The Soft Machine* – The Soft Machine
Label: |
ABC Records – LP-4500 |
|---|---|
Format: |
|
Country: |
US |
Released: |
|
Genre: |
Rock |
Style: |
Experimental |
Tracklist
| A1 | Hope For Happiness | 4:20 | |
| A2 | Joy Of A Toy | 2:49 | |
| A3 | Hope For Happiness (Reprise) | 1:37 | |
| A4 | Why Am I So Short? | 1:38 | |
| A5 | So Boot If At All | 7:22 | |
| A6 | A Certain Kind | 4:10 | |
| B1 | Save Yourself | 2:25 | |
| B2 | Priscilla | 1:05 | |
| B3 | Lullabye Letter | 4:37 | |
| B4 | We Did It Again | 3:46 | |
| B5 | Plus Belle Qu'une Poubelle | 1:01 | |
| B6 | Why Are We Sleeping? | 5:31 | |
| B7 | Box 25/4 Lid | 0:47 |
Companies, etc.
- Manufactured By – Grand Award Record Co., Inc.
- Mastered At – Longwear Plating
- Record Company – ABC Records, Inc.
- Published By – Amm Jay Music Inc.
Credits
- Bass Guitar [Uncredited] – Kevin Ayers
- Design [Cover Design] – Henry Epstein
- Drums – Robert Wyatt
- Lead Guitar – Kevin Ayres*
- Liner Notes – Arnold Shaw
- Mastered By – P17*
- Organ – Michael Ratledge*
- Producer – Tom Wilson (2)
Notes
First issue sleeve with a circular die-cut in sleeve, revealing rotating 'clockwork' card insert through which the band be viewed on a full-color backing sheet. Uncensored images of a nude girl on the inside and back of the gatefold and under the clock insert. (An added "bikini bottom" was used to censor these images on the second US version of this album, cat suffix 'X').
Labels: Track timings on labels differ to those on inside sleeve. On the labels the side indications are 'Side 1' and 'Side 2'. First catalog number on spine and cover, second on label.
"Manufactured by" information is taken from label rim-text but there are no known pressing-plant marks on this version of the release. An otherwise identical version exists with 'TƧM' added to the runouts (True Sound Manufacturing Corp..
Plated at Longwear Plating.
"Mfg. by Grand Award Record Co., Inc., a subsidiary of ABC Records Inc. 1330 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10019".
'Command/Probe' appears on the spine while the labels and front cover show 'Command/ABC Records/Probe.'
"...Selections published by Amm Jay Music Inc. - BMI".
Kevin Ayers is credited with "Lead Guitar", but actually mostly plays Bass Guitar on this release.
Labels: Track timings on labels differ to those on inside sleeve. On the labels the side indications are 'Side 1' and 'Side 2'. First catalog number on spine and cover, second on label.
"Manufactured by" information is taken from label rim-text but there are no known pressing-plant marks on this version of the release. An otherwise identical version exists with 'TƧM' added to the runouts (True Sound Manufacturing Corp..
Plated at Longwear Plating.
"Mfg. by Grand Award Record Co., Inc., a subsidiary of ABC Records Inc. 1330 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10019".
'Command/Probe' appears on the spine while the labels and front cover show 'Command/ABC Records/Probe.'
"...Selections published by Amm Jay Music Inc. - BMI".
Kevin Ayers is credited with "Lead Guitar", but actually mostly plays Bass Guitar on this release.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
- Matrix / Runout (A-side label): LP-4500-A
- Matrix / Runout (B-side label): LP-4500-B
- Matrix / Runout (A-side runout, etched, variant 1): LP- 4500 AS - 2LW P17 LW[sideways]
- Matrix / Runout (B-side runout, etched, variant 1): LP- 4500 B - SB - 2SS LW[sideways]
Other Versions (5 of 59)
View All| Title (Format) | Label | Cat# | Country | Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Recently Edited
|
The Soft Machine (LP, Album, Monarch, Gatefold Die-cut, Uncensored) | Probe | LP 4500, LP-4500-S | US | 1968 | ||
|
Recently Edited
|
The Soft Machine (LP, Album, Stereo) | Probe | LP 4500 X | US | 1968 | ||
| The Soft Machine (LP, Album, Gatefold) | Probe | LP 4500 X | US | 1968 | |||
|
Recently Edited
|
The Soft Machine (LP, Album, Stereo, Flipback Cover) | Barclay | 920 082, 0 920 082, 0920 082 | 1968 | |||
| The Soft Machine (LP, Album, Gatefold die-cut, uncensored) | Command | LP 4500, LP-4500 | Canada | 1968 |
Recommendations
Reviews
-
...was there ever a better "fusion album"? my advice: try listen only to the
drums of robert wyatt: astonishing! next listen to his wonderful voice, you
can almost consider "volume one" as his first solo album. just take the
heartwarming ballad "a certain kind". then we have this great,
hendrix-alike electric organ by mike ratledge. the stoical kevin ayers on
bass, with his grandiose & ongoing dada-song "we did it again". uplifting,
thunderously powerful..! -
Being a Psychedelic rock fan, I could not resist this album. I was fortunate enough to pick up a VG/VG+ version for a reasonable price at the time (many decades ago). I think that really makes this a standout album is the very talented and diversified band member. It is clear that on this collection of songs, the sum of the makes for an excellent aural Psychedelic trip. -
Absolutely incredible record! The mastering is nicely balanced. This album is one of my favorite records of all time. Great early Canterbury scene prog with psychedelic influences due in large part to the time it was released. Not to mention the band jazz and avant-garde training making this record a 5/5 stars for me. Instrumentals aside I also really enjoy the vocal delivery on this record where glints of emotion come out. Excellent psych/prog/jazz rock album that I could listen to over and over again. -
Almost all 1968 US Probe releases in database seem to have on matrix runout side B: '255' final numbers and/or a following ‘εΓ’.
Final ‘255’ should be better read as ‘2SS’ (see the real '5' etched in ‘4005B’ and ‘S’ etched in ‘SB’, same matrix);
what might seem to be a faint 'εΓ' (or other different characters combination) can be likely 'LW' (vertical reading with main matrix on bottom), already present on matrix. Side B runout images available in Soft Machine - The Soft Machine. Not sure, of course, this reading is valid for every issue. -
mistake cover inside: "Lead guitarist Kevin Ayres..." right: Kevin Ayers
...and this Side under "Mitwirkende" -
Release
See all versions
Data Correct
Data Correct
For sale on Discogs
Sell a copy
56 copies from $16.00