Soft Machine
Soft Machine | |
|---|---|
 Group photo circa 1970: l-r: Elton Dean, Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Hugh Hopper | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Canterbury, England |
| Genres |
|
| Years active | 1966–1968, 1969–1978, 1980–1984, 2015–present 1978–1983 (as Soft Head/p), 1999–2002 (as Soft Ware), 2002–2004 (as Soft Works), 2004–2015 (as Soft Machine Legacy) |
| Labels | ABC Probe, Columbia, Harvest, EMI, Major League Productions (MLP) |
| Associated acts | The Wilde Flowers, Nucleus, Soft Heap, Soft Bounds, Soft Works, Soft Machine Legacy |
| Members | John Marshall Roy Babbington John Etheridge Theo Travis |
| Past members | See: Members |
Soft Machine are an English rock and jazz band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966, named after the novel The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene. Though they achieved little commercial success, they are considered by critics to have been influential in rock music,[2][3][4] Dave Lynch at AllMusic called them "one of the more influential bands of their era, and certainly one of the most influential underground ones."[5]
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Contents
1 History
1.1 Beginnings, psychedelic, jazz fusion (1966–68, 1969–71)
1.2 Post-Wyatt era (1971–72)
1.3 Jenkins era part #1 (1972–78)
1.4 Jenkins era part #2 (1980–81; 1984)
1.5 Alternative bands: Soft Ware, Soft Works and Soft Machine Legacy (1999–2015)
1.5.1 Soft Ware (1999–2002) and Soft Works (2002–04)
1.5.2 Soft Machine Legacy (2004–15)
1.6 A return to the name "Soft Machine" (2015–2018)
2 Style
3 Personnel
3.1 Members
3.1.1 Soft Machine
3.1.2 Soft Ware
3.1.3 Soft Works
3.1.4 Soft Machine Legacy
3.2 Timeline
3.3 Soft Machine line-ups
4 Discography
4.1 Studio albums
4.2 Live albums
4.3 Compilation albums
4.4 Other minor releases
4.5 Singles
4.6 Bootlegs
4.6.1 The 1960s
4.6.2 The 1970s
5 Related bands, projects and tributes
5.1 Discography
6 Filmography
7 Notes
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links
History
Beginnings, psychedelic, jazz fusion (1966–68, 1969–71)
Soft Machine (billed as The Soft Machine up to 1969 or 1970[6]) 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.[7] 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.[8] 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 [fr]", 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.[7] 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,[9] 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.[10]
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, 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.[11]
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[12]) 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 "Drop" 2008 release) 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 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 and Fifth 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. On the last official studio album Softs (1976), Holdsworth was replaced by John Etheridge. 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,[13] 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.[14][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 and, again, Allan Holdsworth, 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 Ware, Soft Works and Soft Machine Legacy (1999–2015)
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.[15]
Soft Ware (1999–2002) and Soft Works (2002–04)
The first such conception in September 1999 was Soft Ware which featured Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper, John Marshall and long-time friend Keith Tippett. This line-up would only remain together briefly. Then in 2002, another former Soft Machine member, Allan Holdsworth, joins the remaining three members of Soft Ware who would rename themselves Soft Works[15] in June 2002.[14] 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[16]) 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.[14]
Soft Machine Legacy (2004–15)
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).[14] Later on, Soft Machine Legacy released three albums: Live in Zaandam[17] (2005), the studio album Soft Machine Legacy[17] (2006) recorded in September 2005 and featuring fresh material[15] and the album Live at the New Morning[18] (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[19][20][21] in Jon Hiseman's studio. Steam was released in August 2007 by Moonjune before a European tour. In 2008, Hopper had to quit due to leukemia, but the band continued live performances with Fred Baker.
Following Hopper's death in 2009, the band announced that they would continue with Babbington again replacing Hopper.[22]
On 4 October 2010, Soft Machine Legacy released their fifth album, a 58-minute new live album entitled Live Adventures recorded live on 22 October 2009 in Austria and Germany during a European tour.[23]
In February 2013, founding Soft Machine bassist Kevin Ayers died, aged 68.[24][25] On 13 March 2015, following a short battle with cancer, Ayers' fellow Soft Machine co-founder Daevid Allen died, aged 77.[26][27]
On 18 March 2013, the Legacy band released a new studio album, titled Burden of Proof.[28] In an early 2013 interview, Travis stated that, "legally we could actually be called Soft Machine but for various reasons it was decided to be one step removed."[29]
On 11 February 2015, Soft Machine Legacy gave one show at The Y Theatre, Leicester, UK.[30]
In March 2015, Gary Husband stepped in for drummer John Stanley Marshall performing with the Legacy for a short tour of Japan,[nb 3] along with guest artist and long-time friend Keith Tippett.
Later on, Soft Machine Legacy performed a few shows in Spring and Summer 2015.[nb 4]
A return to the name "Soft Machine" (2015–2018)
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[34][nb 5] and a series of seven UK shows in March–April 2016.[34][36][nb 6]
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.[36]
At least at one Spring 2016 show (on 26 March in Sheffield Green, East Sussex, UK), Nic France (from Theo Travis's band Double Talk[39]) deputised for John Marshall on drums and percussion.
On 4 September 2016 Soft Machine took part in the "2 Days Prog + 1" Prog Festival at Piazzetta della Musica in Veruno, Province of Novara, Italy.
In early 2016 a series of six other UK shows were scheduled for November 2016.[nb 7] Later on, two more UK shows were added for November 2016.[30][nb 8]
In Fall and Winter 2018, Soft Machine toured the world as part of a 50th anniversary celebration, and in support of their new recording Hidden Details that will continue until February 2019.[nb 9]
Style
Soft Machine's music has been described by critics and journalists as progressive rock,[5][25][43][44][45]experimental rock,[46][47]jazz rock,[48][49]jazz[5][50] and psychedelic rock,[25] as well as being a part of the Canterbury scene of progressive rock.[5][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."[51]
Personnel
Members
Soft Machine
Current members
| Guest/Substitute musicians
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Former members
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Soft Ware
- Hugh Hopper – bass, saxophone, guitar (1999–2002; died 2009)
- Elton Dean – saxophone, keyboards (1999–2002; died 2006)
- John Marshall – drums, percussion (1999–2002)
- Keith Tippett – keyboards (1999–2002)[14]
Soft Works
- Hugh Hopper – bass, saxophone, guitar (2002–2004; died 2009)
- Elton Dean – saxophone, keyboards (2002–2004; died 2006)
- John Marshall – drums, percussion (2002–2004)
- Allan Holdsworth – guitar (2002–2004; died 2017) [14]
Soft Machine Legacy
Members[14]
| Guest/Substitute musicians
|
Timeline
Soft Machine line-ups
| 1966 | 1966–1967 | 1967–1968 | 1968 |
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| 1968 | 1968–1969 | 1969 | 1969 |
| Disbanded |
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| 1969–1970 | 1970–1971 | 1971 | 1971–1972 |
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| 1972–1973 | 1973 | 1973–1975 | 1975–1976 |
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| 1976 | 1976 | 1976–1977 | 1977–1978 |
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| 1980–1981 | 1984 | 1984-2015 | 2015–present |
As additional personnel:
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| Disbanded |
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Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Line-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | The Soft Machine | Ratledge, Ayers, Wyatt |
| 1969 | Volume Two | Ratledge, Hopper, Wyatt |
| 1970 | Third | Ratledge, Dean, Hopper, Wyatt |
| 1971 | Fourth | Ratledge, Dean, Hopper, Wyatt |
| 1972 | Fifth | Ratledge, Dean, Hopper, Howard/Marshall |
| 1973 | Six | Ratledge, Jenkins, Hopper, Marshall |
| 1973 | Seven | Ratledge, Jenkins, Babbington, Marshall |
| 1975 | Bundles | Ratledge, Jenkins, Holdsworth, Babbington, Marshall |
| 1976 | Softs | Jenkins, Wakeman, Etheridge, Babbington, Marshall |
| 1981 | Land of Cockayne | Jenkins, Marshall |
| 2018 | Hidden Details[52][53][54] | Marshall, Babbington, Etheridge, Travis |
Live albums
| Year | Album | Released | Line-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 1967 – May 1968 | Middle Earth Masters | 2006 | Ratledge, Ayers, Wyatt |
| March 1969 | Live at the Paradiso 1969 | 1996 | Ratledge, Hopper, Wyatt |
| November 1969/May 1970 | Backwards | 2002 | Ratledge, Hopper, Wyatt, Dean, Dobson, Evans, Charig |
| January 1970 | Noisette | 2000 | Ratledge, Dean, Dobson, Hopper, Wyatt |
| January 1970 | Breda Reactor | 2005 | Ratledge, Dean, Hopper, Wyatt |
| April 1970 | Somewhere in Soho | 2004 | Ratledge, Dean, Hopper, Wyatt |
| April 1970 | Facelift | 2002 | Ratledge, Dean, Hopper, Wyatt |
| August 1970 | Live at the Proms 1970 | 1988 | Ratledge, Dean, Hopper, Wyatt |
| October 1970 | Grides | 2006 | Ratledge, Dean, Hopper, Wyatt |
| February 1971 | Live at Henie Onstad Art Centre 1971 | 2009 | Ratledge, Dean, Hopper, Wyatt |
| March 1971 | Virtually | 1998 | Ratledge, Dean, Hopper, Wyatt |
| March 1971 | Soft Machine & Heavy Friends – BBC in Concert | 1993 | Ratledge, Dean, Hopper, Wyatt |
| November 1971 | Drop | 2008 | Ratledge, Dean, Hopper, Howard |
| May 1972 | Live in Paris | 2008 | Ratledge, Dean, Hopper, Marshall |
| June 1972 | Soft Stage – BBC in Concert 1972 | 1994 | Ratledge, Jenkins, Hopper, Marshall |
| Nov-Dec 1972 | Six (Disc 1) | 1973 | Ratledge, Jenkins, Hopper,Marshall |
| May 1973 | NDR Jazz Workshop Hamburg, Germany | 2010 | Ratledge, Jenkins, Babbington, Marshall |
| July 1974 | Switzerland 74 (CD + DVD) | 2015 | Ratledge, Jenkins, Holdsworth, Babbington, Marshall |
| January 1975 | Floating World Live | 2006 | Ratledge, Jenkins, Holdsworth, Babbington, Marshall |
| October 1975 | British Tour '75 | 2005 | Ratledge, Jenkins, Etheridge, Babbington, Marshall |
| July 1977 | Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris | 1978 | Jenkins, Etheridge,Marshall |
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.s 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 minutes, 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 (circa 32 min. out of 40); 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
- 1967: "Love Makes Sweet Music/Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin'" [UK/NL]
- 1968: "Joy of a Toy/Why Are We Sleeping?" [US/JPN]
- 1978: "Soft Space (Part 1)/(Part 2)" [UK/Europe]
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 January 11 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 Sept. 25), 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
- 1975, 01–16, Live in Stuttgart, Germany
- 1975, 08–17, Live at the Théâtre antique d'Orange, Orange Festival in France
- 1975, 08–24, Live at the Reading Festival, UK
- 1975, 08–29, Live in Vienna
- 1975, 11–26, Live at the Cinéma Variétés in Marseille, France
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
Related bands, projects and tributes
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 | 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 | Hopper, Dean, Holdsworth, Marshall | ||||||||
| Soft Mountain | ||||||||||
| 2003 | Soft Mountain | Hopper, Dean | ||||||||
| Soft Bounds | ||||||||||
| 2004 | Live at Le Triton | 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, Etheridge, Marshall | ||||||||
| 2010 | Live Adventures | Etheridge, Babbington, Marshall | ||||||||
| 2013 | Burden of Proof | Etheridge, Travis, Babbington, 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
^ 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.[14]
^ A week of gigs from 30 July to 4 August 1984.[14]
^ The Soft Machine Legacy March 2015 Japan tour included three shows: on 24 and 26 March 2015 in Osaka]and on 27 March 2015 in Tokyo.[31]
^ On 10 May 2015 (with Keith Tippett) in Vicenza Italy, on 9 June at The Stables, Wavendon, Milton Keynes, on 16 June at the Robin2, Bilston, Wolverhampton, UK, on 9 August 2015 (with Keith Tippett) at Ronnie Scott's Club, London[32][33] and on 12, 13 & 14 August 2015 as part of Jazz na Fábrica 2015 at SESC Pompéia in São Paulo, Brazil.[30]
^ On 2 December 2015 at Cultuurpodium Boerderij in Zoetermeer, Netherlands[35] and on 4 December 2015 at N9 Villa in Eeklo, Belgium.[34]
^ On 18 March 2016[37] 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,[38] 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.[34]
^ On 15 November 2016 at The Stables, Milton Keynes, on 16 November 2016 at The Robin 2, Wolverhampton, UK (as a rescheduling of the cancelled show on 20 March 2016 at The Robin in Bilston, UK.,[40] on 20 November 2016 at Holmfirth Picturedrome, Holmfirth, Yorkshire on 24 November 2016 at The Borderline, Soho, London, on 25 November 2016 at The Flowerpot, Derby and on 27 November 2016 at The Talking Heads, Southampton.
^ On 17 November 2016 at Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne, Dorset and on 30 November 2016 at The Stage, Basingstoke.
^ .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 a 11-date second European leg (ended on 16 December 2018 in Bonn, Germany); and will embark on 21 January 2019 on a 14-date second North-American leg (due to include a 5-date residency from 4 to 8 February 2019 at Key West, Florida through Cozumel, Mexico at The Cruise To The Edge festival).[41][42]
References
^ Greene, Doyle (2016). Rock, Counterculture and the Avant-Garde, 1966–1970: How the Beatles, Frank Zappa and the Velvet Underground Defined an Era. McFarland. p. 182. ISBN 978-1-4766-2403-7..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ Jones, Mikey IQ (24 March 2015). "A beginner's guide to Daevid Allen". FACT. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
^ Keepnews, Peter (16 March 2015). "Daevid Allen, Guitarist and Singer in Progressive Rock, Dies at 77". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
^ Lynch, Joe (13 March 2015). "Soft Machine & Gong Co-Founder Daevid Allen Dead at 77". Billboard. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
^ abcd Lynch, Dave. "Soft Machine". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
^ "Prom 26, Thursday 13 August at 10". BBC Proms Prospectus. 1970.
^ ab "Soft Machine-Chronology". Canterbury Music website. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
^ "Jet Propelled Photographs" liner notes
^ Summers, Andy. One Train Later; Thomas Dunne Books; 2006;
ISBN 0-312-35914-4
^ "The Soft Machine years with Robert Wyatt singing & drumming (1967-1969)". Hulloder, The Netherlands. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
^ "Cosmik Debris Magazine Presents: The 21st Century Be-Bop Of Soft Works; an interview of Hugh Hopper – May 2003". Cosmik.com. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
^ Unterberger, Richie: 1996 Robert Wyatt interview at Perfect Sound Forever (online music magazine)
^ "Steve Cook". The Canterbury Music website. 1948-08-04. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
^ abcdefghijkl "Chronology 1973-". Canterbury Music website. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
^ abc "Soft Machine Legacy biography". progarchives.com. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
^ "Soft Works – Abracadabra (review by Glenn Astarita)". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
^ ab "Live in Zaandam – Soft Machine Legacy | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. 2005-05-10. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
^ "Live at the New Morning". AllMusic. 2006-07-01. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
^ Lynch, Dave. "Steam – Soft Machine Legacy | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
^ "Soft Machine Legacy: Steam". Allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
^ "Soft Machine Legacy: Steam". Allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
^ "Soft Machine Legacy". John Etheridge. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
^ "Soft Machine Legacy – Live Adventures (AllMusic Review by Alex Henderson)". All Music. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
^ "Kevin Ayers Has Died | News | Clash Magazine". Clashmusic.com. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
^ abc "R.I.P. Daevid Allen, founder of Gong and Soft Machine, has died" by Ben Kaye, Consequence of Sound, 13 March 2015
^ "Gong founder Daevid Allen has died, aged 77", The Guardian, 13 March 2015
^ "R.I.P. Daevid Allen Of Soft Machine and Gong 1938-2015" by Paul Cashmere, Noise 11, 13 March 2015
^ "New Soft Machine Legacy album out now". Weirdo Music website. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
^ "Soft Machine Legacy" in Cherry Red Records My Favourite Flavour magazine; issue #28; June 2013; p. 11
^ abc "Live dates 2015: Soft Machine Legacy". JohnEtheridge.com. 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
^ "Gary Husband: Soft Machine Legacy - Japan Tour dates". thunderdrummer.com. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
^ "John Etheridge, Roy Babbington and John Marshall will play Ronnie Scott's in August". teamrock.com. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
^ "Sold Out - John Etheridge, John Marshall, Roy Babbington, Theo Travis - The Soft Machine Legacy + Keith Tippett". ronniescotts.co.uk. 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
^ abcd "Soft Machine - 2015-2016 tour dates: 4 concerts". songkick. 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
^ "Soft Machine – Tour Dates 2015-2016". bandsintown.com. 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
^ ab "Soft Machine line up 8 UK dates for 2016 – Tour takes in HRH Prog 4 plus 7 shows in England (by Stef Lach)". teamrock.com. 1 December 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
^ "HRH Prog 4 Festival 2016 2016 (Line-up: Friday Line-Up". hrhprog.com. 2015. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
^ "HRH Prog 4 Festival 2016 2016 (Line-up: Soft Machine, Caravan, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Curved Air...)". songkick.com. 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
^ "Theo Travis' Double Talk: Transgression (by Roger Farbey)". Allaboutjazz.com. 1 August 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
^ "Soft Machine on Wed 16th Nov 2016 at 8:30pm @ The Robin 2, Wolverhampton". ents24.com. October 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
^ "Theo Travis / Soft Machine Gigs / Upcoming Events". theotravis.com. October 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
^ "John Etheridge / Events". john-etheridge.com. October 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
^ Macan, Edward. Rocking the Classics: English Progressive Rock and the Counterculture; Oxford University Press; 1 edition 9 January 1997;
ISBN 978-0195098884
^ Holm-Hudson, Kevin (editor).Progressive Rock Reconsidered ; Routledge; 21 October 2001;
ISBN 978-0815337157
^ ab "A guide to the best (and a bit of the worst) of prog rock" by Jason Heller, The A.V. Club, 7 June 2012
^ Hegarty, Paul. Beyond and Before: Progressive Rock since the 1960s; Bloomsbury Academic; 23 June 2011;
ISBN 978-0826423320; p.105
^ Blake, Andrew. The Land Without Music: Music, culture and society in twentieth-century Britain; Manchester University Press, 15 February 1998;
ISBN 978-0719042997; p.151
^ "Jazz » Fusion » Jazz-Rock", AllMusic
^ Rupprecht, Philip. British Musical Modernism: The Manchester Group and their Contemporaries; Cambridge University Press; 18 August 2015;
ISBN 978-0521844482; p.425
^ "Gong, Soft Machine Founder Daevid Allen Dead at 77" byDaniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 13 March 2015
^ Irvin, Jim. The MOJO Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion; Canongate Books Ltd; 4th edition: 1 November 2007;
ISBN 978-1841959733; p.208
^ Joe Banks (September 2018). "Soft Machine - Hidden Details (review)". Shindig!.
^ Brian Morton (October 2018). "Soft Machine - Hidden Details (review)". The Wire.
^ "Soft Machine - Hidden Details (info and reviews)". Prog Archives. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
Further reading
- Bennett, Graham. Soft Machine: Out-Bloody-Rageous; London: SAF Publishing; 2005;
ISBN 0-946719-84-5; Revised and updated edition: 2014;
ISBN 978-90-822792-0-7
External links
Soft Machine Official Website
Soft Machine section at the Canterbury Music website
Une discographie de Robert Wyatt (in French)
Soft Machine discography (archived)
Facelift Magazine, "exploring the Canterbury scene and beyond"
Softs in "The (almost) authorised Robert Wyatt website"
Elton Dean interview in Facelift Magazine
Noisette, "The ultimate Soft Machine experience, music, pictures, movies, facts"
Soft Machine at The Prog Archives Project website
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