From The Vaults: Soft Machine Volumes One and Two

Posted: 12 January, 2010

Over the coming months, we're going to take a wander through some of the great records from the Gaga Master vault. In our first installment, we're going to draw from Ace Records' incredible catalogue. Looking at the Ace Catalogue is kind of like looking at a history of music, as put together by some awesome vinyl boffin who lives underground surrounded by 10 metre high shelves of meticulously sorted records. It's intimidating. Faced with such immensity, it's best to take it slow. So, with this in mind, let's start with one undeniably awesome nugget: the Soft Machine's Volumes One and Two.

From the Ace site:

One of Ace Records’ biggest selling titles, the twofer of this seminal British prog-psych outfit’s first pair of long players is testament to the quirky edge the original Machine had in their earliest incarnation(s). The Canterbury legend’s first album, recorded whilst on tour in the US in 1968, and not issued in the UK until Big Beat licensed it in the 1980s, features the spiky songcraft of founder member Kevin Ayers; its sequel introduced another bass-playing writing talent, Hugh Hopper. On both sets, the inventive keyboard of Mike Ratledge and distinctive voice of Robert Wyatt seal the enduring appeal of this cornerstone outfit.

Pete : 12 January, 2010

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