THE SOFT MACHINE

The Soft Machine's debut released in 1968 can easily be compared to The Piper at the Gates of Dawn by (The) Pink Floyd in the way that both are heavily psych oriented and yet very original and rather innovative at their style, also both albums really differ from the later band's classics. Heck, Kevin Ayers can even be considered the Syd Barrett of The Soft Machine.

But really, for me Piper succeeded better, the lunacy of it is just off-limits. The Softs debut isn't bad though, definitely a forgotten gem from the psychedelic/proto-prog era, but overall it doesn't deliver you such a unique experience. It is original mind you, bits of jazz, humour, and this mixed with the classic psych type of compositions, this was definitely one of its kind back then.

Right now though, it's an enjoyable psych album and good to have in your collection if you want to know the development of rock music. Other than that, this is not really that great. Got to admit though, instrumentally that this is very good, Mike Ratledge's very 60s organ solos are cool and so is Wyatt's drumming. But all this would get even better and more refined in Volume Two, a true masterpiece of psych mixed with jazz.

3 stars: Just in case if you didn't get my point, I highly recommend this if you like psychedelic rock music and if you're keen to know the early traces of Prog. Obviously an essential album for fans of the band, but if you're not a fan of the band and neither of psych rock, you can skip this pretty easily.

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