Land of Cockayne (album)

Land of Cockayne is the tenth studio album by the jazz rock band Soft Machine, released in 1981. The title refers to the medieval land of plenty. It would be the last album released under the Soft Machine name until Hidden Details in 2018.

Land of Cockayne
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 1981
RecordedJune & July 1980
StudioPye Studios & Riverside Studios in London
GenreJazz rock
Length43:51
LabelEMI EMC 3348
ProducerMike Thorne
Soft Machine chronology
Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris
(1978)
Land of Cockayne
(1981)
Hidden Details
(2018)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]

Overview

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In 1979, Karl Jenkins, who had been a member of Soft Machine from May 1972 to the band's split in December 1978, was among a number of top session musicians put together for an ad hoc band called Rollercoaster, recording a Stevie Wonder tribute album called Wonderin' (1980). After that album was completed, a number of the Rollarcoaster musicians decided to record another album together, this time under the Soft Machine name.[2] Some of the musicians involved in the project would be part of Soft Machine's next live line-up, which played a six-night residency at Ronnie Scott's in 1984.

Track listing

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All compositions by Karl Jenkins.

Side one

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  1. "Over 'n' Above" – 7:24
  2. "Lotus Groves" – 4:57
  3. "Isle of the Blessed" – 1:56
  4. "Panoramania" – 7:07
  5. "Behind the Crystal Curtain" – 0:53

Side two

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  1. "Palace of Glass" – 3:22
  2. "Hot-Biscuit Slim" – 7:27
  3. "(Black) Velvet Mountain" – 5:10
  4. "Sly Monkey" – 5:00
  5. "A Lot of What You Fancy..." – 0:35

Personnel

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Soft Machine

Additional personnel

  • Mike Thorne – production
  • Bill Harman – orchestra leader
  • Roy Ellsworth – artwork

References

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  1. ^ "Soft Machine - Land of Cockayne (1981) album rating, user reviews, credits & releases | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  2. ^ Bennett, Graham Soft Machine: Out-Bloody-Rageous SAF Publishing Ltd, 2005 ISBN 0-946719-84-5 ISBN 978-0-946719-84-6 at Google Books
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