Soft Machine discography

Soft Machine are an English rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966. As a central band of the Canterbury scene, the group became one of the first British psychedelic acts and later moved into progressive rock and jazz fusion.[1] Having known numerous line-ups, the band currently consists of John Etheridge (guitar), Theo Travis (saxophone, flutes, keyboards), Fred Baker (bass) and Asaf Sirkis (drums).

Soft Machine discography
Studio albums12

Discography

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Studio albums

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Year Album Line-up Additional musicians
1968 The Soft Machine Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers Hugh Hopper, The Cake
1969 Volume Two Ratledge, Wyatt, H. Hopper Brian Hopper
1970 Third Ratledge, Wyatt, H. Hopper, Elton Dean Lyn Dobson, Nick Evans, Jimmy Hastings, Rab Spall
1971 Fourth Evans, Hastings, Mark Charig, Roy Babbington, Alan Skidmore
1972 Fifth Side 1: Ratledge, H. Hopper, Dean, Phil Howard
Side 2: Ratledge, H. Hopper, Dean, John Marshall
Babbington
1973 Six (Disc 2) Ratledge, H. Hopper, Marshall, Karl Jenkins
1973 Seven Ratledge, Marshall, Jenkins, Babbington
1975 Bundles Ratledge, Marshall, Jenkins, Babbington, Allan Holdsworth Ray Warleigh
1976 Softs Marshall, Jenkins, Babbington, John Etheridge, Alan Wakeman Ratledge
1981 Land of Cockayne Marshall, Jenkins, Holdsworth, Warleigh, Jack Bruce, Stu Calver, Dick Morrissey, Alan Parker, John Perry, Tony Rivers, John Taylor
2018 Hidden Details[2][3][4] Marshall, Etheridge, Babbington, Theo Travis Nick Utteridge
2023 Other Doors Marshall, Etheridge, Travis, Fred Baker Babbington

Contemporary live albums

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Recorded Released Album Line-up
20 October – 1 November 1972 1973 Six (Disc 1) Mike Ratledge, Hugh Hopper, John Marshall, Karl Jenkins
6 – 9 July 1977 1978 Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris Marshall, Jenkins, John Etheridge, Ric Sanders, Steve Cook
1 February 2019 2020 Live at The Baked Potato Marshall, Etheridge, Roy Babbington, Theo Travis

Archival live albums

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Recorded (exact dates given unless unconfirmed) Released Album Line-up
April – 10 December 1967 (includes some studio recordings) 2001 Soft Machine Turns On Volume 1 April – June 1967 recordings: Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen
22 September – 10 December 1967 recordings: Ratledge, Wyatt, Ayers
September 1967 – May 1968 2006 Middle Earth Masters Ratledge, Wyatt, Ayers
10 November 1967 – 11 August 1968 2001 Soft Machine Turns On Volume 2
29 March 1969 1996 Live at the Paradiso 1969 Ratledge, Wyatt, Hugh Hopper
4 January 1970 2000 Noisette Ratledge, Wyatt, H. Hopper, Elton Dean, Lynn Dobson
17 January 1970 2022 Facelift France & Holland (Disc 2)
31 January 1970 2005 Breda Reactor
2 March 1970 2022 Facelift France & Holland (Disc 1 + DVD)
20 – 25 April 1970 2004 Somewhere in Soho Ratledge, Wyatt, H. Hopper, Dean
26 April 1970 2002 Facelift
November 1969 – May 1970 2002 Backwards November 1969 recordings: Ratledge, Wyatt, H. Hopper, Dean, Dobson, Mark Charig, Nick Evans
May 1970 recordings: Ratledge, Wyatt, H. Hopper, Dean
13 August 1970 1988 Live at the Proms 1970 (re-released as disc 2 on 2007 remaster of Third) Ratledge, Wyatt, H. Hopper, Dean
25 October 1970 2006 Grides (also includes a DVD of 23 March 1971 Beat Club appearance)
27 – 28 February 1971 2024 Høvikodden 1971
28 February 1971 2009 Live at Henie Onstad Art Centre 1971 (this concert later included on Høvikodden 1971 with another concert at the same venue the previous day)
11 March 1971 1993 Soft Machine & Heavy Friends: BBC in Concert 1971
23 March 1971 1998 Virtually (DVD with footage of this recording included on Grides)
5 December 1967 – 1 June 1971 2003 BBC Radio 1967 – 1971 Various line-ups including Ratledge, Wyatt, Ayers, H. Hopper, Brian Hopper, Dean, Dobson, Charig and Evans
10 June 1969 – 15 November 1971 1990 The Peel Sessions (all tracks here later included with others on BBC Radio 1967 – 1971 and BBC Radio 1971 – 1974) Various line-ups including Ratledge, Wyatt, H. Hopper, B. Hopper, Dean, Dobson, Charig, Evans and Phil Howard
November 1971 2008 Drop Ratledge, H. Hopper, Dean, Howard
2 May 1972 1994 Live in France (re-released with same content as Live in Paris in 2004) Ratledge, H. Hopper, Dean, John Marshall
20 July 1972 1994 Soft Stage: BBC in Concert 1972 Ratledge, H. Hopper, Marshall, Karl Jenkins
17 May 1973 2010 NDR Jazz Workshop Hamburg, Germany (also includes a DVD of the concert) Ratledge, Marshall, Jenkins, Roy Babbington
26 October 1973 2023 The Dutch Lesson
15 November 1971 – 10 June 1974 2003 BBC Radio 1971 – 1974 Various line-ups including Ratledge, H. Hopper, Dean, Howard, Marshall, Jenkins, Babbington and Allan Holdsworth
4 July 1974 2015 Switzerland 1974 (also includes a DVD of the concert) Ratledge, Marshall, Jenkins, Babbington, Holdsworth
29 January 1975 2006 Floating World Live
11 October 1975 2005 British Tour '75 Ratledge, Marshall, Jenkins, Babbington, John Etheridge

Archival studio recordings

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Recorded Released Album Line-up
April 1967 1972 Jet Propelled Photographs (gained this title in 1988, previously released under various other titles including Faces and Places Vol. 7 and At the Beginning) Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen
1969 1996 Spaced Ratledge, Wyatt, Hugh Hopper, Brian Hopper

Compilation albums

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Year Album Notes
1977 Triple Echo Triple album covering the band's whole history to that point, featuring select tracks from all the albums up to Softs (the most recent at the time), the band's first single "Love Makes Sweet Music" and its B-side "Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin'" (both later included on 2009 remaster of The Soft Machine) and several unreleased recordings (all later included among the archival albums listed above except this version of "She's Gone", which remains exclusive to this album).

Other minor releases

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These albums were either released by small labels with most of their content available on the main albums listed above or are reissues/"Best of" collections released by major labels with all previously released material.

Year Album Notes
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 1&2 (Architects of Space Time) Double album reissue of the first two albums.
1990 The Untouchable Compilation of tracks from Bundles, Softs, and Alive and Well.
1991 As If... Curious (probably unauthorized) compilation with six Ratledge/Hopper compositions ranging from 1970's Third to 1973's Six.
1994 Soft Machine Live At The Paradiso 1969 plus six tracks from Jet Propelled Photographs.
1995 The Harvest Albums 1975–1978 Box set of the Harvest-era albums Bundles (1975) to Alive & Well (1978).
1998 Canterburied Sounds (Vol. 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 box 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, and "Esther's Nose Job" split in seven contiguous tracks.
1999 Fourth / Fifth CD reissue of Fourth and Fifth, the first CBS-era album Third was already available on CD individually.
2001 Man in a Deaf Corner: Anthology 1963–1970 Disc 1 mainly containing live pieces from 1963 to circa 1967, with tracks 7–9 also in Turns On vol. 1 (respectively tracks 2, 1, 16); Disc 2 containing a recording at the Paradiso, 29 March 1969 (tracks 1–10) also in Live at the Paradiso (about 32 min out of 40 min); tracks 11–12 ("Facelift" and "Moon in June" – short versions) also in Live 1970 (respectively tracks 1–2); tracks 13–16 recorded at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon on 26 April 1970, also in Facelift (respectively tracks 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 2-CD reissue of the last two CBS-era albums Six and Seven.
2005 Out-Bloody-Rageous: An Anthology 1967–1973 2-CD compilation of tracks from up to, and including, Seven.
2005 Orange Skin Food 2-CD 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 5-CD box set of the 2007 remasters of the CBS-era albums Third, Fourth, Fifth, Six and Seven.
2011 Tales of Taliesin: The EMI Years Anthology 1975–1981 2-CD compilation of tracks from Bundles to Land of Cockayne.
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's first 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, 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 Turns On (An early collection) 2 CDs – 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 – Reprint of two live concerts. Disc 1 and Disc 2 recorded at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club on 20–25 April 1970 (already in Somewhere in Soho, Voiceprint, 2004), Disc 3 and Disc 4 recorded at Het Turfschip, Breda, Netherlands on 31 January 1970 (already in Breda Reactor, Voiceprint, 2005).
2014 Live in the 70s 4 CDs – Reprint of various live concerts. Disc 1 and the first four tracks on Disc 2 also issued as Live in Paris (Cuneiform, 2004); tracks 5–7 of Disc 2 also appear on Backwards (Cuneiform, 2002); Mark Charig is here wrongly mentioned as the trumpet player; Disc 3 was previously released as Noisette (Cuneiform, 2000) and Disc 4 was previously issued as Drop (Moonjune, 2008).
2015 Hugh Hopper
Volume 9: Anatomy of Facelift
Five performances of "Facelift", 1969 through 1971.
2019 Live in London in the early Sixties (LP) Eight tracks recorded live in 1963 in London, with Brian Hopper (sax), Hugh Hopper (cello, bass), Robert Wyatt (drums, voice), Kevin Ayers (bass, voice), Mike Ratledge (organ), Daevid Allen (guitar). These tracks are also in Man in a Deaf Corner (2001, 2 CD) as tracks 1.01–1.06 in a different remix.
2019 Top Gear Live in London 1967–1969 (LP) Side 1 recorded in 1967 with the Ratledge/Wyatt/Ayers line-up; Side 2 recorded in 1969 with Ratledge/Wyatt/H. Hopper/B. Hopper line-up and including "Facelift" and "Moon in June".

Singles

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  • 1967: "Love Makes Sweet Music"/"Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin'" (Line-up: Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen) (Released in the UK and New Zealand, both the A- and B-side were later included on Triple Echo in 1977, the first time either appeared on an album)
  • 1968: "Joy of a Toy"/"Why Are We Sleeping?" (Line-up: Ratledge, Wyatt, Ayers) (Both A- and B-side from the album The Soft Machine, single released in the US and Japan)
  • 1978: "Soft Space (Part 1)"/"Soft Space (Part 2)" (Line-up: John Marshall, Karl Jenkins, John Etheridge, Ric Sanders, Steve Cook) (From the album Alive and Well, single released in the UK and most other European countries)
  • 2024: "The Dew at Dawn"/"(Slightly) Slightly All the Time" (Line-up: Etheridge, Theo Travis, Fred Baker, Asaf Sirkis) (Released in the UK and online)

Bootlegs

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The 1960s

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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, 10–27, Live at the Liverpool University – Excerpt
  • 1969, 10–28, Live at Actuel Festival in Amougies, Belgium – Excerpt

The 1970s

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1970

  • 1970, 01–04, Live at the Fairfield Halls, 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 11 January 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 WorkshopEamonn Andrews explained
  • 1970, 09–17, Alan Black "Sound of the Seventies" (broadcast 25 Sept.), 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
  • 1972, 06–07, Live at King's Cross Cinema
  • 1972, 12–03, Live at Fairfield Halls, Croydon, UK

1974

  • 1974, 03–11, Radio Interview with Mike Ratledge and Allan 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

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
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Discography

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Year Album Soft Machine members involved
The Wilde Flowers
1965–69 The Wilde Flowers (released in 1994) Ayers, B. Hopper, H. Hopper, Wyatt
The Keith Tippett Group
1970 You Are Here... I Am There Charig, Dean, Evans
1971 Dedicated To You, But You Weren't Listening Babbington, Charig, Dean, Evans, Howard, Wyatt
Centipede
1971 Septober Energy Babbington, Charig, Dean, Evans, Jenkins, Marshall, Wyatt
Elton Dean
1971 Elton Dean (re-released as Just Us in 1998) Dean, Babbington, Charig, Howard, Ratledge
Karl Jenkins (re-released as Soft Machine in 1994)
1976 Rubber Riff Jenkins, Babbington, Etheridge, Marshall
Hopper / Dean / Tippett / Gallivan
1977 Cruel But Fair H. Hopper, Dean
1977 Mercy Dash (released in 1985) H. Hopper, Dean
Elton Dean, Alan Skidmore, Chris Laurence, John Marshall
1977 El Skid Dean, Marshall
Planet Earth
1978 Planet Earth Jenkins, Ratledge
Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Alan Gowen, Dave Sheen (re-released as Soft Head in 1996)
1978 Rogue Element H. Hopper, Dean
Soft Heap
1979 Soft Heap Dean, H. Hopper
1979 Al Dente (released in 2008) Dean, H. Hopper
1982–83 A Veritable Centaur (released in 1995) Dean
Rubba
1979 Push Button Jenkins, Ratledge
2nd Vision
1980 First Steps Etheridge, Sanders
Rollercoaster
1980 Wonderin' Jenkins, Morrissey, Parker, Ratledge, Warleigh
Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Vince Clarke, Frances Knight
1998 The Mind in the Trees H. Hopper, Dean
Soft Works
2003 Abracadabra Dean, Holdsworth, H. Hopper, Marshall
2003 Abracadabra in Osaka (released in 2020) Dean, Holdsworth, H. Hopper, Marshall
Soft Mountain
2003 Soft Mountain (released in 2007) Dean, H. Hopper
Soft Bounds
2005 Live at Le Triton Dean, H. Hopper
Soft Machine Legacy
2005 Live In Zaandam Dean, Etheridge, H. Hopper, Marshall
2006 Soft Machine Legacy Dean, Etheridge, H. Hopper, Marshall
2006 Live at the New Morning Dean, Etheridge, H. Hopper, Marshall
2007 Steam Etheridge, H. Hopper, Marshall, Travis
2010 Live Adventures Babbington, Etheridge, Marshall, Travis
2013 Burden of Proof Babbington, Etheridge, Marshall, Travis
Delta Saxophone Quartet
2007 Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening: The Music Of Soft Machine H. Hopper (as a guest on some tracks)


Notes

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References

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  1. ^ Lynch, Dave. "Soft Machine". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  2. ^ Joe Banks (September 2018). "Soft Machine – Hidden Details (review)". Shindig!.
  3. ^ Brian Morton (October 2018). "Soft Machine – Hidden Details (review)". The Wire.
  4. ^ "Soft Machine – Hidden Details (info and reviews)". Prog Archives. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
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