| Six | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album /Live album by | ||||
| Released | February 1973 | |||
| Recorded | The Dome, Brighton, andCivic Hall, Guildford, October and November 1972 (live record), CBS Studios, London, November and December 1972 (studio record, except "1983"),Advision Studios, London, 1973 ("1983") | |||
| Genre | Jazz fusion,free jazz[1] | |||
| Length | 76:25 | |||
| Label | CBS (UK),Columbia (USA) | |||
| Producer | Soft Machine | |||
| Soft Machine chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B−[2] |
Six is the sixth studio album by thejazz rock bandSoft Machine. Originally released in 1973 as adoubleLP, the first disc is a live album and the second disc is a studio album. This is the first album to featureKarl Jenkins as a member the group, replacingElton Dean. Jenkins eventually became thede facto leader and main composer of the group.
The previous two albums had been issued with slightly different titles in different countries (Fourth andFifth in the UK,Four and5 in the USA, with the former album showing a numeral4 on the cover, while the album before that had been titledThird worldwide). On this album, they deferred to their American standard for worldwide release.
The album includes a live record and a studio record, individually titled as shown in the track listing below.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fanfare" | Karl Jenkins | 0:42 |
| 2. | "All White" | Mike Ratledge | 4:46 |
| 3. | "Between" | Jenkins, Ratledge | 2:24 |
| 4. | "Riff I" | Jenkins | 4:36 |
| 5. | "37½" | Ratledge | 6:51 |
| Total length: | 19:19 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Gesolreut" | Ratledge | 6:17 |
| 7. | "E.P.V." | Jenkins | 2:47 |
| 8. | "Lefty" | Soft Machine | 4:56 |
| 9. | "Stumble" | Jenkins | 1:42 |
| 10. | "5 from 13 (forPhil Seamen with Love & Thanks)" | John Marshall | 5:15 |
| 11. | "Riff II" | Jenkins | 1:20 |
| Total length: | 21:37 40:16 | ||
Note: "Lefty" composer credit changed to (Hopper / Jenkins / Marshall) on later CD editions.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Soft Weed Factor" | Jenkins | 11:18 |
| 2. | "Stanley Stamp's Gibbon Album (for B.O.)" | Ratledge | 5:58 |
| Total length: | 17:16 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3. | "Chloe and the Pirates" | Ratledge | 9:30 |
| 4. | "1983" | Hugh Hopper | 7:54 |
| Total length: | 17:24 34:40 | ||
Soft Machine
Record 1: Recorded at theBrighton Dome and at theGuildford Civic Hall and mixed atAdvision Studios, London during the months of October and November 1972.
Record 2: "1983" recorded and mixed atAdvision Studios,London. All other compositions recorded and mixed at CBS Studios, London during the months of November and December 1972.
