have never achieved the great commercial success that was widely predicted for them at the beginning of their career, but are nevertheless considered a key part of the Canterbury scene of progressive rock acts, blending psychedelic rock, jazz, and classical influences to create a distinctive sound.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Elton Dean</span> English jazz musician

    Elton Dean was an English jazz musician who performed on alto saxophone, saxello and occasionally keyboards. Part of the Canterbury scene, he featured in Soft Machine, among others.

    <i>Volume Two</i> (The Soft Machine album) 1969 studio album by The Soft Machine

    Volume Two is the second LP by The Soft Machine, released in 1969. The album combined humour, dada, psychedelia and jazz. In 2000 it was voted number 715 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.

    Track Record was founded in 1966 in London by Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, then managers of the rock group The Who. It was one of the first British-owned independent record labels in the United Kingdom. The most successful artists whose work appeared on the Track label were The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Who, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Thunderclap Newman and Golden Earring. The label ceased operations in 1978 but was revived in 1999.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">John Marshall (drummer)</span> Musical artist

    John Stanley Marshall was an English drummer and founding member of the jazz rock band Nucleus. From 1972 to 1978, he was the drummer for Soft Machine, replacing Phil Howard when he joined.

    <i>Hendrix in the West</i> 1972 live album by Jimi Hendrix

    Hendrix in the West is a live album by Jimi Hendrix, released posthumously in January 1972 by Polydor Records (UK), and in February by Reprise Records (US). The album tracks are split between those recorded in 1969 by the Jimi Hendrix Experience with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell and in 1970 with Billy Cox and Mitchell during The Cry of Love Tour.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Babbington</span> English rock and jazz bassist

    Roy Babbington is an English rock and jazz bassist. He became well known for being a member of the Canterbury scene progressive rock band Soft Machine.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">John Etheridge</span> English jazz fusion guitarist, composer, and bandleader

    John Michael Glyn Etheridge is an English jazz fusion guitarist, composer, bandleader and educator known for his eclecticism and broad range of associations in jazz, classical, and contemporary music. He is best known for his work with Soft Machine from 1975 to 1978, 1984 and 2004 to present.

    Eire Apparent were a band from Northern Ireland, noted for launching the careers of Henry McCullough and Ernie Graham, and for having Jimi Hendrix play on, and produce, their only album.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Kellgren</span> Musical artist

    Gary Kellgren was an American audio engineer and co-founder of The Record Plant recording studios, along with businessman Chris Stone.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Glass (band)</span> American progressive rock band

    Glass is a progressive rock trio from the Pacific Northwest. The group consists of Greg Sherman on keyboards, vibes and Mellotron, his brother Jeff Sherman on bass guitar, guitar, bass pedals and keyboards, and their childhood friend Jerry Cook on drums and percussion.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Wingfield</span> Musical artist

    Mark Wingfield is an English guitarist and composer based in the UK. Most of his output is rooted in jazz, but he is also active in contemporary classical music. Much of his output is directed towards performing and studio work. Wingfield cites jazz, rock, Indian, Japanese, African, and classical music as influences has written over 70 compositions. He attempts to combine these with classical music.

    Bill Halverson is an American record producer and engineer who worked on several critically acclaimed rock records of the 1960s and 1970s. He is most well known for working with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and their respective solo albums. His other engineering credits include Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Chuck Berry, Eric Clapton, and Emmylou Harris.

    References

    1. Lynch, Dave. "Soft Machine". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
    2. Joe Banks (September 2018). "Soft Machine – Hidden Details (review)". Shindig!.
    3. Brian Morton (October 2018). "Soft Machine – Hidden Details (review)". The Wire.
    4. "Soft Machine – Hidden Details (info and reviews)". Prog Archives. Retrieved 16 December 2018.