NEW VINYL LP ON UNIVERSAL 2010. A wild, freewheeling, and ultimately successful attempt to merge psychedelia with jazz-rock, Soft Machine's debut ranges between lovingly performed oblique pop songs and deranged ensemble playing from drummer/vocalist Robert Wyatt and organist Mike Ratledge. With only one real break (at the end of side one), the songs merge into each other -- not always smoothly, but always with a sense of flair that rescues any potential miscues. Wyatt takes most of the vocals, and proves himself a surprisingly evocative singer despite his lack of range. Like Pink Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Vol. 1 was one of the few over-ambitious records of the psychedelic era that actually delivered on all its incredible promise. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_Machine Tracklist. 1. Hope for Happiness2. Joy of a Toy3. Hope for Happiness (reprise)4. Why Am I So Short?5. So Boot If At All6. A Certain Kind7. Save Yourself8. Priscilla9. Lullabye Letter10. We Did It Again11. Plus Belle qu'une Poubelle12. Why Are We Sleeping?13. Box 25/4 Lid
