THE SOFT MACHINE

First albums are indeed really rocky for bands. While some hit it out of the park on the first try, some bands might wanna retake a test or two when they first start out. Pink Floyd started a little rocky with Piper but then soon became one of the biggest bands ever. Weather Report while still having a fusion sound, started off a tad rough around the edges with their debut self titled album. Now do I fault these bands for not having a definitive sound right away? No, it's perfectly fine and reasonable for bands to start of a bit rough. So I decided to hear Soft Machine after a long while and see what they had to offer and why they are so beloved here. This isn't my first time with the band, months ago I listened to the album, Fourth, and it was a pretty ok album all things considered. But I had hopes. Maybe this album could make me absolutely love the band.

The first three tracks, from Hope For Happiness to Hope For Happiness Reprise are pretty good rock tracks. They remind me of the psychedelic rock sounds back then during the psych rock era. But these three tracks shows this album's ability to carefully link each song together. They go into each other like a snap to where it is kinda like a suite. I just thought that was neat. The next three songs are the real kickers of the album. Why Am I So Short? is a fun and goofy little song that leads into the very groovy instrumental of So Boot If At All. It's one of those tracks that shows a band's potential early on in their career to where someone might be interested in more of their work. I know I am. The next track is A Certain Kind. It definitely is a certain kind, a certain kind of pretty good song. I don't know why but this song reminds me of a Strawberry Alarm Clock song. I guess that's just me. Side 2 is a little lack luster. There is only like 3 fairly long songs here with the rest being a minute or shorter. I feel like they could've just been connected to the previous or next songs instead which I think is the biggest issue with this album. It has a bit too many shorter songs to where you kinda just want to hear the long stuff instead so you can get more bang for your buck. Save Yourself, Lullabeye Letter, and Why Are We Sleeping? are pretty good songs all around. They get the job done and are definitely staples in the Canterbury + Psych rock scene.

So I thought this record was pretty good but I think it has to many short and sorta filler tracks, especially on side 2. I like the sorta suite like aspect to the songs and how they go into each other. It's pretty cool in a way. I say this was a better album than Fourth but I won't say by a huge margin. Overall it's good, but not the best record I have listened.