Label: Polydor Records (UK), 532 050-5
Style: Jazz Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Progressive Rock
Country: Canterbury, England
Time: 46:42
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 284 Mb
The
Soft Machine's status as house band at London clubs like the UFO and
Middle Earth during 1967 saw them appear at some of the most pivotal
happenings in the fringes of the art world. But while those other
darlings of the nascent underground, the Pink Floyd, raced into Abbey
Road studios to grasp at the fleeting strands of genius from Syd Barrett
before his marbles went AWOL, the Softs' first recording steps were
faltering. This was partly due to the loss of founding member,
Australian beat poet/guitarist Daevid Allen who returning from France
was denied access back into the UK due to an expired visa. Limping on as
a trio, by the time the group were finally granted studio time with
Columbia's house producer Tom Wilson in New York, they'd been touring
the States and had some of their homegrown psychedelic sheen knocked
off. Nevertheless Volume One stands as one of the pinnacles of English
pre-progressive underground music.
The thing that the Softs had in
far more abundance than their contemporaries was musical ability and a
superior knowledge of modern jazz. Wyatt's drumming owes just as much to
Art Blakey as it does to Ringo Starr, while Mike Ratledge's fuzz organ
(the template upon which nearly all 'Canterbury' music was based)
frequently breaks free in coruscating runs up and down the keyboard
(though Wyatt now claims that this style of playing was necessitated by
the organ's propensity to feed back if not played constantly).
For
the requisite slice of English whimsy atop this schizophrenic melange
the vibes were provided by bass player Kevin Ayers. His bass-as-lead
approach gets an early look in on Joy Of A Toy, while his basso profundo
voice gives menace to the classic (and possibly Gurdjeffian) Why Are We
Sleeping?. Elsewhere there's a fabulous combination of spaciness,
tricky time signatures (Hope For Happiness, Box 24/4 Lid) and the first
flowerings of Wyatt's self-deprecating humour in lyrical form. On the
hilariously Why Am I So Short? he tells of his swinging Bohemian ending
with the couplet ''Every day I like an egg and some tea. But most of all
I like to talk about me!''. By the time of its release the Summer of
Love was long gone, but this debut still captures one of the key players
in almost perfect form.
(bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/36bd/) Chris Jones 2009
01. Hope For Happiness (04:22)
02. Joy Of A Toy (02:49)
03. Hope For Happiness (Reprise) (01:37)
04. Why Am I So Short? (01:37)
05. So Boot If At All (07:23)
06. A Certain Kind (04:13)
07. Save Yourself (02:25)
08. Priscilla (01:03)
09. Lullabye Letter (04:42)
10. We Did It Again (03:46)
11. Plus Belle Qu'une Poubelle (01:00)
12. Why Are We Sleeping? (05:31)
13. Box 25 / 4 Lid (00:47)
14. Love Makes Sweet Music (02:29)
15. Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin' (02:51)
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