The Monkees Feature with Vintage Photos & Videos

The Monkees, even today, still go down as the most successful TV rock show idea ever. That was how they came about, as an idea for a TV show molded after the Beatles movie, A Hard Days' Night. A TV show about four poor hippie band members, with lots of slapstick comedy, and of course, music too.The fact that this manufactured group turned into a real band and had a whole bunch of big hits is really, well, far out!



Screen Gems executive Don Kirshner came up with the idea after seeing the Beatle movie and hired producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider to begin auditions for the show in 1965. An ad was placed in Variety, and amongst the 437 applications were Stephen Stills, Danny Hutton (later of Three Dog Night ), Harry Nilsson and Paul Williams. Only one Monkee would be found from the auditions, guitarist and songwriter Michael Nesmith, who's song "Different Drum" was a then current top ten hit for Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys. Hired later from other sources were folk singer - guitarist Peter Tork, and actors Mickey Dolenz (who started out as a child actor), and Davy Jones, who didn't know how to play a note of music. They were hired first and foremost as actors for the TV show; with no plans to have an actual real life band come about. It was decided for the show that the members would be portrayed as followed: Nesmith as the lead guitarist, Tork as the bassist, Dolenz, who could play guitar, was at first going to be the rhythm guitarist, but Jones, who was to be the drummer, was deemed by the shows producers as to being too small to sit behind the drum kit and still be seen. So Dolenz, who never before played the drums, took that part and Jones, well, he was placed out front as the cute one. All four would take turns at lead vocals, but as it turned out, the two actors, Jones and Dolenz, were the better singers and in time would get more of the lead vocals, with Nesmith handling the vocals for the country rock tunes (which me mainly wrote). Yet the truth of the matter was that Dolenz was the group's true lead singer, even if that fact was never advertised.



On September 12, 1966, the first episode of The Monkees was aired by NBC-TV and in an short time the show was a hit both in the US and the UK. Their self titled debut album was also a huge hit, selling over a million copies, as was its single, "Last Train To Clarksville", which made it to number 1 on the US charts. Most of the songs were written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, and Carole King and Gerry Goffin, with just one song, "Papa Gene's Blues" written by Nesmith. But the truth was, the Monkees not only were not a band yet and didn't play as one on this album, but they were not even a true singing group yet, as they didn't work together even in that department when the disc was put together. Dolenz not only sang most of the lead vocals on the LP, but he also, alone, sang most of the backing vocals for the songs, too. Nesmith's self penned song was the only tune on the album which was close to being a true "Monkees" number, as he, Dolenz and Tork, all performed on it. The rest of the music on the album was played by session musicians.





Their next album, More Of The Monkees, also was a big hit, and its single, "I'm A Believer", went to number one in both the US and UK. On this LP they were a true singing group at least, and suddenly they were the latest and biggest pre-teen and teen phenomenon around. However the group did not like the fact that they were still not allowed to play on their albums, and they came clean to their fans about this on their own after the second album's release. Like the first LP, Nesmith and Tork were allowed to play their guitars only on the Nesmith penned songs; so when they let their fans know they weren't happy with this fact, their management listened and gave in, since the TV show was now a huge hit. So the Monkees got what they demanded, that being that for the next album, Headquarters, they all would play most of the instruments as a true band, with just a couple of guitar session players backing them.



Headquarters would go on to prove that the Monkees did indeed have more than just acting talent, by far it was their best album. Nesmith would supply three new songs plus lead and steel guitar to the album. Tork added guitar, keyboards, banjo, bass and one penned song. Dolenz by now was not bad on the drums, yet he didn't care to play them, in part because he still was the main lead vocalist. Yet he still played drums on every track on the LP, along with playing rhythm guitar and keyboards, too; plus he wrote the album's closing number. Jones, well, he learned to shake the maracas real nice, but really, he was the band's second lead singer and the main ladies man in the group. Headquarters was released in May of '67 and was a huge hit and a really nice piece of work from the boys. The Monkees were not just a TV singing group anymore, but now a real band. They went on tour after the album release and played for real in front of their fans. This tour featured the famous, if not totally out of aliment pairing of the Monkees and Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix, who was still unknown, opened for the Monkees. In November of '67 the Monkees released their fourth album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn And Jones Ltd. which, dare I say, was a psychedelic masterpiece. The album did have a bit of country rock on it, but more psychedelic tunes. One of those psychedelic songs "Daily Nightly", was the very first rock song to use the new Moog synthesizer (which was the very first synthesizer), played by Dolenz. "Pleasant Valley Sunday" was another number one hit and the Nilsson cover song "Cuddly Toy" was also well received.





Things would start to wind down for the group in 1968. On March 25, their final TV episode was screened and the next month their next album, The Birds, The Bees And The Monkees was a disappointment as they returned to using more session musicians to record most of the album. But the album did spawn two big hit singles "Daydream Believer" and "Valleri", with most of the lead vocals on these two sung by Jones. "Valleri" in fact had been recorded back in '66 and only featured Jones and Dolenz singing on it. Next, The Monkees embarked on a feature film, Head, which upon its release got poor reviews and seemed to be viewed by noone. Tork left the band after Head's release and the remaining trio continued on without him. They released two more albums that bombed and the band, now going nowhere fast, broke up in '69. They reunited in 1985 (minus Nesmith) for a successful tour, but the new studio album they released, Pool It, was horrendous and they broke up the next year. In 1995 all four of the Monkees reunited for an UK tour and released a new studio album in '96, Justus. The album was the first Monkees album to feature all original material from the group members and was produced by Nesmith. It got good reviews and was a minor hit. It was nice to see the entire band back together recording again after so many years.




Various Videos Of The Monkees

The Monkees - I'm a Believer Video



The Monkees - Mary Mary Video




The Monkees - Goin' Down Video






The Monkees Discography

2005 Summer 1967: The Complete U.S. Concert Recordings
2004 Missing Links
2003 The Best Of The Monkees
2003 Extended Versions
2002 Live Summer Tour
2002 The Essentials
2001 Music Box
1998 Daydream Believer and Other Hits
1998 The Monkees: Anthology
1997 I'm a Believer and Other Hits
1996 Justus
1996 Missing Links Volume Three
1991 Listen to the Band
1987 Live 1967
1986 Pool It
1986 Missing Links Volume Two
1982 More Greatest Hits
1976 Greatest Hits
1975 Hit Factory
1970 Instant Replay
1970 Changes
1969 The Monkees Present: Micky, David & Michael
1968 Head
1968 The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees
1967 Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.
1967 Headquarters
1967 More Of The Monkees
1966 The Monkees

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Cream Feature with Vintage Photos & Videos

It is really hard to believe that Cream was only together for a little more than two years. They were rock's first power-trio and in their short history would sell millions of records and sell out concert halls everywhere. The band was formed as a blues-rock outfit in late 1966 with Eric Clapton on guitar and occasional lead vocals, Jack Bruce as its main songwriter, lead singer and bassist, and drummer Ginger Baker. Clapton was already pretty well know as a guitar hero in the UK and with Cream would soon be an international guitar playing superstar. He had been in bands like the Yardbirds and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers before Cream. Bruce also had been a member of the Bluesbreakers along with Clapton for a short time and had just left Manfred Mann when he joined up. Baker was the drummer for the Graham Bond Organisation , yet another band that Bruce had also been a member of. All three Cream members were looking to expand their music experiences and play music other than what was standard for the time period. No question that was what they ended up doing, playing long blues jams and extended solos live including everything from blues, to psychedelic, to hard rock.





Their first album, Fresh Cream was released in December of '66. Mainly a blues album, it was a hit reaching the British Top Ten in early 1967. Almost a year after their first release came the album Disraeli Gears. It was loaded with hits and made them big in the US, reaching number five. The hard rock song "Sunshine of Your Love," was the album's biggest hit with its great guitar and haunting vocals. "Strange Brew" was another hit and songs like "Dance the Night Away," "Tales of Brave Ulysses" and "S.W.L.A.B.R." all got substantial radio play. In June of '68 the double album Wheels of Fire topped the American charts and they were now considered one of rock biggest bands. One disc of this double album was recorded in the studio, the second recorded on stage in San Francisco. On this live disc Clapton fans would get to hear the Robert Johnson cover "Crossroads" for the first time. The studio disc contained the top ten single, Bruce's "White Room" (number 6 on the charts) as well as a grand cover of Albert King's "Born Under a Bad Sign."







It seem unreal that a band so hot would break up while at their peak, yet that is just what happened to Cream. Once again the three members wanted to break out and do something new. Cream played their last concert on November 26, 1968, at London’s Royal Albert Hall. There would be one last album after the breakup to be released in early 1969 , Goodbye, it consisted of three studio tracks and three live tracks. One of those studio tunes would be the Eric Clapton-George Harrison composition "Badge" which is the album's best track. Goodbye may not have gotten the greatest reviews but it did hit number two on the charts.







Life after Cream was most rewarding for Clapton with a huge solo career. He did briefly belong to two supergroups, teaming up again in '69 with Baker in Blind Faith and then in 1970 he formed Derek & the Dominos. Bruce went on to form several different bands with several big name musicians and covered everything from blues, rock, folk and jazz. After Blind Faith, Baker formed a couple of bands including Ginger Baker's Air Force which put out a couple of albums. He was later in a few other bands and then got back with Bruce in BBM in 1994. He retired from the business in late '97 and bought a horse farm in Colorado which he ran until late '99 when he was being force out of the country.



The group performed a brief set during the 1993 ceremony in which they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Jack Bruce nearly died after a liver transplant in 2003. In May, 2005 the group reunited for a series of concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall, the same venue where they played their farewell concert in 1968. Another series of reunion concerts is booked at Madison Square Garden in New York City in October 2005.








Significant Facts About Cream:

* Produced just seven original studio and live albums, and three compilations, yielding sales of more than 35-million. By comparison, Styx, with 22 studio and live albums and six compilations also have sales of 35-million.

* Performed more than 300 live shows in less than 30 months on tour.

* Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.



Cream Discography

Fresh Cream (1966)
Disraeli Gears (1967)
Wheels Of Fire (1968)
Goodbye (1969)


Various Cream Live Videos


Cream Live - I Feel Free Live Video




Cream - I'm So Glad Live Video



Cream - Tales Of Brave Ulysses Live Video



Cream - Anyone For Tennis Live Video





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Retro Rebirth

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Gong Feature with Vintage Photos & Videos

The beginnings of Gong can be traced back to several years before the band actually started to exist as such. Easter 1966, to be more specific. In the Gong mythology, this was the point when Daevid Allen had his 'seed vision', during which, legend has it, he foresaw his future career with both Soft Machine and Gong. This subject is largely covered by Allen himself in his recent autobiography, 'Gong Dreaming'.



Following his forced departure from Soft Machine in 1967, Daevid Allen settled in Paris with his partner Gilli Smyth, and for the next couple of years worked with several different line-ups, the most stable of which was Bananamoon (whose recordings, unreleased at the time, were published by Legend Music in 1993). The name Gong was first used in 1969, by which time the group of musicians gathered around Allen included former free-jazz saxophone player Didier Malherbe (nicknamed 'Bloomdido' after the famous Charlie Parker composition), and session musicians Christian Tritsch (guitar/bass) and Rachid Houari (drums/percussion), previously in the backing band of variety star Claude François. Together, they recorded the first Gong album (although the initial pressing was apparently credited to Allen and Smyth alone), "Magick Brother/Mystick Sister". The music was still very raw compared to the classic mid-70's albums, but Allen 's typical style and sense of humour were already well at the fore.


1970 was again a year of mostly confidential activity. The tapes recorded during that period were only released in 1994 on the "Camembert Eclectique" CD. Gong was still not a stable, regularly gigging unit. This only became true after the arrival of Pip Pyle in early 1971. Pyle had been introduced to Allen by Robert Wyatt during the recording of Allen's solo album, "Banana Moon", and ended up playing on one track of that album. With the now settled line-up of Allen, Smyth, Malherbe, Tritsch and Pyle, the band retired to the Château d'Hérouville (near Pontoise) to record "Camembert Electrique", which was only released in France (by Byg). This was the first classic album of Gong, with songs like "You Can't Kill Me", "Dynamite/I Am Your Animal" or "Fohat Digs Holes In Space" which have remained in the band's setlists to this day.



In the autumn of 1971, Gong toured France and England extensively, reinforced by Kevin Ayers, Allen's old pal from the Soft Machine days, who had his solo section in each concert (Robert Wyatt, having just left the Softs, also appeared at selected gigs). Again, following "Camembert Electrique"'s confidential release, more than a year would pass before Gong made it back to the recording studios, so this period is not well-documented, with the exception of a couple of BBC sessions. By December 1971, Pyle had gone back to England and had been replaced by Laurie Allan, who by coincidence had already been his successor in Delivery the previous year!



Later in 1972, major changes affected Gong's line-up. Christian Tritsch decided to concentrate on guitar; Bill MacCormick of Matching Mole was added briefly, then replaced by ex-Magma Frenchman Francis Moze following Giorgio Gomelsky's suggestion. Meanwhile, Tim Blake was added on synthesizer, which brought a whole new dimension to the band's sound. Following a jam in Fontaineblau with Kevin Ayers' band, which then included Steve Hillage as lead guitarist, Didier Malherbe offered the latter to join, which he did in replacement of Tritsch. With this new line-up (reinforced by Rachid Houari on percussion), Gong recorded what was the be the first instalment of the 'Radio Gnome Invisible' trilogy for which Gong is most fondly remembered by its fans. "Flying Teapot" introduced the characters of the Planet Gong (Zero The Hero and The Yoni Witch, aliasses for Allen and Smyth, The Pot-Head Pixies and The Octave Doctors) as well as the various devices used by its inhabitants to travel and communicate (Radio Gnome Invisible, the Flying Teapots and the Crystal Machine) and, musically speaking, marked a transition to the fuller and more sophisticated sound of the next albums.



The sessions were almost immediately followed by a new split. Moze and Allan left, the first to do session work in Paris and the second to go back to England (where he briefly rejoined Steve Miller's Delivery). A new rhythm section of Didier Thibault (formerly of Moving Gelatine Plates, a very good Soft Machine-influenced band) and Pierre Moerlen (straight out of the Strasbourg conservatory where he'd studied classical percussion extensively) was recruited. This was the time Allen and Smyth chose to temporarily leave the band, presumably to leave them rehearse on their own and feel comfortable together, which they eventually did thanks to a French tour under the name of ParaGong, in the spring of 1973. Meanwhile, Thibault was replaced by yet another British exile, Mike Howlett.



"Flying Teapot" was among the first batch of releases on the new Virgin label, with which Gong had just signed, and coincided with Allen and Smyth returning for a headlining UK tour. Work soon started on the second trilogy album, Angel's Egg. A musically more mature and consistent work, Angel's Egg was successful in mixing together all the innovative musical elements brought by both the new recruits and the old members, from Blake's synthesizer bubbles to Moerlen's tight and sophisticated drumming (with occasional use of tuned percussion), from Malherbe's multicoloured sax and flute leads, displaying influences from both jazz and ethnic idioms, to Hillage's wild cosmic guitar soloing, not forgetting Allen's typical vocal delivery and superior glissando guitar layers, and Smyth's evocative space whispers.



There were however problems of a more social nature within the band, which led to the first of several departures of Pierre Moerlen, still hesitant whether to carry on with Gong or resume his classical activities. From late 1973, he was replaced by a variety of temporary drummers including Laurie Allan, Rob Tait and Diane Stewart (Graham Bond's wife, also a vocalist). By now, Gong was starting to enjoy a high level of popularity in France, and gigged constantly. Recordings of these later resurfaced as the "Live At The Bataclan" and "Live At Sheffield" CD's, not to mention those used on the double live set, "Live Etc." from 1977.



With Moerlen eventually back in the line-up, Gong recorded what is considered as one of the ultimate space-rock classics, You (spawning such live favourties as "Master Builder" and "Isle Of Everywhere") which, although initially conceived as the third volume of the 'Radio Gnome Trilogy', took an unexpected instrumental dimension, with Allen's vocals confined to a minority of tracks. At that point, there was a growing conflict between Daevid Allen and the instrumentalists, which would eventually lead to Allen's departure the following spring, two dates into a major UK tour with Global Village Trucking Company. Meanwhile, Moerlen left again and was replaced in September 1974 by Laurie Allan, then Bill Bruford (jobless following the breakup of King Crimson) and eventually (in February 1975) Brian Davison, formerly of The Nice and Refugee.



With Gong developing to an instrumental band, not only Allen but also Smyth and Blake grew dissatisfied and left as well. Smyth was replaced by Miquette Giraudy, Hillage's girlfriend. The position of keyboard player remained vacant for a while although Dave Stewart of Hatfield and the North (which broke up in June, 1975) helped out for a few gigs. The Virgin staff, meanwhile, was worried at the turn of events and demanded that a stable line-up and a new band concept be chosen. To this end, they asked Pierre Moerlen (who had signed with Virgin as a solo artist, for an album of percussion music) to rejoin and take over from Allen as the band's leader with Didier Malherbe, which he did. Still, there was hesitation as to whether the new band should abandon the Allen-era material. At first, Hillage and Giraudy wanted to take over from Allen and Smyth, but their attempts proved unsuccessful and all references to the myths of stories of the Planet Gong were abandoned.

A new line-up of Gong resurfaced in the autumn of 1975, with Malherbe, Hillage, Moerlen, Howlett, and new recruits Mireille Bauer (percussion, Moerlen's girlfriend at the time) and Patrice Lemoine (keyboards, an acquaintance of Moerlen's from his Strasbourg days). The repertoire was mostly instrumental-based. By the year's end, though, Hillage had lost faith in the band and, encouraged by the success of his first solo album "Fish Rising", decided to leave and embark on a solo career. He nevertheless took part in the sessions for the new album in December 1975. Also featured on "Shamal" were Jorge Pinchevksy, an Argentinian violin player who was previously in Clearlight, the French opening band for the autumn tour, and Sandy Colley (Lemoine's girlfriend), on vocals. Both were then added to the line-up, although Colley stayed only for a few gigs.

"Shamal" was a superb album, which was quite successful in forgeing a completely new musical direction for Gong. As a result of Allen and Blake leaving, it was predominantly instrumental (thankfully, considering the weakness of Mike Howlett's vocals) and left behind the band's previous 'spacy' leanings. Stylistically, it was a mixture of sophisticated rock ("Wingful Of Eyes"), complex progressive ("Chandra", "Shamal"), ethnic/world experiments ("Bambooji" and "Cat In Clark's Shoes") and the percussion-based music ("Mandrake") which later became Moerlen's trademark. The band's sound was more based on rhythm than ever (the Howlett-Moerlen pair was indeed very solid), and made more frequent use of keyboards (Lemoine's style was close to jazz-rock, which made this line-up possibly the most 'Canterbury'-sounding) and tuned percussion. Surprisingly, "Shamal" was an unexpected commercial success (well over 100,000 copies sold), which makes it probably the biggest-selling Gong album ever.



By mid-1976, Malherbe and Moerlen were the only members of the 'classic' line-up still in the band. Under their influence, Gong's music became even more complex and jazz-oriented than previously, with new recruits like Allan Holdsworth, Francis Moze (already a member at the time of "Flying Teapot" - remember?), Mino Cinelu (a good friend of Moze's whom the latter brought into the band, later a sideman for Miles Davis) and Benoît Moerlen all primarily jazz players. They recorded "Gazeuse!" (1977), a less consistent album than "Shamal", relying more on the participants' chops than melodies or contrasts. Surprisingly, Malherbe didn't contribute to the writing, the compositions being shared among Moerlen, Holdsworth and Moze.



The line-up was shortlived, breaking up immediately after the sessions, in late 1976. Moerlen and Moze couldn't get along together, which caused conflicts inside the band, leading to its breakup, with Moerlen ultimately going back to Strasbourg, forming a new line-up there with Mireille Bauer and his brother Benoît. At that point, we are already in the Pierre Moerlen's Gong story, but during the period 1977-78, the band was still officially called Gong, or sometimes Gong-Expresso, referring to the title of the US release of "Gazeuse!".



In the 80's the Gong name was not used as such, although Pierre Moerlen's Gong, Daevid Allen's Planet Gong, New York Gong and Gongmaison, and Gilli Smyth's Mother Gong were active at various times. Although a one-off reunion took place in 1990 as part of the Bedrock TV concert series (with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, and Here & Now members Steffi Sharpstrings, Keith Missile and Twink Electron Flo appearing), it was during the sessions of Gongmaison's second album that Gong was effectively reborn when Pip Pyle, the original drummer in the band (1971), was asked to overdub drum parts to the recordings made by Gongmaison, which at the time included Daevid Allen (guitar/vocals), Didier Malherbe (sax/flute), Graham Clark (violin/guitar), Keith Bailey (bass) and Shyamal Maitra (percussion). The result was the album "Shapeshifter" (released only in Europe at the time, should come out in the US in late 1996 in a slightly different version) in September 1992. This was followed by a tour, the setlist of which included some Gong classics from as far back as "Camembert Electrique".

In October, 1994, Gong celebrated its 25th Birthday with an event of giant proportions, which not only saw most of the 'classic' line-up of the band (Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, Didier Malherbe, Tim Blake, Mike Howlett, with Pip Pyle and Steffi Sharpstrings replacing Pierre Moerlen and Steve Hillage respectively) together playing the whole 'Radio Gnome' trilogy, but also countless Gong-related groups and artists performing one after the other on the same stage. This 'festival' was documented on the Voiceprint/GAS release, "The Birthday Concert" (1995).



It was thereafter decided that Mike Howlett would rejoin the band on a permanent basis, and subsequent tours (also involving Allen, Smyth, Malherbe, Pyle and Sharpstrings), saw them perform their 'classic' material. Notable was Gong's first proper tour of the US, in March 1996, followed by yet another one to celebrate the American release of Shapeshifter. In November, Gong was back touring Europe. After a pause of a few months, a slightly altered line-up (with Pierre Moerlen returning to the fold), Gong hit the road again in August 1997 for a tour of Japan, North America and Britain. A French tour followed in May 1998.



With a view to releasing a new studio album in the year 2000, a new line-up of Gong hit the road in June 1999. Joining Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, Mike Howlett and Pierre Moerlen were new recruits Mark Hewins (guitars) and Theo Travis (sax/flute). Moerlen quit only two dates into the European tour and was replaced by Chris Taylor, and Didier Malherbe rejoined for the subsequent American tour, including appearances at prog festivals in San Francisco and Mexico City. By the time Gong entered the studio in September 1999, it was decided that Malherbe would only join Gong for special occasions, and both Travis and Taylor were confirmed as new members. The band premiered material from the upcoming album at a couple of gigs in October, most notably an appearance at the Nancy Jazz Pulsations festival with Magma and Soup Songs.



"Zero To Infinity", presented as the fifth installment of the 'Radio Gnome Invisible' saga, was released in March 2000, followed by the band's most intensive touring schedule for many years. A new member, keyboardist Gwyo Zepix from the electronic trio Zorch, joined the group in time for a release party at London's Subterranea Club (later released on DVD and forming the basis of the Live 2 Infinitea CD). This line-up toured throughout 2000 and 2001. Since then 'Classic Gong' has been inactive as Daevid Allen concentrates on University Of Errors and the latest incarnation of Gong is Acid Mothers Gong, involving Allen (and, occasionally, Gilli Smyth and Didier Malherbe) in conjunction with members of the Japanese band Acid Mothers Temple.



Gong Discography

Magick Brother Mystick Sister (1970)
Continental Circus (1971)
Banana Moon (1971)
Camembert Electrique (1971)
Flying Teapot - Radio Gnome Invisible (1973)
Angel's Egg (1973)
You (1974)
Shamal (1976)
Gazeuse (1977)
Expresso II (1978)
Downwind (1979)
Time is the Key (1979)
Leave It Open (1981)
Breakthrough (1986)
Brainville 3: Trial by Headline (2008)

Various Live Videos of Gong

Gong - Paris 1971, Part 1 of 2 Video



Gong - Paris 1971, Part 2 of 2 Video



GONG - April 26th 1972 Live Video



Gong at Montserratt 1973 Live Video




Wiki info can be found here --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gong

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Soft Machine Feature with Vintage Photos & Videos

Soft Machine was formed in 1966 by Robert Wyatt, Mike Ratledge, Kevin Ayers and Daevid Allen. Wyatt had already worked with Allen in the Daevid Allen Trio (which Ratledge occasionally jammed with) in 1963, and with Ayers in the Wilde Flowers in 1964. Although the band had its roots in Canterbury, it soon became a London-based band.



In January 1967, the band's one and only single ever was recorded : it had two songs on it, "Loves Make Sweet Music" and "Feelin', Reelin', Squeelin'". Three months later, a collections of demos was recorded at DeLane Lea Studios with producer Giorgio Gomelsky, but not officially released until 1971 (on two compilations on the French Byg label). At that time, Soft Machine had already become something of a 'cult' band on the London psychedelic scene, gigging at places like the Roundhouse or the UFO. On April 29th, 1967, they took part in an event set up by the underground paper 'International Times', which also featured the Pink Floyd, and was given the name, '14 Hour Technicolor Dream'.



During the summer, the band was involved in an avant-garde theatre project in St.Tropez, on the French Riviera, and it was on the way back that Daevid Allen was refused re-entry to England. So he stayed in France, moving on to various projects before forming Gong two years later, while Wyatt, Ratledge and Ayers decided to carry on as a trio.

In February 1968, Soft Machine embarked on a 3-month US tour (opening for the Jimi Hendrix Experience), recording their first album in New York in four days in April, with production handled by Tom Wilson and Chas Chandler, former Animals bassist and Hendrix's producer. Although quickly made (most tracks are first takes) and not particularly well-recorded, "The Soft Machine" is now considered a classic of the extraordinarily creative post-psychedelic, pre-progressive, period of the late 60's... and quite rightly so!



In May, a guitarist by the name of Andy Summers (also on the earlier Hendrix US tour, backing Eric Burdon... later in The Police, of course!) joined, for the second leg of the American tour (July-September), but left mid-tour. Disagreements on the musical direction began to arise between Ayers and Wyatt-Ratledge, leading to their parting company after the tour was completed. Wyatt stayed in Hollywood to work with Jimi Hendrix, while Ratledge and Ayers flew back to Europe. In December 1968, Wyatt was contacted by Probe, who had just released the first album, to discuss possible live dates by the band to promote it. With Ayers unavailable, Hugh Hopper was asked to join (he was about to sell his bass!), and after a month of rehearsal, the new line-up made its live debut at the Royal Albert Hall in February, a few days before entering Olympic Studios to record the second album.



For "Volume Two" and most of the subsequent gigs, the trio was augmented by Hugh's brother, Brian, who played tenor saxophone. This was the symptom of the band's gradual evolution towards jazz, clearly apparent on the album. In the Autumn of 1969, a permanent brass section was recruited from pianist Keith Tippett's jazz band : Elton Dean on alto sax, Marc Charig on trumpet, Nick Evans on trombone. Another sax (and flute) player, Lyn Dobson, was added following Dean's recommendation. The resulting septet was only together for a few weeks, recording BBC sessions in November and touring France quite extensively towards the end of the year; Evans and Charig then left to pursue successful careers on the European jazz scene (although they guested on subsequent albums).

During the first months of 1970, Soft Machine recorded "Third", a double album which included four sidelong compositions. Hugh Hopper's angular "Facelift" was a collage of live performances made in January, and is the only track featuring Lyn Dobson, who had left by the time the studio sessions for the other four sides had begun. Mike Ratledge contributed two sides : "Slightly All The Time", a progressive jazz masterpiece made all the more successful by the inclusion of the "Backwards" theme (bookended by Hopper's transition theme "Noisette") from previous live medleys; and "Out-Bloody-Rageous", which showcased the band's use of tape loops and featured strong group interplay. Finally, "Moon In June", Robert Wyatt's side, was something of a farewell to Soft Machine's original style, the last piece by the band ever to feature vocals; it was actually a montage of several old songs, some of them dating back to the 1967 Gomelsky sessions, but superbly linked together (Wyatt had recorded a demo of the suite in the USA in 1968). A good indication that the rest of the band weren't too keen on pursuing that kind of direction was that, although uncredited as such, "Moon In June" was largely a solo performance by Wyatt, who played organ and keyboard bass as well as drums and vocals. Hopper and Ratledge only appeared for a brief instrumental extravaganza at the end of the main part; Wyatt didn't even ask them to play on the rest.



So by mid-1970, Soft Machine had become a purely instrumental band; Wyatt being the only member wanting vocals in the music, the majority won... During the summer, Wyatt recorded his first solo album, "The End Of An Ear", on the sleeve of which he described himself as an 'out-of-work pop singer'... But a collection on pop songs the album was not : no lyrics, no conventional singing, rather a very experimental collection of mainly improvised material (the titles of the tracks referred to several Canterbury figures : "To Caravan And Brother Jim" etc.) except for a cover of Gil Evans' "Las Vegas Tango", with the voice used as an instrument and heavily treated, mostly through tape speed alterations. The results were, depending on one's taste, unlistenable or startlingly original and unique.



In the autumn, following a controversial appearance at the Royal Albert Hall for the famous 'Promenade Concerts' in August, the 'classic' line-up of Wyatt , Hopper, Ratledge and Dean recorded "4", in fact their first and last studio album as a quartet, although this incarnation would more or less survive for one more year. This effort carried on in the vein of "Third"'s instrumental tracks (with a welcome return to the septet format on the extraordinary "Teeth" and "Virtually"), and in this respect was an impressive achievement, although the complete lack of vocals made some listeners wonder if the band could still go on under the name Soft Machine... If only they'd known how many changes of personnel and musical direction were still ahead of them!!!

1971 was a year of experimentation, as one can tell from listening to the radio sessions recorded on this period. Several musicians (various brass players, string-bassist Roy Babbington and drummer Phil Howard) were sometimes added to the basic quartet, furthering the evolution towards jazz. That same year, Elton Dean released his first solo album, in much the same vein, with his own Elton Dean Band musicians (Howard and bassist Neville Whitehead), and Ratledge among the guests.



When Wyatt finally left in July, later forming Matching Mole, Phil Howard was a natural choice as replacement, but he rapidly left, midway through the sessions of the "5" album - his style was considered too 'free' by Hopper and Ratledge... and a good majority of the audiences who had seen the band play that autumn. He was in turn replaced by John Marshall, one of the very best drummers in Britain, formerly of Nucleus among other bands. With Marshall in, Soft Machine rapidly moved away from the straighter jazz feel of "5", into more 'jazz-rock' territory, which apparently wasn't to the taste of Elton Dean, who left in May 1972. He subsequently worked with mainly acoustic jazz ensembles, although he was also (quite surprisingly) involved in the Dutch 'progressive rock' band Supersister in 1973-74.

Ex-Nucleus pianist/reeds player Karl Jenkins wasn't really a replacement for Dean, as his multiple talents, including that of composer, rapidly made him the co-leader of Soft Machine with Ratledge. With the impressive Hopper/Marshall rhythm section at their disposal, the pair could allow themselves any level of complexity and musical variety. "Six Album", released in early 1973, was a double half-studio, half-live set. The latter showcases the interplay between the four musicians, while the former is more experimental, focussing on Jenkins and Ratledge's dual keyboard patterns and the use of Echoplex, most notably on the hypnotic "The Soft Weed Factor".



In May 1973, Hugh Hopper decided that four years in Soft Machine was enough and that it was time to move on to pastures new. He had just released his first solo album, "1984", and went on to release several others, and work with countless jazz and progressive bands throughout the decade, and again from the mid-eighties onwards after he stopped playing for five years. Roy Babbington, who had guested on a couple of Soft albums a double-bass player, was a natural replacement, except for the fact that he now concentrated on his 6-string bass guitar. The resulting line-up recorded "7", a natural progression from the studio album of "Six Album", with shorter compositions and even less jazz influence.

Perhaps sensing that, for the first time in the band's existence, Soft Machine's music tended to repeat itself, it was decided to add guitarist Allan Holdsworth to the line-up in December 1973. The resulting quintet (which toured North America in early 1974) was a fusion powerhouse, with possibly the best British drummer and guitarist at that time. Consequently, the music took a decidedly 'rocky' character, as documented on "Bundles", recorded in the summer of 1974 but only released in the spring of 1975. This was the first Soft album not to bear a number, a sign that times were surely changing : the band had left CBS for EMI/Harvest, and also left the underground scene for a more mainstream approach at a time when American fusion bands were a dominant force (and reached their commercial peak).



Holdsworth left shortly after the release of "Bundles", and recommended fellow guitarist John Etheridge as a possible replacement. This proved satisfactory and in the summer of 1975 Soft Machine embarked on an ambitious, but ill-fated, package tour of European arenas with the likes of Caravan and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. From then on, the band's popularity waned as it failed to sustain the momentum initially gathered by its new orientation. Ratledge, the last remaining founding member, left in March 1976, leaving Soft Machine's reins in the hands of Jenkins and Marshall. "Softs" appeared later that year, with Alan Wakeman (the cousin of famous keyboard wizard Rick) on saxophone; a shortlived addition as he left after less than six months, to be replaced by a violin player, Ric Sanders. Babbington also left after a last appearance in Edinburgh, and was replaced first by Brand X's Percy Jones, and finally Steve Cook (ex-Gilgamesh/Mirage). The live album "Alive And Well, Recorded In Paris" (1978) documented a series of French gigs in July 1977. Soft Machine subsequently ground to a halt, perfoming its last gig in Bremen in December 1978.

Soft Machine was active again for one more album - the purely studio affair, "Land Of Cockayne" (1981), with an all-star line-up featuring Allan Holdsworth and Jack Bruce alongside Jenkins and Marshall, but a rather uninspiring mixture of American fusion and orchestral 'muzak' - and a series of gigs at London's Ronnie Scotts club in the summer of 1984, with a line-up of Jenkins, Marshall, John Etheridge, Dave MacRae and bassist Paul Carmichael. Plans for further studio and live projects never materialized and indeed probably never will, as Karl Jenkins has found far more lucrative activities in the field of library, TV and advertisement music, most notably with his Adiemus project.



Soft Machine Discography

1 (1968)
2 (1969)
Spaced (1969)
3 (1970)
4 (1971)
5 (1972)
6 (1972)
7 (1973)
Bundles (1975)
Softs (1976)
Rubber Riff (1978)
Land of Cockayne (1981)

Various Video Of Soft Machine

Soft Machine - Moon in June Live at Bilzen Festival Aug 22, 1969 Video



Soft Machine - I Should Have Known 1969 Live Video



SOFT MACHINE - Esther's Nose Job 1970 Live Video



SOFT MACHINE - Theatre De La Musique 1970 Live Video




Wiki info can be found here --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_Machine


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Retro Rebirth

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