| Fifth | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 original issue design | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 1972 | |||
| Recorded | Nov–Dec 1971 and Jan–Feb 1972 at Advision Studios, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 36:34 | |||
| Label | CBS (UK), Columbia (USA) | |||
| Producer | Soft Machine | |||
| Soft Machine chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Fifth (the title is Fifth while the front cover shows the number 5), 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).
Fifth was the first Soft Machine album recorded after the departure of original drummer Robert Wyatt and continued the band's progression away from their original blend of psychedelic and progressive rock towards jazz fusion. Wyatt's replacement was Phil Howard, who contributed to the 1971 sessions that comprise side one, after which he left and was replaced by John Marshall for the 1972 sessions that comprise side two. Future member Roy Babbington worked on the album as a session musician, playing double bass on all the tracks on side two.
Soft Machine
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Additional musician
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.
Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins,, HonFLSW is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song "Adiemus" (1995), from the Adiemus album series; Palladio (1995); The Armed Man (2000); his Requiem (2005); and his Stabat Mater (2008).
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.
Third is a live and studio album by the English rock band Soft Machine, released as their third overall in June 1970 by CBS Records. It is a double album with a single composition on each of the four sides, and was the first of two albums recorded with a four-piece line-up of keyboardist Mike Ratledge, drummer and vocalist Robert Wyatt, saxophonist Elton Dean, and bass guitarist Hugh Hopper. Third marks a shift in the group's sound from their psychedelic origins towards jazz rock and electronic music.
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.
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.
The Soft Machine is the debut album by the British psychedelic rock band Soft Machine, released in 1968. It is the group's only album to feature Kevin Ayers as a member.
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.
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.
Softs is the ninth studio album by the jazz rock band Soft Machine, released in 1976.
Phil Howard is an Australian jazz drummer best known for his brief stint with the jazz-rock group Soft Machine. Howard arrived in London from his native Australia in 1969, joining the band Caparius led by saxophonist Clive Stevens, alongside guitarist Peter Martin and bassist Neville Whitehead. The band's final line-up, in 1971, replaced Martin with future Isotope guitarist/leader Gary Boyle and pianist Dave MacRae.
'68 is a compilation album by Robert Wyatt. It is composed of previously unreleased demos Wyatt recorded in 1968 at the end of a tour Soft Machine did with the Jimi Hendrix Experience in the United States. It was released by Cuneiform Records in 2013.
Burden of Proof is the sixth album by the Canterbury associated band Soft Machine Legacy and their third studio album, released on CD in March 2013. This was the last album to use the "Legacy" suffix before it was dropped in 2015. Soft Machine returned with Hidden Details in 2018 featuring the same line-up that recorded this album.
Hopper Tunity Box is a 1977 album by jazz/rock musician Hugh Hopper. Ex-Soft Machine bassist augments his rather infamous fuzz-bass attack by performing on guitar, recorders, soprano sax, and percussion. The album recorded in 1976 and re-released on CD by Culture Press in 1996 and Cuneiform Records in 2007, this outing features the bassist's fellow Soft Machine bandmate, saxophonist Elton Dean, along with others of note.
Hidden Details is the eleventh studio album by the jazz rock band Soft Machine, released in September 2018.
Steam is the fourth album by the Canterbury associated band Soft Machine Legacy and their second studio album, released on CD in 2007. This is the final Soft Machine project to feature bassist Hugh Hopper prior to his death in June 2009. He was replaced by Roy Babbington, Soft Machine member from 1973 to 1976. Babbington has previously replaced Hopper in Soft Machine-proper. Steam also marks the first appearance of Theo Travis in the group replacing Elton Dean who died in February 2006 at age 60.
