''Fifth'' (the title is ''Fifth'' while the front cover shows the number ''5''), is the fifth studio album by the

jazz rock Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and keyb ...

band Soft Machine, released in 1972. In the US the album was identified on cover and label by number (''5'').

Overview

''Fifth'' was the first Soft Machine album recorded after the departure of founding member Robert Wyatt and continued the band's progression away from their original blend of psychedelic and progressive

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

towards jazz fusion. Wyatt's replacement was Phil Howard, who contributed to the 1971 sessions that comprise side one, after which he left and was replaced by John Marshall for the 1972 recordings that make up side two. Future member

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 caree ...

played double bass on side two, as a session musician. Unlike the previous two albums,

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 ot ...

's saxophone is not augmented by a brass and reeds section composed of session musicians.

Track listing

Side one

#"All White" (

Mike Ratledge Michael Roland Ratledge (born 6 May 1943) is a British musician. A part of the Canterbury scene, he was a founding member of Soft Machine. He was the last founding member to leave the group, doing so in 1976. Biography and career Ratledge was ...

) – 6:06 #"Drop" (Ratledge) – 7:42 #"M C" (

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 in ...

) – 4:57

Side two

#"As If" (Ratledge) – 8:02 #"L B O" ( John Marshall) – 1:54 #"Pigling Bland" (Ratledge) – 4:24 #"Bone" (

) – 3:29

2007 CD reissue bonus track

#"All White" (take two) - 7:14

Personnel

– alto saxophone,

saxello The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

; Fender Rhodes electric piano (2) *

– Fender Rhodes 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 '' ...

– bass guitar * Phil Howard – drums (1-3) * John Marshall – drums (4-7) *

– double bass (4-7)

References

External links

Soft Machine - ''Fifth'' (1972) album review by Wilson Neate, credits & releases
at

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Soft Machine - ''Fifth'' (1972) album releases & credits
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Soft Machine - ''Fifth'' (1972) album credits & user reviews
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fifth Soft Machine albums 1972 albums CBS Records albums Columbia Records albums