''Fourth'' is the fourth studio album by the rock band

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966– ...

, released in 1971. The album is also titled ''Four'' or ''4'' in the USA.

Overview

The numeral "4" is the title as shown on the cover in all countries, but a written-out title appears on the spine and label. This was the group's first all-instrumental album, although their previous album ''Third'' had almost completed the band's move in this direction toward instrumental jazz, and a complete abandonment of their original self-presentation as a psychedelic pop group, or progressive rock group. It was also the last of their albums to include drummer and founding member

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming p ...

who afterwards left. He had already recorded a solo album, ''

The End of an Ear ''The End of an Ear'' is the debut solo album by Soft Machine's Robert Wyatt. Background The album was recorded in August 1970, while Wyatt took a break from Soft Machine, the band he would leave the following year. Containing mostly free jazz ...

'' (in which he described himself on the cover as an "Out of work pop singer currently on drums with Soft Machine"), and now founded a new group, Matching Mole, whose name was a pun on "Soft Machine" as pronounced in French: "Machine Molle". Like the previous Soft Machine album, some tracks have the band augmented by additional musicians. These include

Mark Charig Mark Charig (born 22 February 1944 in London) is a British trumpeter and cornetist. He was particularly active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he played in settings as diverse as Long John Baldry's group, Bluesology, Soft Machine, and ...

and Nick Evans, who had been in the septet lineup of late 1969, and

Roy Babbington Roy Babbington (born 8 July 1940 in Kempston, Bedfordshire, England) is a rock and jazz bassist. He became well known for being a member of the Canterbury scene progressive rock band Soft Machine. Biography Babbington started his musical ca ...

, who would join the band in 1973. In 1999, Soft Machine albums ''Fourth'' and '' Fifth'' were re-released together on one CD. In 2007, ''Fourth'' was re-released as part of the series ''Soft Machine Remastered – The CBS Years 1970–1973''. The booklets of these re-releases contain liner notes written by Mark Powell from

Esoteric Recordings Esoteric Recordings is a UK independent record label specialising in 1970s progressive rock, folk, psychedelic, and jazz-rock reissues as part of Cherry Red Records. Its releases include both catalogue reissues and new works from artists who s ...

about the history of Soft Machine, their musical development and as one of the first relevant bands in the so-called progressive rock scene.

Track listing

All compositions by

Hugh Hopper Hugh Colin Hopper (29 April 1945 – 7 June 2009) was a British progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and other bands. Biography Early career Starting ...

except where indicated.

Side one

#"Teeth" ( Mike Ratledge) – 9:15 #"Kings and Queens" – 5:02 #"Fletcher's Blemish" (

Elton Dean Elton Dean (28 October 1945 – 8 February 2006) was an English jazz musician who performed on alto saxophone, saxello (a variant of the soprano saxophone) and occasionally keyboards. Part of the Canterbury scene, he featured in, among oth ...

) – 4:35

Side two

#"Virtually Part 1" – 5:16 #"Virtually Part 2" – 7:09 #"Virtually Part 3" – 4:33 #"Virtually Part 4" – 3:23

Personnel

– alto saxophone, saxello * Mike Ratledge – acoustic piano, Hohner Pianet electric piano,

Lowrey organ The Lowrey organ is an electronic organ named for its developer, Frederick C. Lowrey (1871–1955), a Chicago-based industrialist and entrepreneur. Lowrey's first commercially successful full-sized electronic organ, the Model S Spinet or ''B ...

– bass guitar, fuzz bass *

– drums ;Additional personnel *

– double bass (1, 3, 4, 6) *

– cornet (2, 3, 4) * Nick Evans – trombone (1, 2, 4) * Jimmy Hastings – alto flute (6), bass clarinet (1, 6) *

Alan Skidmore Alan Richard James Skidmore (born 21 April 1942) is an English jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of saxophonist Jimmy Skidmore. Career He was born in London, England. Skidmore began his professional career in his teens, and early in his caree ...

– tenor saxophone (1, 6)

References

External links

Soft Machine - ''Fourth'' (1971) album review by Ken Taylor, credits & releases
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

Soft Machine - ''Fourth'' (1971) album releases & credits
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Soft Machine - ''Fourth'' (1971) album credits & user reviews
at ProgArchives.com
Soft Machine - ''Fourth'' (1971) album to be listened
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Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

Soft Machine - ''Fourth'' (1971) album to be listened
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fourth (Album) Soft Machine albums 1971 albums CBS Records albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Hugh Hopper Albums produced by Mike Ratledge Esoteric Recordings albums Albums produced by Robert Wyatt Albums produced by Elton Dean