• DELUXE 5-CD BOX SET
This incredible value CD box set comprises five original albums housed in individual cardboard sleeves. This collection features five essential Soft Machine studio albums: Third (1970), Fourth (1971), Fifth (1972), Six (1973) and Seven (1973).
Canterbury's finest are here collected in a neat box set, with each CD housed in a mini facsimile of the original vinyl sleeve. By the time Soft Machine released Third, the band were moving into more obvious jazz territory – with jaw-dropping results. The music on each of these five albums is breath-taking, beautiful and baffling but never less than absorbing, and the obvious joy the players take in interacting with each other oozes from every groove
PERSONNEL:
- Hugh Hopper (bass, sound effects on 1983)
- Karl Jenkins (oboe, baritone & soprano saxes, electric and grand pianos, celeste)
- Roy Babbington (acoustic & electric basses, double bass)
- John Marshall (drums, percussion)
- Mike Ratledge (electric piano, organ, synthesizer, grand pianos, celeste)
- Elton Dean (alto sax, saxello, electric piano)
- Phil Howard (drums)
- Roy Babbington (double bass)
- Mark Charig (cornet)
- Nick Evans (trombone)
- Jimmy Hastings (alto flute, bass clarinet)
- Alan Skidmore (tenor sax)
- Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals)
- Lyn Dobson (flute, soprano sax)
- Rab Spall (electric violin)
TRACKS:
- CD 1: "THIRD" (75:43)
- 01. Facelift
- 02. Slightly All the Time
- 03. Moon in June
- 04. Out-Bloody-Rageous
- CD 2: "FOURTH" (39:13)
- 01. Teeth
- 02. Kings and Queens
- 03. Fletcher's Blemish
- 04. Virtually Part 1
- 05. Virtually Part 2
- 06. Virtually Part 3
- 07. Virtually Part 4
- CD 3: "FIFTH" (36:34)
- 01. All White
- 02. Drop
- 03. M C
- 04. As If
- 05. L B O
- 06. Pigling Bland
- 07. Bone
- CD 4: "SIX" (76:25)
- 01. Fanfare
- 02. All White
- 03. Between
- 04. Riff
- 05. 37 1/2
- 06. Gesolreut
- 07. E.P.V.
- 08. Lefty
- 09. Stumble
- 10. 5 from 13 (For Phil Seamen with Love & Thanks)
- 11. Riff II
- 12. The Soft Weed Factor
- 13. Stanley Stamps Gibbon Album (For B.O.)
- 14. Chloe and the Pirates
- 15. 1983
- CD 5: "SEVEN"
- 01. Nettle Bed
- 02. Carol Ann
- 03. Day's Eye
- 04. Bone Fire
- 05. Tarabos
- 06. D.I.S.
- 07. Snodland
- 08. Penny Hitch
- 09. Block
- 10. Down the Road
- 11. The German Lesson
- 12. The French Lesson