Seven (Soft Machine album)
Encyclopedia
Seven is a 1973 album by the British
progressive rock
and jazz
/fusion
band Soft Machine
who were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene
. Roy Babbington
, who had previously contributed to Fourth and Fifth on double bass
as a session musician, replaced Hugh Hopper
on bass guitar, who left to begin a solo career.
The album was issued on CBS Records with a colour gatefold cover in the UK, and on Columbia Records
with a completely different black and white cover in the USA. The title on the USA front cover is the numeral 7, but is spelled out as Seven on the spine and label. Although this is a 1973 release, USA copies show a copyright date of 1974 (and a phonographic rights date of 1973), suggesting the North American release may have been delayed. It was the last of their studio releases to carry a numbered title.
The final two tracks are clearly intended as a joke. The preceding track, "Down the Road", fades into a swirling abstract jumble of notes on keyboards which plays with little variation for three minutes before fading out, and there is nothing musically to indicate the transition from German to French lessons, and no explanation as to why these two tracks are credited to different composers.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
/fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
band Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
who were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene
Canterbury Scene
The Canterbury scene is a term used to loosely describe the group of progressive rock, avant-garde and jazz musicians, many of whom were based around the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
. Roy Babbington
Roy Babbington
Roy Babbington is a rock and jazz bassist. He became well known for being a member of the Canterbury scene progressive rock/jazz fusion band Soft Machine.-Biography:...
, who had previously contributed to Fourth and Fifth on double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
as a session musician, replaced Hugh Hopper
Hugh Hopper
Hugh Colin Hopper was a progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and various other related bands.-Early career:...
on bass guitar, who left to begin a solo career.
The album was issued on CBS Records with a colour gatefold cover in the UK, and on Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
with a completely different black and white cover in the USA. The title on the USA front cover is the numeral 7, but is spelled out as Seven on the spine and label. Although this is a 1973 release, USA copies show a copyright date of 1974 (and a phonographic rights date of 1973), suggesting the North American release may have been delayed. It was the last of their studio releases to carry a numbered title.
The final two tracks are clearly intended as a joke. The preceding track, "Down the Road", fades into a swirling abstract jumble of notes on keyboards which plays with little variation for three minutes before fading out, and there is nothing musically to indicate the transition from German to French lessons, and no explanation as to why these two tracks are credited to different composers.
Side one
- "Nettle Bed" (Karl JenkinsKarl Jenkins-Other works:*Adiemus: Live — live versions of Adiemus music*Palladio *Eloise *Imagined Oceans *The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace...
) – 4:47 - "Carol Ann" (Jenkins) – 3:48
- "Day's Eye" (Mike RatledgeMike RatledgeMichael Roland "Mike" Ratledge is a British musician. Ratledge was part of the Canterbury scene and a long-time member of Soft Machine.-Biography and career:...
) – 5:05 - "Bone Fire" (Ratledge) – 0:32
- "Tarabos" (Ratledge) – 4:32
- "D.I.S." (John MarshallJohn Stanley MarshallJohn Stanley Marshall, better known as John Marshall, born 28 August 1941 in Isleworth, Middlesex, is an English drummer. He was a founding member of the jazz rock band Nucleus and has worked with various other jazz and rock bands and musicians, among them J.J...
) – 3:02
Side two
- "Snodland" (Jenkins) – 1:50
- "Penny Hitch" (Jenkins) – 6:40
- "Block" (Jenkins) – 4:17
- "Down the Road" (Jenkins) – 5:48
- "The German Lesson" (Ratledge) – 1:53
- "The French Lesson" (Jenkins) – 1:01
Personnel
- Roy BabbingtonRoy BabbingtonRoy Babbington is a rock and jazz bassist. He became well known for being a member of the Canterbury scene progressive rock/jazz fusion band Soft Machine.-Biography:...
- bass guitar, acoustic bass - Mike RatledgeMike RatledgeMichael Roland "Mike" Ratledge is a British musician. Ratledge was part of the Canterbury scene and a long-time member of Soft Machine.-Biography and career:...
- (LowreyLowrey organThe Lowrey organ is an electronic organ named after Chicago industrialist Frederick Lowrey.During the 1960s and 1970s, Lowrey was the largest manufacturer of electronic organs in the world. In 1989, the Lowrey Organ Company produced its 1,000,000th organ....
Holiday De Luxe) organ, (AKS) synthesizer, (Fender RhodesRhodes pianoThe Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the fifties and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS....
) electric piano - Karl JenkinsKarl Jenkins-Other works:*Adiemus: Live — live versions of Adiemus music*Palladio *Eloise *Imagined Oceans *The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace...
- oboe, baritone and soprano saxophones, recorder, (Fender Rhodes & Hohner) electric piano - John MarshallJohn Stanley MarshallJohn Stanley Marshall, better known as John Marshall, born 28 August 1941 in Isleworth, Middlesex, is an English drummer. He was a founding member of the jazz rock band Nucleus and has worked with various other jazz and rock bands and musicians, among them J.J...
- drums, percussion