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Soft Machine

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This article is about the rock band. For the band's debut album, see The Soft Machine (Soft Machine album). For the William Burroughs novel, see The Soft Machine. For other uses, see The Soft Machine (disambiguation).

Soft Machine
Group photo circa 1970: l-r: Elton Dean, Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Hugh Hopper
Group photo circa 1970:
l-r: Elton Dean, Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Hugh Hopper
Background information
OriginCanterbury, England
Genres
Years active1966–1968,
1969–1978,
1980–1984,
2015–present

1978–1988[2] (as Soft Heap / Soft Head),
1999–2002 (as Soft Ware),
2002–2004 (as Soft Works),
2003 (as Soft Mountain),
2004 (as Soft Bounds),
2004–2015 (as Soft Machine Legacy)
LabelsABC Probe, Columbia, Harvest, EMI, Major League Productions (MLP)
MembersJohn Marshall
Roy Babbington
John Etheridge
Theo Travis
Past membersSee: Members
Websitesoftmachine.org

Soft Machine are an English rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966, currently consisting of John Marshall (drums), Roy Babbington (bass), John Etheridge (guitar), and Theo Travis (saxophone, flutes, keyboards). 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.[3] Their varying lineups have included prominent former members such as Mike Ratledge (organ, 1966–76), Robert Wyatt (drums & vocals, 1966–71), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar & vocals, 1966–68), and Hugh Hopper (bass, 1969–1973).

Though they achieved little commercial success, the Soft Machine are considered by critics to have been influential in rock music,[4][5][6] Dave Lynch at AllMusic called them "one of the more influential bands of their era, and certainly one of the most influential underground ones".[3] The group were named after the novel The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs.

History

Beginnings, psychedelic, jazz fusion (1966–68, 1969–1971)

Soft Machine (billed as The Soft Machine up to 1969 or 1970)[7] were formed in mid-1966 by Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals), Daevid Allen (guitar) and Mike Ratledge (organ) plus, for the first few gigs only, American guitarist Larry Nowlin.[8] Allen, Wyatt and future bassist Hugh Hopper first played together in the Daevid Allen Trio in 1963, occasionally accompanied by Ratledge. Wyatt, Ayers, and Hopper had been founding members of The Wilde Flowers, incarnations of which would include members of another Canterbury band, Caravan.

This first Soft Machine line-up became involved in the early UK underground, performing at the UFO Club and other London clubs like the Speakeasy Club and Middle Earth. Their first single, "Love Makes Sweet Music" (recorded 5 February 1967, produced by Chas Chandler), was released by Polydor in February, backed with "Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin'" (January 1967, produced by Kim Fowley). In April 1967 they recorded seven demo songs with producer Giorgio Gomelsky in De Lane Lea Studios that remained unreleased until 1971 in a dispute over studio costs.[9] They also played in the Netherlands, Germany, and on the French Riviera. During July and August 1967, Gomelsky booked shows along the Côte d'Azur with the band's most famous early gig taking place in the village square of Saint-Tropez. This led to an invitation to perform at producer Eddie Barclay's trendy "Nuit Psychédélique", performing a forty-minute rendering of "We Did It Again", singing the refrain over and over in a trance-like quality. This made them instant darlings of the Parisian "in" crowd, resulting in invitations to appear on television shows and at the Paris Biennale in October 1967. After their return from France, Allen (an Australian) was denied re-entry to the United Kingdom, so the group continued as a trio, while he returned to Paris to form Gong.

Sharing the same management as Jimi Hendrix, the band supported the Jimi Hendrix Experience's North America tour throughout 1968.[8] Soft Machine's first album was recorded in New York City in April at the end of the first leg of the tour. Back in London, guitarist Andy Summers, later of The Police, joined the group following the breakup of Dantalian's Chariot (previously Zoot Money's Big Roll Band). After a few weeks of rehearsals, the quartet began a tour of the U.S. with some solo shows before reuniting with Hendrix during August and September 1968. Summers was fired at the insistence of Ayers,[10] who departed amicably after the final tour date at the Hollywood Bowl in mid-September, and for the remainder of 1968 Soft Machine were no more. Wyatt stayed in the U.S. to record solo demos, while Ratledge returned to London and began composing in earnest. One of Wyatt's demos, Slow Walkin' Talk, allowed Wyatt to make use of his multi-instrumentalist skills (Hammond organ, piano, drums and vocals) and featured Hendrix on bass guitar.[11]

In December 1968, to fulfill contractual obligations, Soft Machine re-formed with former road manager and composer Hugh Hopper on bass added to Wyatt and Ratledge and recorded their second album, Volume Two (1969), which started a transition toward jazz fusion. In May 1969 this line-up acted as the uncredited backing band on two tracks of The Madcap Laughs, the debut album by Syd Barrett. In 1969 the trio was expanded to a septet with the addition of four horn players, though only saxophonist Elton Dean remained beyond a few months, the resulting Soft Machine quartet (Wyatt, Hopper, Ratledge and Dean) running through Third (1970) and Fourth (1971), with various guests, mostly jazz players (Lyn Dobson, Nick Evans, Mark Charig, Jimmy Hastings, Roy Babbington, Rab Spall). Fourth was the first of their fully instrumental albums and the last one featuring Wyatt.

Their propensity for building extended suites from regular sized compositions, both live and in the studio (already in the Ayers suite in their first album), reached its apogee in the 1970 album Third, unusual for its time with each of the four sides featuring one suite. Third was also unusual for remaining in print for more than ten years in the U.S., and is the best-selling Soft Machine recording.[12]

They received unprecedented acclaim across Europe, and they made history by becoming the first rock band invited to play at London's Proms in August 1970. The show was broadcast live on national TV and later appeared as a live album.

Post-Wyatt era (1971–72)

After differences over the group's musical direction, Wyatt left (or was fired from)[13] the band in August 1971 and formed Matching Mole (a pun on machine molle, French for soft machine; also said at the time to have been taken from stage lighting equipment "Matching Mole"). He was briefly replaced by Australian drummer Phil Howard. This line-up toured extensively in Europe during the end of 1971 (attested by the 2008 release, Drop) and attended the recording of their next album, but further musical disagreements led to Howard's dismissal after the recording of the first LP side of Fifth (1972) before the end of 1971 and some months later in 1972 to Dean's departure. They were replaced respectively in 1971 by John Marshall (drums) and in 1972 by Karl Jenkins (reeds, keyboards), both former members of Ian Carr's Nucleus, for the recording of Six (1973), and the band's sound developed even more towards jazz fusion.

Jenkins era part #1 (1972–78)

In 1973, after the release of Six, Hopper left and was replaced by Roy Babbington, another former Nucleus member, who had already contributed double bass on Fourth (1971) and Fifth (1972) and took up (6-string) bass guitar successfully, while Karl Jenkins took over as bandleader and composer. After they released Seven (1973) without additional musicians, the band switched record labels from Columbia to Harvest. On their 1975 album, Bundles, a significant musical change occurred with Allan Holdsworth adding guitar as a prominent melody instrument to the band's sound, sometimes reminiscent of John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, setting the album apart from previous Soft Machine albums which had rarely featured guitars. Holdsworth was replaced by John Etheridge for the next album Softs (1976). Ratledge, the last remaining original member of the band, had left during the early stages of recording. Other musicians in the band during the later period were bassists Percy Jones (of Brand X) and Steve Cook,[14] saxophonists Alan Wakeman and Ray Warleigh, and violinist Ric Sanders. Their 1977 performances and record (titled Alive and Well, ironically) were among the last for Soft Machine as a working band, their last performance (until the 1984 reformation) being the only Soft Machine concert of 1978.[15][nb 1]

Jenkins era part #2 (1980–81; 1984)

The Soft Machine name was used for the 1981 record Land of Cockayne (with Jack Bruce on bass and, again, Allan Holdsworth on guitar, plus Ray Warleigh and Dick Morrissey on saxes and John Taylor on electric piano), and for a final series of dates at London's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in the summer of 1984,[nb 2] featuring Jenkins and Marshall leading an ad hoc lineup of Etheridge, Warleigh, pianist Dave MacRae and bassist Paul Carmichael.

Alternative bands: Soft Heap / Soft Head, Soft Ware, Soft Mountain, Soft Works, Soft Bounds and Soft Machine Legacy (1978–2015)

Soft Machine having been a much loved band since their inception in the late 1960s and having always been at the cutting edge of many music genres (including the early progressive and psychedelic rock scene and then the burgeoning jazz rock and fusion scene), it was inevitable that former Soft Machine members would reconvene over the years, to continue on their legacy.[16]

Soft Heap / Soft Head (1978–1988)

The first such conception was the band Soft Heap, formed in January 1978, which featured Hugh Hopper and Elton Dean from Soft Machine, and Alan Gowen and Pip Pyle from the band National Health. The newly formed band soon toured in Spring/Summer 1978 as Soft Head as Dave Sheen replaced Pip Pyle due to the latter's commitments with the band National Health.[2] The live album Rogue Element was recorded on that tour and was released in 1978.

The original Soft Heap line-up reconvened in October 1978 to record their eponymous studio album Soft Heap which was released in 1979.

After 2 line-up changes that occurred in 1979–81, the new line-up toured intermittently throughout the 1980s, embarking on four tours during the decade with a total of 25 European concerts, culminating with a gig on 11 May 1988 at the Festival "Jazz sous les pommiers" in Coutances, France.[2]

Soft Ware (1999–2002), Soft Works (2002–04), Soft Mountain (2003) and Soft Bounds (2004)

The second such conception was the band Soft Ware, formed in September 1999, which featured Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper, John Marshall (on drums) and long-time friend Keith Tippett. This line-up would only remain together briefly. Then in 2002, another former Soft Machine member, Allan Holdsworth (on guitar), joined the remaining three members of Soft Ware who would rename themselves Soft Works[16] in June 2002.[15] They had changed their name to avoid confusion with Peter Mergener's band Software. As Soft Works, they made their world live debut on 17 August 2002 at the Progman Cometh Festival (at the Moore Theater in Seattle, Washington), released (on 29 July 2003)[17] their only (studio) album, Abracadabra, consisting of all new material recorded at the Eastcote Studios in London on 5–7 June 2002, and toured Japan in August 2003, Italy in January and February 2004, and Mexico in March 2004.[15]

During a Japanese Soft Works tour in August 2003, Elton Dean (on saxophone) and Hugh Hopper (on bass) formed the (very) short-lived band Soft Mountain along with Japanese musicians Hoppy Kamiyama (on keyboards) (who Hopper had met a couple of years earlier) and Yoshida Tatsuya (on drums). Indeed, looking for a break from relatively fixed setlists and song forms, Hugh Hopper had contacted Kamiyama with the idea of hitting a studio for a day to see what might happen. Kamiyama brought in Tatsuya, and, with no discussion, the quartet dove right in, playing two 45-minute improvisations. In 2007, a year after Elton Dean unexpectedly passed at the age of sixty, the one-time meeting band released their eponymous album Soft Mountain that they had recorded on that 10 August 2003 day in Tokyo, Japan.[18] The two-part "Soft Mountain Suite" extracts the best thirty minutes from each improvisation.[19] Soft Mountain named themselves after Hoppy Kamiyama, whose name translates into "God Mountain" in English.[18]

On the occasion of a unique concert that occurred on 17 June 2004 during the Festival "Les Tritonales" at Le Triton in Les Lilas, France[2] (a suburb in the North-East of Paris), Elton Dean and Hugh Hopper formed the (very) short-lived band Soft Bounds along with new comers Sophia Domancich (on piano & Fender Rhodes) and Simon Goubert (on drums). This concert was partially released as the (unique Soft Bounds) album Live at Le Triton in 2005.

Soft Machine Legacy (2004–2015)

In October 2004, a new variant of Soft Works, with John Etheridge permanently replacing Holdsworth, took the name of "Soft Machine Legacy" and performed their first two gigs (two Festival shows on 9 October in Turkey and 15 October in Czech Republic), Liam Genockey temporarily replacing John Marshall who had ligament problems (the first Soft Machine Legacy line-up being consequently: Elton Dean, John Etheridge, Hugh Hopper and Liam Genockey).[15] Later on, Soft Machine Legacy released three albums: Live in Zaandam[20] (2005), the studio album Soft Machine Legacy[20] (2006) recorded in September 2005 and featuring fresh material[16] and the album Live at the New Morning[21] (2006). After Elton Dean died in February 2006, the band continued with British saxophonist and flautist Theo Travis, formerly of Gong and The Tangent.

In December 2006, the new Legacy line-up recorded the album Steam[22][23][24] in Jon Hiseman's studio. Steam was released in August 2007 by Moonjune before a European tour.

Hopper left in 2008 because he was suffering from leukaemia, so the band continued live performances with Fred Baker. Following Hopper's death in 2009, the band announced that they would continue with Roy Babbington again replacing Hugh Hopper on bass.[25]

Soft Machine Legacy released their fifth album in October 2010: a 58-minute album entitled Live Adventures recorded live in October 2009 in Austria and Germany during a European tour.[26]

Founding Soft Machine bassist Kevin Ayers died in February 2013, aged 68,[27][28] while Daevid Allen died in March 2015 following a short battle with cancer, aged 77.[29][30]

On 18 March 2013, the Legacy band released a new studio album, titled Burden of Proof.[31] Travis stated that "legally we could actually be called Soft Machine but for various reasons it was decided to be one step removed."[32]

A return to the name "Soft Machine" (2015–present)

In September and October 2015, it was announced that the band Soft Machine Legacy (made of guitarist John Etheridge, drummer John Marshall, bass player Roy Babbington and sax, flute and keyboard player Theo Travis) would be performing under the name "Soft Machine" in late 2015 and early 2016: two shows in the Netherlands and Belgium in early December 2015[33][nb 3] and a series of seven UK shows in March–April 2016.[33][35][nb 4]

In December 2015, it was confirmed that the band had dropped the "Legacy" tag from their name, as the band featured three of the group's 1970s era members – John Etheridge, John Marshall and Roy Babbington – joined by Theo Travis on sax, flute and keyboard.[35]

On 7 September 2018, Soft Machine released Hidden Details, their first new studio album in five years (first album under "Soft Machine" moniker since 1981). In Fall and Winter 2018, they toured the world as part of their 50th anniversary celebration and in support of the new album, and the US in January and February 2019.[nb 5]

On 25 June 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Soft Machine among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[40]

On 20 March 2020, Soft Machine released Live at The Baked Potato (on Tonefloat Records), their first new original live album since decades. Recorded live at The Baked Potato, Los Angeles, CA on 1 February 2019 and only available as a twelve-track only-200-numbered-copie limited edition double vinyl LP, it documents their extensive 2018–2019 world tour.[41][42]

Style

Soft Machine's music has been described by critics and journalists as progressive rock,[3][28][43][44][45] experimental rock,[46][47] jazz rock,[48][49] jazz,[3][50] psychedelic rock[28] and art rock,[51] as well as being a part of the Canterbury scene of progressive rock.[3][45] According to Hugh Hopper, "We weren't consciously playing jazz rock, it was more a case of not wanting to sound like other bands; we certainly didn't want a guitarist."[52]

Members

Main article: List of Soft Machine and spin-off band members

Current members

  • Theo Travis – saxophones, flutes, keyboards, piano (2015–present; Soft Machine Legacy 2006–2015)
  • John Etheridge – guitar (1975–1978, 1984, 2015–present; Soft Machine Legacy 2004–2015)
  • Roy Babbington – bass (1973–1976, 2015–present; Soft Machine Legacy 2009–2015)
  • John Marshall – drums, percussion (1972–1978, 1980, 1984, 2015–present; spin-off bands 1999–2015)

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album Line-up Additional musicians
1968 The Soft Machine Ratledge, Wyatt, Ayers Hugh Hopper
1969 Volume Two Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper Brian Hopper
1970 Third Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Dean Lyn Dobson, Nick Evans, Jimmy Hastings, Rab Spall
1971 Fourth Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Dean Evans, Hastings, Mark Charig, Roy Babbington, Alan Skidmore
1972 Fifth Ratledge, Howard/Marshall, Hopper, Dean Babbington
1973 Six Ratledge, Marshall, Hopper, Jenkins
1973 Seven Ratledge, Marshall, Babbington, Jenkins
1975 Bundles Ratledge, Marshall, Babbington, Jenkins, Holdsworth Ray Warleigh
1976 Softs Jenkins, Marshall, Babbington, Wakeman, Etheridge Ratledge
1981 Land of Cockayne Jenkins, Marshall Holdsworth, Warleigh, Alan Parker, John Taylor, Jack Bruce, Dick Morrissey
2018 Hidden Details[53][54][55] Travis, Marshall, Babbington, Etheridge Nick Utteridge

Live albums

Year Album Released Line-up
September 1967 –
May 1968 		Middle Earth Masters 2006 Ratledge, Wyatt, Ayers
March 1969 Live at the Paradiso 1969 1996 Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper
November 1969 –
May 1970 		Backwards 2002 Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Dean, Dobson, Evans, Charig
January 1970 Noisette 2000 Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Dean, Dobson
January 1970 Breda Reactor 2005 Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Dean
April 1970 Somewhere in Soho 2004 Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Dean
April 1970 Facelift 2002 Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Dean
August 1970 Live at the Proms 1970 1988 Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Dean
October 1970 Grides 2006 Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Dean
February 1971 Live at Henie Onstad Art Centre 1971 2009 Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Dean
March 1971 Virtually 1998 Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Dean
March 1971 Soft Machine & Heavy Friends – BBC in Concert 1993 Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Dean
November 1971 Drop 2008 Ratledge, Hopper, Dean, Howard
May 1972 Live in Paris 2008 Ratledge, Hopper, Dean, Marshall
June 1972 Soft Stage – BBC in Concert 1972 1994 Ratledge, Hopper, Marshall, Jenkins
Nov–Dec 1972 Six (Disc 1) 1973 Ratledge, Hopper, Marshall, Jenkins
May 1973 NDR Jazz Workshop Hamburg, Germany 2010 Ratledge, Marshall, Jenkins, Babbington
July 1974 Switzerland 74 (CD + DVD) 2015 Ratledge, Marshall, Jenkins, Babbington, Holdsworth
January 1975 Floating World Live 2006 Ratledge, Marshall, Jenkins, Babbington, Holdsworth
October 1975 British Tour '75 2005 Ratledge, Marshall, Jenkins, Babbington, Etheridge
July 1977 Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris 1978 Marshall, Jenkins, Etheridge
February 2019 Live at The Baked Potato (recorded live at The Baked Potato, Los Angeles, CA on 1 February 2019 and released on 20 March 2020 – originally only available as a (twelve-track only-200-numbered-copie limited edition) double vinyl LP but as of 3 July 2020 it is available on CD – Tonefloat Records)[41][42] 2020 Marshall, Babbington, Etheridge, Travis

Compilation albums

Year Album Notes
1972 Jet Propelled Photographs 1967 demos with the original line-up
1977 Triple Echo A "best of" album, including their first single and material from all the studio albums up to Softs
1990 The Peel Sessions Recorded during 1969–71
1994 Rubber Riff Stock music composed by Jenkins, 1976
1996 Spaced Recorded in 1969, soundtrack for a work of artist Peter Dockley
2001 Turns On Volume 1 Lo-fi recordings from April to December 1967
2001 Turns On Volume 2 Lo-fi recordings from November 1967 to August 1968
2003 BBC Radio 1967–1971
2003 BBC Radio 1971–1974

Other minor releases

These albums were released by small labels, and most of their content is available on the main albums listed above.

Year Album Note
1972 Rock Generation Vol. 7 One side only, April 1967 De Lane Lea Studios demo recordings with Giorgio Gomelsky.
1972 Rock Generation Vol. 8 One 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.
1975 Soft Machine 1&2 (Architects of Space Time)
1990 The Untouchable Compilation from Bundles, Softs, and Alive and Well.
1991 As If... Curious (probably unauthorized) compilation with six Ratledge/Hopper compositions ranging from 1970 (Third) to 1973 (Six) in sparse order.
1994 Soft Machine Live At The Paradiso 1969 plus six tracks from Jet Propelled Photographs.
1995 The Best of Soft Machine – The Harvest Years – Anthology 1975–1978 Includes tracks from 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 boxed set.
1998 Live 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 7 contiguous tracks.
1999 Fourth / Fifth
2001 Turns On vol. 1 Includes tracks from the Middle Earth and Speakeasy clubs in London, recorded in 1967, including a low-quality remaster of "She's Gone" (2:37), recorded in June 1967, previously available only on Triple Echo (1977).
2001 Turns On vol. 2 Includes low-quality tracks from the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, 10 December 1967, the Middle Earth Club, 10 November 1967 and from the Col Ballroom, Davenport, Iowa, 11 August 1968.
2001 Man in a Deaf Corner Anthology 1963–1970; CD1 mainly with live pieces from 1963 to circa 1967, with tracks 7, 8, 9 also in Turns On vol. 1, resp. tr. 2-1-16; CD2 with tracks 1–10 recorded at the Paradiso, 29 March 1969 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, resp. tr. 1–2; tracks 13–16 recorded at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon on 26 April 1970 also in Facelift, resp. tr. 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).
2004 Six/Seven
2005 Out-Bloody-Rageous: An Anthology 1967–1973
2005 Orange Skin Food A 2-CD live 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.
2010 Original Album Classics Includes the whole Third, Fourth, Fifth, Six and Seven in the 2007 remaster.
2011 Tales of Taliesin: The EMI Years Anthology 1975–1981
2013 68 Credited 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 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.
2014 Tanglewood Tails (2 CDs), anthology; 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).
2014 Soft Machine Turns On (An early collection) (2 CDs) is a 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.
2014 Live in 1970 (4 CDs) is a reprint of two live concerts, CD1 and CD2 recorded at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club on 20–25 April 1970 (already in Somewhere in Soho, Voiceprint, 2004), CD3 and CD4 recorded at Het Turfschip, Breda, Netherlands on 31 January 1970 (already in Breda Reactor, Voiceprint, 2005).
2014 Live in the 70s (4 CDs) is a reprint of various live concerts, CD1 and the first four tracks on CD2 also issued as Live in Paris (Cuneiform, 2004), tracks 5–7 of CD2 also appear on Backwards (Cuneiform, 2002); Mark Charig is here wrongly mentioned as the trumpet player; CD3 was previously released as Noisette (Cuneiform, 2000) and CD4 was previously issued as Drop (Moonjune, 2008).
2015 Hugh Hopper - Volume 9: Anatomy of Facelift Five performances of "Facelift", 1969 through 1971.

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, 10–28, Live at Actuel Festival in Amougies, Belgium – excerpt
  • 1969, 10–6–27, Live at the Liverpool University – excerpt

The 1970s

1970

  • 1970, 01–04, Live at the Fairfield Halls, in 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 Workshop – Eamonn 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 – one of the last concerts with Elton Dean
  • 1972, 06–07, Live at King's Cross Cinema – this concert is arguably the first with Karl Jenkins
  • 1972, 12–03, Live at Fairfield Halls, Croydon, UK

1974

  • 1974, 03–11, Radio Interview with Mike Ratledge and Alan 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

Year Album Soft Machine members involved
The Wilde Flowers
1965–69 The Wilde Flowers (released in 1994) Ayers, Hopper, Wyatt
Planet Earth
1978 Planet Earth Ratledge, Jenkins
Soft Head
1978 Rogue Element Hopper, Dean
Soft Heap
1979 Soft Heap Hopper, Dean
1979 Al Dente (released in 2008) Hopper, Dean
1982-83 A Veritable Centaur (released in 1995) Dean
Rubba
1979 Push Button Ratledge, Jenkins
2nd Vision
1980 First Steps Etheridge, Sanders
Rollercoaster
1980 Wonderin' Ratledge, Jenkins
Soft Works
2002 Abracadabra (released in 2003) Hopper, Dean, Holdsworth, Marshall
Soft Mountain
2003 Soft Mountain (released in 2007) Hopper, Dean
Soft Bounds
2004 Live at Le Triton (released in 2005) Hopper, Dean
Soft Machine Legacy
2005 Live In Zaandam Hopper, Dean, Etheridge, Marshall
2006 Soft Machine Legacy Hopper, Dean, Etheridge, Marshall
2006 Live at the New Morning Hopper, Dean, Etheridge, Marshall
2007 Steam Hopper, Travis, Etheridge, Marshall
2010 Live Adventures Babbington, Travis, Etheridge, Marshall
2013 Burden of Proof Babbington, Travis, Etheridge, Marshall
Delta Saxophone Quartet
2007 Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening: The Music Of Soft Machine Hopper (as a guest on some tracks)

Filmography

  • Soft Machine Legacy: New Morning - The Paris Concert, available in DVD format (2006)
  • Alive in Paris 1970, available in DVD format (2008)
  • Romantic Warriors III: Canterbury Tales, available in DVD format (2015)

Notes

  1. ^ On 8 December 1978 at the Sound & Musik Festival in Dortmund, Germany; the then probable line-up being: Karl Jenkins, John Marshall, Ric Sanders, Steve Cook and Allan Holdsworth.[15]
  2. ^ A week of gigs from 30 July to 4 August 1984.[15]
  3. ^ On 2 December 2015 at Cultuurpodium Boerderij in Zoetermeer, Netherlands[34] and on 4 December 2015 at N9 Villa in Eeklo, Belgium.[33]
  4. ^ On 18 March 2016[36] as part of the HRH Prog 4 Festival (scheduled from 17 to 20 March) at Camp HRH (Hafan y Môr Holiday Park), Pwllheli, North Wales, UK,[37] on 19 March at the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, UK, on 20 March at the Bristol Jazz Festival, Bristol, UK (once scheduled then cancelled and rescheduled for 16 November 2016 at The Robin 2, Wolverhampton, UK), on 24 March 2016 at the Talking Heads in Southampton, UK, on 26 March 2016 at Trading Boundaries, Sheffield Green, East Sussex, UK, on 30 March at the Assembly Rooms, Leamington Spa, UK, on 31 March 2016 at the Band on the Wall in Manchester, UK, on 1 April 2016 at Nell's Jazz & Blues Club in London, UK.[33]
  5. ^ .Soft Machine embarked on 6 September 2018 in Oslo, Norway on a world tour starting with a 10-date Europe leg (ended on 19 September 2018 in Jena, Germany); followed on 6 October in Baltimore by a 12-date North-American leg – their first North American tour since 1974 (ended on 23 October in Saint Paul, Minnesota); followed on 3 November in Canterbury by an 11-date second European leg (ended on 16 December 2018 in Bonn, Germany); and embarked on 21 January 2019 on a 14-date second North-American leg (ended by a 5-date residency from 4 to 8 February 2019 at Key West, Florida through Cozumel, Mexico at the Cruise To The Edge festival).[38][39]

References

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Further reading

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