I had a colleague once who insisted that this one album - yes this one - is the greatest album of all-time. I had been turned off by Soft Machine early, having unfortunately started with Fourth and Fifth. That wasn't my thing then... and honestly they still aren't. Way too much free jazz, which I know many of you enjoy, but we all have our filters. But he was persistent, and let me borrow his commodity CD that I took to work with me everyday for a week. Back then I was still a computer programmer (~1992), so I brought my Discman and just let 'er roll throughout the course of the day. Over time, I understood where he was coming from. It would never be a favorite for me, but at least I could appreciate the inventiveness - and yes its distinctive enough to be a favorite album for the right listener - I could see that. It was their transition from psych/prog to jazz. Because of this experience, I eventually bought the first 2 albums, ones I enjoyed immediately. But yea, for 1970 this is some extraordinary material.
Ownership: CD: 2007 Sony (Japan). 2xCD. Before going on about the CD, I'll talk about the LP I listened to first. For whatever reason I thought I had the UK CBS original. Nope. Definitely a mid to late 70s repress. Plopped it on the stereo. Jeez, what a terrible mix. The vinyl is beautiful but the sound is awful. Of course, this album is famous for that, but I know my ears have heard it better before. So I went to my Japanese papersleeve double CD. Oh yea, this definitely sounds better. Not great - but better. And the CD also has the full Live at Proms 1970 album.
LP: 1970 Columbia (USA). 2xLP gatefold. Acquired locally from Dr. Boom in a trade (2024). Doesn't really sound any better than the UK copy I reference above, but I think I'll keep it for now.
1992; 2013; 1/9/23 (LP 4.2); 3/26/23 (new entry)
1992; 2013; 1/9/23 (LP 4.2); 3/26/23 (new entry)
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