The Soft Machine (Soft Machine album)

The Soft Machine
The Soft Machine
Studio album by The Soft Machine
Released	December 1968
Recorded	April 1968 at Record Plant Studios, New York City
Genre	Psychedelic rock; jazz rock; Canterbury Scene;
Length	41:30
Label	USA: ABC Probe CPLP 4500; France: Barclay
Producer	Chas Chandler, Tom Wilson
The Soft Machine chronology
Singles from The Soft Machine
	"Joy of a Toy" b/w "Why Are We Sleeping?"; Released: November 1968;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]

The Soft Machine (also titled Volume One as a reissue) 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.

Overview[]

Founded in 1966, Soft Machine (one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene) recorded and released this studio album during their 1968 tour of the USA.^{[citation needed]} It was produced by Chas Chandler and Tom Wilson.

The work on this album was one of the essential roots in progressive rock and jazz-fusion.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing[]

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Hope for Happiness"	Kevin Ayers Mike Ratledge Brian Hopper	4:21
2.	"Joy of a Toy"	Ayers Ratledge	2:49
3.	"Hope for Happiness (Reprise)"	Ayers Ratledge B. Hopper	1:38
4.	"Why Am I So Short?"	Ratledge Ayers Hugh Hopper	1:39
5.	"So Boot If At All"	Ayers Ratledge Robert Wyatt	7:25
6.	"A Certain Kind"	H. Hopper	4:11

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"Save Yourself"	Wyatt	2:26
8.	"Priscilla"	Ayers Ratledge Wyatt	1:03
9.	"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

The 2009 Remastered Edition includes "Love Makes Sweet Music" and "Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin'" (bonus tracks), which were-respectively-Side A and Side B of their first single, issued in 1967.

Personnel[]

Soft Machine

Mike Ratledge – Lowrey Holiday De Luxe organ, piano (on 13)
Kevin Ayers – bass, lead vocals (on 10), spoken word (on 12) backing vocals (on 7 and 9), piano (on 5)
Robert Wyatt – drums, lead vocals

Future Soft Machine personnel

Hugh Hopper – bass (on 13)

Additional personnel

The Cake – backing vocals (on 12)

Sales chart performance[]

Year	Chart	Position
1969	Billboard 200	160 ^[3]

References[]

^ Lynch, Dave. "Soft Machine | Biography & History |". AllMusic.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Bush, John. "The Soft Machine - The Soft Machine (1968) album review, credits & releases | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
^ Soft Machine charts. AllMusic.

External links[]

[1] Lynch, Dave. "Soft Machine | Biography & History |". AllMusic.

[AllMusic-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b Bush, John. "The Soft Machine - The Soft Machine (1968) album review, credits & releases | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 25 July 2011.

[3] Soft Machine charts. AllMusic.

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hide v t Soft Machine
John Marshall Roy Babbington John Etheridge Theo Travis Daevid Allen Mike Ratledge Robert Wyatt Kevin Ayers Larry Nowlin Andy Summers Hugh Hopper Elton Dean Lyn Dobson Mark Charig Nick Evans Phil Howard Karl Jenkins Allan Holdsworth Alan Wakeman Ray Warleigh Percy Jones Ric Sanders Steve Cook Paul Carmichael Dave MacRae
Studio albums	The Soft Machine (1968) Volume Two (1969) Third (1970) Fourth (1971) Fifth (1972) Six (1973) Seven (1973) Bundles (1975) Softs (1976) Land of Cockayne (1981) Hidden Details (2018)
Soft Machine Legacy albums	Abracadabra (as Soft Works) (2003) Soft Machine Legacy (2006) Steam (2007) Burden of Proof (2013)
Singles	"Love Makes Sweet Music" (1967) "Joy of a Toy" (1968)
Live albums	Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris (1978) Live at the Proms 1970 (1988)
Related articles	Canterbury scene The Wilde Flowers Soft Heap