Soft Machine - Six - 1st UK vinyl pressing - 1973

	£		18
	$		24

Soft Machine - 6 - 1st UK vinyl pressing - 1973

Band: Soft Machine

Album Title: Six

Version: First UK pressing in gatefold cover

Producers: Soft Machine

Label/Format: CBS Records – orange label.

Label Conditions: All four are clean, fresh and attractive with excellent visibility.

Cat Number: 68214

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm

Country of Manufacture: England

Original Year of Release: 1973

Outside Cover Front: The front is in superb condition. The only hints of wear are a small, very slight crease to the right hand side. In the lower left hand corner there is evidence of a sticker, but this is a light marking. The colours are strong, rich and with clear definition.

Outside Cover Back: The back is virtually immaculate. Slight ring wear evidence.

Inside Gatefold Sleeve: Superb condition. All photographs of the band are unmarked and clear.

Spine and Text: Solid and quite straight with virtually no compression. The spinal text is clear (and for 40 years +) easy to read.

Corners: Almost no rubbing, with MINOR evidence of at the bottom left hand corner. Good shape is retained.

The Inner Sleeves: original outer paper. There is evidence of slight creasing over the years on one of the sleeves.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: these discs are both fine visual copies that are clean, shiny, intense black and solidly pressed. There are some very light surface marks but NO penetrating scratches, hence no pops or significant clicks heard. Visually a splendid record that should please many a collector.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables, even ‘budget’ decks.

TRACK LIST:

(Live Record)

Side 1: Fanfare / All White / Between / Riff / 37 ½

Side 2: Gesolreut / E.P.V. / Lefty / Stumble / 5 From 13 (For Phil Seamen With Love & Thanks) / Riff II

(Studio Record)

Side 3: The Soft Weed Factor / Stanley Stamps Gibbon Album (For B.O.)

Side 4: Chloe And The Pirates / 1983

Musicians:  Hugh Hopper – bass guitar, sound effects on "1983"

Karl Jenkins – oboe, baritone and soprano saxophones, electric piano and grand piano, celeste

John Marshall – drums, percussion

Mike Ratledge – organ, electric piano and grand piano, celeste

Brief Info: Six is a 1973 instrumental album, originally released as a double LP by the British psychedelic, progressive rock and jazz/fusion band Soft Machine who were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene. Six is their first album with Karl Jenkins (reeds, keyboards, from Ian Carr's Nucleus) who had replaced Elton Dean. The album is unusual in having the oboe as a featured instrument in a jazz-rock setting. The "B.O." to whom the track Stanley Stamp's Gibbon Album is dedicated is Bill Oddie. Six won first place in the Melody Maker British Jazz Album of the Year award in 1973. Bassist Hugh Hopper left the group before the album was released

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their phenomenal Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This 1970’s record plays mostly above its visual grading with little to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are mainly light and infrequent; the odd trace on the quiet passage here and there, enough to remind it is a record being played, not a clinical digital format.

Equipment Used for Play-Grading: I now play-grade ALL the records I offer (unless clearly stated to the contrary) on the following equipment:

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Terrarium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.