THE SOFT MACHINE

The most important thing in enjoying vintage album is getting the full nuances when the album was produced. By no exception is this debut album by Soft Machine, released in 1968. Of course I was not aware by the time this album was released as my musical taste was limited to pop music, typically from Indonesia. But I am happy having been exposed to many kinds of music which at the end lands beautifully and voluntarily to PROG music. If I knew this album in the seventies, I might not be able to digest the music as it's different in typical music style dominated by pop.

In particular this debut album by Soft Machine, i was not aware that I had not reviewed anything about this album until certain point of time, maybe couple of months, my prog mate Cosmic Eargasm wanted me to write this album. My first reaction was: Yes! Will do! But then what happened I was swamped from one location to another until now I have a chance to write my view while enjoying this album. One of the reasons to write is because there is "A Certain Kind" which typically known by many people as a song by Bloodrock. Which is true, in the seventies this Bloodrock version was very famous in fact in my small city of Madiun, East Java, Indonesia.

Composition-wise this album is really excellent as it provides very definitive music that creates its own genre / subgenre even though most of us label it as Canterbury. I would say the music is a perfect blend of classic rock, psychedelic and jazz. You will find any many segments they combine each style beautifully. You might say the music is raw but you have to understand that this was released in 1968 - of course the audio technology was not that advanced compared to current situation. It's quite difficult where I can exclude my favorite tracks as I almost enjoy every single segment in any track the perform. The dominant instruments sound like drums that demonstrate very raw, performed by Robert Wyatt, hammond organ as well as bass guitar. In fact , I enjoy the album since its opening track Hope for Happiness (4:22) which has unique style, followed nicely to Joy of a Toy (2:56). Once you enjoy the music, you would not want to stop it. It's a joy enjoying this excellent music from the past. At the end of the album you will find dynamic music demonstrating solo by each member of the band ...it's really col.

Overall, this is of course an excellent prog music collection. Keep on proggin' ...!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW