Fourth (Soft Machine album) | on the albums Elton
Fourth is a 1971 studio album by the Canterbury band Soft Machine. This was the last of their album’s to include drummer and founding member Robert Wyatt who afterwards left the band to found Matching Mole.
In 1999, Soft Machine albums Fourth and Fifth were re-released together on one CD.
Review
At the time the band’s music was moving away from their original brand of psychedelic and progressive rock towards jazz fusion; Fourth is the first of their purely instrumental albums.
Track listing
LP Side one
- 1. “Teeth” (Mike Ratledge) 9:15
- 2. “Kings and queens” (Hugh Hopper) 5:02
- 3. “Fletcher’s blemish” (Elton Dean) – 4:35
LP Side two
- 4. “Virtually part 1″ (Hugh Hopper) – 5:16
- 5. “Virtually part 2″ (Hugh Hopper) – 7:09
- 6. “Virtually part 3″ (Hugh Hopper) – 4:33
- 7. “Virtually part 4″ (Hugh Hopper) – 3:23
Personnel
- Hugh Hopper - bass guitar
- Robert Wyatt - drums
- Mike Ratledge - organ, piano
- Elton Dean - alto saxophone, saxello
- Nick Evans - trombone (1,2,4)
- Jimmy Hastings - alto flute (6), bass clarinet (1,6)
- Alan Skidmore - tenor sax (1,6)
- Roy Babbington - double bass (1,3,4,6)
- Mark Charig - cornet (2-4)