... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

The amazing debut of Soft Machine! It's hard to find a more seminal moment of jazz rock from the British scene – and there's certainly few albums from its generation that stand up as well over the years as this one! The trio of Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, and Michael Ratledge carve out the future of progressive playing on this excellent set of shorter tunes that still offer up all the hard jamming of later years. Beat group morphs into prog jazz before your very eyes – on tracks like "Hope For Happiness", "Why Am I So Short", "Save Yourself", "Priscilla", "So Boot If At All", "A Certain Kind", "Lullabye Letter", and "Why Are We Sleeping?". CD

An almost all-jazz release by Soft Machine – and a tasty bit of proggish tunes with a spare electric modal groove. Robert Wyatt's still on drums, and the rest of the group features Hugh Hopper on bass, Mike Ratledge on organ and piano, and Elton Dean on saxes. Titles include "Teeth", "Kings & Queens", and the "Virtually" suite, which takes up all of side two. CD

The amazing debut of Soft Machine! It's hard to find a more seminal moment of jazz rock from the British scene – and there's certainly few albums from its generation that stand up as well over the years as this one! The trio of Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, and Michael Ratledge carve out the future of progressive playing on this excellent set of shorter tunes that still offer up all the hard jamming of later years. Beat group morphs into prog jazz before your very eyes – on tracks like "Hope For Happiness", "Why Am I So Short", "Save Yourself", "Priscilla", "So Boot If At All", "A Certain Kind", "Lullabye Letter", and "Why Are We Sleeping?". CD

Sublime early work from Robert Wyatt and crew – a psychedelic accented jazz rock classic that never gets old – and a visionary set that inspired a generation! The heavily fuzzy guitar sound is transcendent on Volume Two – with sudden jazzy changes, augmented by horns, and all done with a sly sense of humour for which the group doesn't get enough credit. It's broken up into two different "concept" halves – the first half is "Rivmic Melodies" – and includes "Pataphysical Introduction", "A Concise British Alphabet", "Dada Was Here", and "Out Of Tunes". The second is "Esther's Nose Job" – with the parts "Pig", "Fire Engine Passing With Bells Clanging", "Orange Skin Food", and "A Door Opens & Closes". Wyatt's on vocals and drums; Hugh Hopper is on bass, guitar, and alto; and Mike Ratledge plays some great Lowry and Hammond organ, plus a bit of harpsichord and flute! CD

Sublime early work from Robert Wyatt and crew – a psychedelic accented jazz rock classic that never gets old – and a visionary set that inspired a generation! The heavily fuzzy guitar sound is transcendent on Volume Two – with sudden jazzy changes, augmented by horns, and all done with a sly sense of humour for which the group doesn't get enough credit. The set's broken up into two different "concept" halves – and side one is "Rivmic Melodies" – and includes "Pataphysical Introduction", "A Concise British Alphabet", "Dada Was Here", and "Out Of Tunes". Side two is "Esther's Nose Job" – with the parts "Pig", "Fire Engine Passing With Bells Clanging", "Orange Skin Food", and "A Door Opens & Closes". Wyatt's on vocals and drums; Hugh Hopper is on bass, guitar, and alto; and Mike Ratledge plays some great Lowry and Hammond organ, plus a bit of harpsichord and flute! LP, Vinyl record album

A killer album from Soft Machine – one that's maybe a bit tighter and more rock oriented at times than the jazz workouts of their previous numbered albums – although still all instrumental, and with the kind of top-shelf instrumentation that we've always loved from the group! This time around, the guitar of Allan Holdsworth gets plenty of well-deserved time in the spotlight, and the keyboards of Mike Ratledge are too – while Karl Jenkins serves up some wonderfully sharp lines on reeds – as the group are driven by the heady bass of Roy Babbington, and monstrous drums of John Marshall! The set begins with the blistering five part "Hazard" – followed by other cuts that include "Gone Sailing", "Bundles", "The Floating World", "Four Gongs Two Drums", and "Peff". LP, Vinyl record album

A double length set – with the complete ABC/Probe recordings of Soft Machine! The first disc features the amazing debut of Soft Machine! It's hard to find a more seminal moment of jazz rock from the British scene – and there's certainly few albums from its generation that stand up as well over the years as this one! The trio of Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, and Michael Ratledge carve out the future of progressive playing on this excellent set of shorter tunes that still offer up all the hard jamming of later years. Beat group morphs into prog jazz before your very eyes – on tracks like "Hope For Happiness", "Why Am I So Short", "Save Yourself", "Priscilla", "So Boot If At All", "A Certain Kind", "Lullabye Letter", and "Why Are We Sleeping?". Soft Machine Two is sublime early work from Robert Wyatt and crew – a psychedelic accented jazz rock classic that never gets old – and a visionary set that inspired a generation! The heavily fuzzy guitar sound is transcendent on Volume Two – with sudden jazzy changes, augmented by horns, and all done with a sly sense of humour for which the group doesn't get enough credit. The set's broken up into two different "concept" halves – and side one is "Rivmic Melodies" – and includes "Pataphysical Introduction", "A Concise British Alphabet", "Dada Was Here", and "Out Of Tunes". Side two is "Esther's Nose Job" – with the parts "Pig", "Fire Engine Passing With Bells Clanging", "Orange Skin Food", and "A Door Opens & Closes". Wyatt's on vocals and drums; Hugh Hopper is on bass, guitar, and alto; and Mike Ratledge plays some great Lowry and Hammond organ, plus a bit of harpsichord and flute! CD

An almost all-jazz release by Soft Machine – and a tasty bit of proggish tunes with a spare electric modal groove. Robert Wyatt's still on drums, and the rest of the group features Hugh Hopper on bass, Mike Ratledge on organ and piano, and Elton Dean on saxes. Titles include "Teeth", "Kings & Queens", and the "Virtually" suite, which takes up all of side two. CD

A fantastic live performance from Soft Machine – done early in their career, and with a vibe that's maybe a bit different than some of the later, longer, more freewheeling concerts that have circulated on the market! Robert Wyatt's presence in the group is still very strong here, both on drums and vocals – and the record's got some shorter songs, but which still come across with all the power you'd expect from the trio of Wyatt, Mike Ratledge, and Hugh Hopper! Titles include "Dada Was Here", "Have You Ever Been Green", "Pig", "Fire Engine Passing With Bells Clanging", "Thank You Pierrot Lunaire", "As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still", and "10:30 Returns To The Bedroom". CD

Sublime "second chapter" work from Soft Machine – the group's first five albums for Columbia Records, each of them essential – and packaged here in these cool mini-LP sleeves! The vibe here is great – stretched-out, very jazzy work – with less of the offbeat corners of the group's first two records, but much more sophistication overall – yet without any of the overindulgent modes that hampered so many of their generation! Given that some of the tracks here are very long, and that at least two of the records were originally 2LP sets, you get a heck of a lot of music in this box – and a completely solid chunk of work that represents the group at their best! 46 tracks in all – out-bloody-rageous! CD

Incredible jazz rock from Soft Machine – recorded after Robert Wyatt left the group, and for some reason, a bit overlooked because of that fact – but still a pretty darn great album, awash in long tracks with plenty of jazzy touches – still finely crafted in the sublime crossover mode that was coming out of the UK at the time, and of which Soft Machine was one of the strongest proponents! There's loads of strong fusiony moments built around keyboards and guitar – almost funky at times, and stretching forth with a freely exploratory sound! 12 cuts in all – with titles that include "Day's Eye", "Down The Road", "The German Lesson", "The French Lesson", "Nettle Bed", "Bone Fire", and "Snodland". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautifully burning double-length set from Soft Machine – proof that the group were really at the height of their powers during the early 70s – magically blending together jazz, rock, and fusion into one soaringly spacey new sound! The work here is a key fore-runner of countless trends to come – including recent keyboard-heavy work on the cosmic club scene – particularly 4 Hero and the generation of others that sprang up in their wake. Soft Machine have a similar British bent for blending styles here – using jazz elements that are on a par with their best contemporaries in the straighter part of that genre – but fusing them together with a more pulsating approach to rhythm that pushes all the solo bits wonderfully! There's a fair bit of groove heavy tracks here that still sound as fresh today as when they were recorded – and the album features great drums from John Marshall, keyboards from Mike Ratledge, bass from Hugh Hopper, and a wide variety of reeds from Karl Jenkins. The album's a rich tapestry of long and short tracks, all woven together – and titles include "All White", "Between", "Riff", "EPV", "Stumble", "5 From 13", "Riff II", "The Soft Weed Factor", and "Chloe & The Pirates". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful live work from Soft Machine – the sort of concert setting that makes a record like this such a key addition to their studio classics from the time! The quartet are equal parts jazz and rock, as on their seminal numbered albums of the early 70s – with some mighty heavy work on drums from John Marshall, next to heady bass from Roy Babbington, Fender Rhodes and organ from Mike Ratledge, and soprano, baritone, oboe, and more electric piano from Karl Jenkins! Tracks are long, and sometimes hard-hamming, other times nicely spacious until the musicians get their hooks in – and as with live work from the group, even familiar titles are nicely transformed in the setting of the concert. Titles include "Hazard Profile", "Gesolreut Jam", "JSM", "Lefty", "EPV", "Down The Road", "Ealing Comedy", "The Soft Weed Factor", and "Stanley Stamps Gibbon Album". CD

Incredible jazz rock from Soft Machine – recorded after Robert Wyatt left the group, and for some reason, a bit overlooked because of that fact – but still a pretty darn great album, awash in long tracks with plenty of jazzy touches – still finely crafted in the sublime crossover mode that was coming out of the UK at the time, and of which Soft Machine was one of the strongest proponents! There's loads of strong fusiony moments built around keyboards and guitar – almost funky at times, and stretching forth with a freely exploratory sound! 12 cuts in all – with titles that include "Day's Eye", "Down The Road", "The German Lesson", "The French Lesson", "Nettle Bed", "Bone Fire", and "Snodland". CD

A wonderful departure for Kevin Ayers – an album that's a lot lighter and more whimsical than his original fame with Soft Machine! The tunes are extremely playful, and often quite catchy – almost a Donovan-esque blend of folksy roots and jazz inflections – but tuned a bit more towards trippier ends, thanks to instrumentation that includes celeste, electronics, flute, oboe, kazoo, cello, organ, and a wide range of different guitars! David Bedford handled arrangements, and other players on the session include some ex-Soft Machine comrades – like Hugh Hopper and Robert Wyatt! Ayers' vocals are produced with a nicely compressed quality that squeezes them in alongside the instrumentation – and titles include "Joy Of A Toy Continued", "The Lady Rachel", "All This Crazy Gift Of Time", "Eleanor's Cake", and "Girl On A Swing". LP, Vinyl record album

The seminal debut of Hatfield & The North – a group that maybe came a bit late in the UK prog scene of the early 70s, but who had a huge influence for decades to come! The quartet are a late transformation of the earlier Canterbury sound – leaner, maybe jazzier, and with a great ear for warm tones and organic elements that help hold the complexity of their music to the surface of the planet. Plus, there's this more open, honest quality to some of the work – especially the vocals – that quality, say, that made Matching Mole so different than Soft Machine. The whole lineup is an all-star affair – Richard Sinclair on bass and vocals, Pip Pyle on drums, Phil Miller on guitars, and Dave Stewart on organ, piano, and tone generator – plus some nice guest sax and flute from Geoff Leigh of Henry Cow, and vocals from Robert Wyatt on one track. Titles include "The Stubbs Effect", "Calyx", "Licks For Ladies", "Bossa Nochance", "Big Jobs No 2", "Lobster In A Cleavage Probe", and "Rifferama". This CD edition includes the bonus tracks "Let's Eat Real Soon", "Fitter Stoke Has A Bath" and "Your Majesty Is Like A Cream Donut". CD

Mindblowing music from Robert Wyatt – never-heard demos, but cuts that are every bit as essential as his music in Soft Machine, and his early solo sides as well! Robert handles almost all the instrumentation here himself – except for one guest solo from Jimi Hendrix on bass, and some other guest bass from Hugh Hopper and guest organ from Mike Ratledge – and the drums are plenty heavy, with surprisingly funky currents – set loose on these studio tracks that are also heavy on Hammond, and both acoustic and electric piano. Wyatt sings on all numbers, already with that unique voice we love so much – and tracks include the incredible "Chelsa", which is a precursor to a later Matching Mole classic – plus "Rivmic Melodies", "Slow Walkin Talk", and "Moon In June". CD

Nothing weird here, just wonderful – a fantastic assortment of music from a time when the British scene was really changing things up – served up in a book-styled package with notes that are as dynamic as its music! The tracks here move way past the obvious – that's an image of John Lennon on the cover, but these aren't the tracks by The Beatles and bigger acts of the time – and instead, the collection really does a great job of digging around all the really wonderful groups that were recording for the bigger British labels of the period, but who were given a lot of freedom to really try out new ideas – both in their music, and in the way the music was recorded. The package is the best we've ever seen to present this slice of English rock – and the set features 122 titles on 5CDs – with work from Ron Geesin, Atlanta Roots, Simon Dupree, The Smoke, John's Children, Ivor Cutler, Tinsel Arcade, The Soft Machine, Canto, New Generation, Medium Rare, 117 Venusian Moonshine, Friday's Chyld, New Generation, Third Ear Band, Wimple Winch, The Deviants, Sorrows, Rupert's People, Orange Bicycle, Shuster, Felius Andromeda, Tomorrow, Crystal Ship, The Moles, and many others – and the set also features 9 never-issued tracks! CD

A wonderful departure for Kevin Ayers – an album that's a lot lighter and more whimsical than his original fame with Soft Machine! The tunes are extremely playful, and often quite catchy – almost a Donovan-esque blend of folksy roots and jazz inflections – but tuned a bit more towards trippier ends, thanks to instrumentation that includes celeste, electronics, flute, oboe, kazoo, cello, organ, and a wide range of different guitars! David Bedford handled arrangements, and other players on the session include some ex-Soft Machine comrades – like Hugh Hopper and Robert Wyatt! Ayers' vocals are produced with a nicely compressed quality that squeezes them in alongside the instrumentation – and titles include "Joy Of A Toy Continued", "The Lady Rachel", "All This Crazy Gift Of Time", "Eleanor's Cake", and "Girl On A Swing". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful split album between British soprano sax genius Lol Coxhill and prog jazz keyboardist Stephen Miller. Coxhill's side is the standout one – as it features tunes that run from quirky solo numbers ("Tubercular Bells"), to hippy dippy ensemble ones ("Soprano Derivato", which features Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers), to experimental tunes with some great effects (like the "recorder echoes" on "Oh Do I Like To Be Beside The Seaside", or the cathedral organ on "In Memoriam".) Miller's side is sparer – and mostly features solo electric piano, played in a way that reminds us of the jazzier moments in Matching Mole or Soft Machine. (Jazz, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most sweetly jazzy albums ever recorded by Kevin Ayers – a set that almost has him moving in the more progressive direction taken by Soft Machine after his departure! As on other solo Ayers albums, David Bedford had a strong hand in the arrangements – but his approach here is more focused, and often more sophisticated than before – less in the playful collaborative style of Ayers immediate post-Soft Machine years, and more in an ambitious style that pushes the elements together with a beautifully honed sound. Players on the album include Mike Oldfield on guitar, Didier Malherbe on sax and flute, Gerry Fields on electric viola, and Bedford on keyboards – and titles include "Oh My", "Margaret", "Song From The Bottom Of A Well", "Lullaby", "Champagne Cowboy Blues", "Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes", and "There Is Loving/Among Us/There Is Loving". LP, Vinyl record album

A late masterpiece from the Flaming Lips – one of their most unique and uncompromising records since they became leftfield hitmakers – and a record that works best as a whole! Embryonic is a grower, and the first record since The Soft Bulletin which, to our ears anyway, doesn't seem to have any illusions of a crossover ready single in the lineup. It's really a space rock record with fuzzy guitars and echoing noisiness, and a confident step out of "Do You Realize?" style speaks-to-everyone art pop, and into more of a dissonant, messy sound. It's a real thrill for us to see a longtime favorite not only get over into the mainstream consciousness and stay there for years, but to continue to challenge and innovate while they're hanging out there. Titles include "Convinced Of The Hex", "The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine", "Evil", "Aquarius Sabotage", "See The Leaves", "Your Bats", "Powerless", "Scorpio Sword", "Watching The Planets" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic sounds from the Wilde Flowers – a group who were an undeniable precursor to Soft Machine and Caravan, and who also were one of the first to explore some of the farther reaches that would soon explode in the worlds of British prog and psych! The group never issued a full album at the time, which makes this collection of rare recordings completely essential – as it features early work from Robert Wyatt on drums and vocals, Hugh Hopper on bass, Pye Hastings on guitar, Richard Sinclair on vocals, Mike Ratledge on flute, and David Sinclair on keyboards. The lineup shifts from track to track – really showing the woodshedding experiments of the musicians – and a young Kevin Ayers even makes a few appearances on vocals too. Titles include "Impotence", "Those Words They Say", "He's Bad For You", "Never Leave Me", "Time After Time", "No Game When You Lose", "The Big Show", "She Loves To Hurt", "Memories", "Slow Walkin Talk", "Parchman Farm", and "She's Gone". LP, Vinyl record album

The title's a bit of a joke – given that in all his many decades of music, Robert Wyatt never really had any hits – although he's continued to have a profound influence on audiences for many many years! Wyatt first started out in Soft Machine, but a freak accident forced him to refigure his physical reality – and he emerged in the 70s as one of the most unique songsmiths of his generation – a poet in both words and sound, working a more personal, compressed version of the early prog sounds that he'd inspired – with a style that was lean enough to survive decades of musical changes – many of which still found Wyatt at the forefront of the underground! This double length set is a great testament to that long musical journey – packaged with cover art done by Robert at age 6 – and packed with gems that include "Solar Flares", "At Last I Am Free", "Little Red Robin Hood Hit The Road", "I'm A Believer", "Last Will & Testament", "Heaps Of Sheeps", "Worship", "PLA", "Foreign Accents", "Mister E", "Alien", and "Shipbuilding" – the last of which was almost a hit when covered by Elvis Costello! CD

One of Robert Wyatt's best albums, cut after Wyatt's years with Soft Machine and Matching Mole, and is a perfect blend of his jazz-tinged work with electronics, spacey pop, and madly clever lyricism. The music is at once thoroughly groundbreaking and endlessly charming – and it's one of the best moments in the British experimental rock scene of the 70s, as you can guess by the lineup of players that includes Hugh Hopper, Fred Frith, Ivor Cutler and Mongezi Feza. 6 tracks in all, with 2 versions of "Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road", "Alifib", "Alife", "Sea Song", and "A Last Straw". LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Soft Machine, Elvin Bishop, Spirit, Miles Davis, Big Brother & The Holding Company, It's A Beautiful Day, Chambers Brothers, Laura Nyro, Hollies, Redbone, Spirit, and others. LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic sounds from 1967 – a year in which mainstream music saw plenty of heady changes – as you might guess from the title! The set's a wonderful follow-up to the 1966 set by Jon Savage – and like that one, it features a superb selection of tracks from this important year – served up in all the different strands and styles that were popping into place – soul, early funk, psych, hard rock, and lots more – in a blistering array of songs that steps beautifully between well-known classics and underground gems! The feel of the set is way different than the usual oldies package with a date on the front – as Jon Savage dedicated the whole thing to the groundbreaking mix of music he enjoyed from pirate radio at the time – and included his own fantastic writing in the notes to help explain what makes the music so great. Titles include "You Keep Running Away" by The Four Tops, "Lazy Life" by William E, "At The Third Stroke" by The Picadilly Line, "Try It" by The Attack, "I'm A Man" by Spencer Davis Group, "Western Union" by The Searchers, "So You Say You Lost Your Baby" by Gene Clark, "Feelin Reelin Squeelin" by Soft Machine, "So Sharp" by Dyke & The Blazers, "Mr Soul" by Buffalo Springfield, "Vacuum Cleaner" by Tintern Abbey, "Garden Of My Mind" by The Mickey Finn, "Love Power" by The Sandpebbles, "Look At Me I'm You" by The Blossom Toes, and "Psyche Rock" by Les Yper Sound. 48 tracks in all! CD

A crucial album from that moment when British jazz was colliding with progressive rock – in key ways that were really elevated past their roots on records like this! By the time of the record, trumpeter Ian Carr already had a great run on the left side of the UK jazz spectrum – and here, with his group Nucleus, he embraces all sorts of amazing sounds and styles – using plenty of electric piano from Soft Machine's Karl Jenkins, guitar from Chris Spedding, and a VCS3 synth from Keith Winter – alongside more familiar jazz elements on tenor from Tony Roberts, soprano and flute from Brian Smith, and additional trumpets from Kenny Wheeler and Harry Beckett! The great John Marshall plays drums next to bass from Jeff Clyne and Ron Matthewson – and the album's got a mighty sense of experimentation and power, on titles that include "Torso", "Snakehips' Dream", "Changing Time", "Spirit Level", and "Bedrock Deadlock". (Jazz, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Includes tracks by Jack Bruce, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Fairport Convention, Soft Machine, High Numbers, Sly & The Family Stone, and more! LP, Vinyl record album

An insane package of work from this wonderful British group – a studio pop creation who stormed the charts with one huge hit, but also recorded some really great overlooked material! The style of First Class is a brilliant extension of the sound of American harmony pop of the 60s – and one that blends it together with a good deal of 70s soft rock as well – but always with a super-catchy style that's completely wonderful! The group is the brainchild of Brit studio legend John Carter – and they're kind of a recast take on the sound of the Beach Boys in later years – filtered through a nicely compressed UK mid 70s pop approach that brings in some sweeter, softer modes, but which also has some of that "bump" of glam-era pop as well. The group's best known for their massive 70s hit "Beach Baby" – but they've got a great sound that's more than worth rediscovering all these years later – which you will definitely do when digging through this massive set. The 3CD package features 82 tracks in all the group's two full albums and singles, plus unreleased tracks – and, even cooler, a whole host of rare jingles they recorded – for Right Guard deodorant, Eveready batteries, Singer sewing machines, and many other products. The jingles alone are worth the price of admission – and the whole thing is super groovy, all the way through! CD