Vols. 1 & 2

by Soft Machine

Overview

A combination of their first two studio albums onto one CD. Their first (originally titled The Soft Machine, from 1968), recorded with the trio of Wyatt, Ratledge, and Ayers, combines goofy humor, psychedelia, and some free jazz into an erratic but invigorating brew that was comparable to little else in the late-'60s rock world. Ayers had left to be replaced by Hugh Hopper for 1969's Volume Two, which took a definite spin toward jazz and increasingly surrealistic material, stringing together whimsical bits and pieces for side-long suites. Not as pop-oriented as their initial 1967 recordings or as jazz-oriented as their final albums with Wyatt, the material compiled here is perhaps the best representation of the Soft Machine's accomplishments. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	11/27/1995
Label:	Big Beat Records
UPC:	0029667492027
Rank:	54189

Tracks

1. Hope for Happiness
2. Joy of a Toy
3. Hope for Happiness (Reprise)
4. Why Am I So Short?
5. So Boot If at All
6. A Certain Kind
7. Save Yourself
8. Priscilla
9. Lullabye Letter
10. We Did It Again
11. Plus Belle Qu'une Poubelle
12. Why Are We Sleeping?
13. Box 25/4 Lid
14. Pataphysical Introduction, Pt. 1
15. A Concise British Alphabet, Pt. 1
16. Hibou, Anemone and Bear
17. A Concise British Alphabet, Pt. 2
18. Hulloder
19. Dada Was Here
20. Thank You Pierrot Lunaire
21. Have You Ever Bean Green?
22. Pataphysical Introduction, Pt. 2
23. Out of Tunes
24. As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still
25. Dedicated to You But You Weren't Listening
26. Fire Engine Passing With Bells Clanging
27. Pig
28. Orange Skin Food
29. A Door Opens and Closes
30. 10:30 Returns to the Bedroom

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Soft Machine   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Henry Epstein   Original Sleeve Design
Kevin Ayers   Composer
Chas Chandler   Producer
Sarah Durkee   Composer
Hugh Hopper   Composer
Robert Wyatt   Arranger,Composer
Mike Ratledge   Composer
Phil Smee   Package Remix
Brian Hopper   Composer
Soft Machine   Producer
Tom Wilson   Producer
Mike Jeffery   Executive Producer
Arnold Shaw   Liner Notes
Eli Aliman   Original Sleeve Design
Paul Jacobs   Composer
Beth Nielsen Chapman   Composer