A wild, freewheeling, and ultimately successful attempt to merge psychedelia with jazz-rock, Soft Machine's debut ranges between lovingly performed oblique pop songs and deranged ensemble playing from drummer/vocalist Robert Wyatt, bassist Kevin Ayers and organist Mike Ratledge. With only one real break (at the end of side one), the songs merge into each other -- not always smoothly, but always with a sense of flair that rescues any potential miscues. Wyatt takes most of the vocals, and proves himself a surprisingly evocative singer despite his lack of range. Like Pink Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Vol. 1 was one of the few over-ambitious records of the psychedelic era that actually delivered on all its incredible promise.
Soft Machine
The Soft Machine, Vol. 1
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AllMusic Review by John Bush
Track Listing
| Title/Composer | Performer | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 04:21 | ||||
| 2 | 02:50 | ||||
| 3 | 01:38 | ||||
| 4 | 01:38 | ||||
| 5 | 07:24 | ||||
| 6 | 04:11 | ||||
| 7 | 02:25 | ||||
| 8 | 01:03 | ||||
| 9 | 04:43 | ||||
| 10 | 03:46 | ||||
| 11 | 01:01 | ||||
| 12 | 05:33 | ||||
| 13 | 00:49 |
