The Soft Machine, Vol. 1

Performer: Soft Machine
Distributor: E1 Entertainment

Notes: The Soft Machine includes: Kevin Ayres (guitar); Mike Ratledge (organ); Robert Wyatt (drums); Daevid Allen. Includes liner notes by Arnold Shaw. The 1968 debut by Canterbury's legendary Soft Machine introduced a spirited new breed of progressive pop musicians, one that was as influenced by free jazzers and folk purists as it was by the Beatles. Where many British prog musicians were po-faced wankers, the Softs brought a pervasive new sense of adventure and fun to the arena. Drummer Robert Wyatt, bassist/guitarist Kevin Ayers, and multi-instrumentalist wizard Mike Ratledge were bound by few constraints in terms of their interests and influences. However, like many debut efforts by progressive bands, VOLUME ONE occasionally seems a bit tentative in spots, with the band's more experimental explorations somewhat hampered by conventional song structures. The glorious exception is Ayers' classic "Why Are We Sleeping?," possibly the first English prog classic. VOLUME ONE sounds positively fascinating, especially in light of the Soft Machine's later work.

A pioneering British psychedelic group in the late 1960s, Soft Machine eventually developed a unique, forward-thinking brand of jazz-rock tinged with progressive/experimental touches. As the leading light of the "Canterbury scene" (a loosely knit collection of like-minded Canterbury, Kent, England-based bands which also included Caravan and Gong), the combo came to define the jazz-rock genre and was hugely influential to the burgeoning jazz fusion and experimental rock scenes. Soft Machine is also notable as a springboard for the successful later careers of several of its members, including Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Allen Holdsworth, Andy Summers. Originally based around surreal, heady, rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic deconstructions of conventional pop song structures, Soft Machine's music eventually morphed into a much looser, more improvisational style that found favor with fans of American acts such as Weather Report and Return to Forever. After the departure of prime mover Wyatt, Soft Machine continued on in various incarnations for several decades, but to much less acclaim.

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