Soft Machine Out-Bloody-Rageous - An Anthology 1967-73 (2CD) Sony/BMG 5200392 || 4.7.2005 || £12.77  $ € ¥  + p+p +tax Click for big pic First proper Softs CD collection & the ideal introduction Remastered from the original master-tapes and sounding better than ever. This is a very good little double CD package indeed. It's an intelligent selection of prime Soft Machine tracks taken from the first seven albums and including the A & B sides of Soft Machine's first single, the first two tracks, which I think appear here on an official CD for the first time. They are also the only tracks with any Daevid involvement - playing guitar, as by the time the first album was recorded he was stuck in France, having been refused re-entry into the UK, out of the band, and dreaming of Bananamoons and Gongs. I would imagine that this release may even win the band some converts. The first CD in particular, which is loaded with material from Soft Machine Volumes 1 & 2, with those albums unique brand of adventurous music and mild surrealism, might appeal to those of you who only think of the rather serious jazz-rock when faced with the Softs - I do hope so anyway. There's also good 16 page illustrated history of the band.The whole package has been put together by the same re-mastering, packaging team who did such a good job with the Kevin Ayers and Caravan re-issues. Boy it's nice to finally have a Soft Machine release that I can recommend without hesitation. Disc One: Total Runtime 76.33 Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin' 2.50 Love Makes Sweet Music 2.27 Hope For Happiness 4.21 Joy Of A Toy 2.50 Hope For Happiness (Reprise) 1.38 We Did It Again 3.46 Plus Belle Qu'une Poubelle 1.03 Why Are We Sleeping? 5.33 Pataphysical Introduction (Part One) 1.00 A Concise British Alphabet (Part One) 0.09 Hibou Anemone & Bear 6.00 A Concise British Alphabet (Part Two) 0.12 Hullo Der 0.54 As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still 2.35 Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening 0.00 Out-Bloody-Rageous 19.11 Moon In June 19.08 Disc Two: Total Runtime 78.26 Teeth 9.12 - mp3 0'22" / 352KB Virtually (Part Four) 3.20 Kings And Queens 5.00 All White 6.07 Drop 7.42 Pigling Bland 4.24 Gesolreut (Live) 6.17 - mp3 0'50" / 800KB The Soft Weed Factor 11.13 Chloe And The Pirates 9.28 Penny Hitch 6.38 Down The Road 5.49 - mp3 0'38" / 596KB The German Lesson 1.53 The French Lesson 1.01 Musicians: Robert Wyatt: Daevid Allen: Mike Ratledge: Kevin Ayers: Hugh Hopper: Elton Dean: