Third

I'm so tired

I HATE PROG ROCK I DONT WANT TO LISTEN TO 18 MINUITE TRACKS ONE AFTER THE OTHER I DON'T WANT TO SIT THROUGH SEVEN MINUITES OF A GUITAR SOLO Actually this isn't bad tbh

- DO NOT LISTEN TO TRACK 1 FIRST - It was alright, but nearly lost the will to live after the opening minutes of track 1, and this is coming from someone who usually rates prog rock quite highly. Quite an enjoyable listen once I got past that.

The field recording of an alien swingers party that ends in communal astral projection.

The musical rendition of Hitchhiker's Guide. Adventurous, mind-bending, indecisive, crazy. I got lost several times. The fact that this was recorded live is incredibly impressive. It sounds several years ahead of other bands that would themselves be considered wildly ahead of their time (e.g. Pink Floyd's Meddle and WYWH). Unfortunately, though, the music lacks riffs, hooks, and (for the most part) chord progressions and melodies, making it tough for your standard listener. One thing I will say is that it wasn't boring. It just overrepresented creativity and musicians' enjoyment, at the expense of building a connection with the audience. Because I'm part of said audience, I can't give this 5 stars. Great synths. In fact, great instrumentation all around. The musicianship is solid and the band sounds like they're genuinely enjoying themselves without sounding too indulgent. Fun and well-executed build-ups as well. It's mostly great, in theory. 4/5 Fave track: Out-Bloody-Rageous

Way way too much prog, disappeared up its own arse before the first two minutes of ambient nonsense had finished. Pointless, annoying, way too long. Its not big or clever to make music like this. The most jazzy parts reminded me of cheap tickets I got to the proms where we left after forty minutes. Wish I left this after forty minutes. Bad.

You do a track, and you do a track, and you do a track. Play whatever you want but don’t tell anybody else what you’re doing. We’ll just mash em all together in the end. Ugh.

I knew from the first track that I was going to hate this album. An 18 minute track where it takes more than half the duration to get going. Even after that it just sounds like noise. The rest of the album isn't much better and I gave up before the end.

A sometimes bracing sometimes beautiful prog/jazz fusion album. It was honestly a little exhausting listening to the entire thing, but I can't deny that it was NOT BORING (my most important metric!). I can see why some people would give it a 5 for sure, but it's not quite there for me yet. 4 it is.

I would have run a bloody mile from this in years gone by. These days I'm the one making all the moves. You grow old, you listen to jazz, innit. Life 101. Even better if it's on the cusp of psychedelic shit fusing it with freestyle jazz and drugs are involved - participants, not the listener. I love how the songs build up throughout ten minutes or so. You aren't going to hear these on Heart FM anytime soon. There's also a soft approach to all the jazz shit. The horns won't blow your arse off. If you make it through all four sides then you have done very well. It takes you on a journey. Gawd knows where to. I became lost on side 3. That's half the fun, right?

Really phenomenal spacey electronic stuff, big fan of this sound and can see where it launched them in the future as well.

2.5/5 I liked the part when they sang. Fav: Moon In June

No. 302/1001 Facelift 1/5 Slightly All Time 1/5 Moon In June 2/5 Out-Bloody-Rageous 1/5 Average: 1,25 Really long and for me just not enjoyable.

I think it's pronounced 'turd'.

This is why I started this project in the first place, to find incredible albums I'd never heard before. I know nothing about this band, just four tracks but it's jazz/rock stuff and it works exceptionally well. Reminds me of that Blood Sweat Tears album, which also was jazzy, but this one is all in. Just four tracks, each one an odyssey filled with wild and captivating sounds. Of course I'm saving every song. I don't know what else to say, this is all the way up my alley. First new album five-star in a while but very deserving. Favorite songs: All of them, don't ask me to pick a favorite because each has moments that caught me in my tracks. Album art: How often do we get these amazing albums with totally boring covers? It's just the word Third, with a bit of a shadow and path effect going on. Burnt orange all around. It's extremely minimal, and I can't say I'm mad at it, but it gives no indication whatsoever of how incredible the music is. 5/5

A little noise, a little jazz, a little avant garde minimalism, all prog. Though I like their first two albums a bit more, this is bold stuff, and holds up well alongside other prog rock and jazz fusion of the era.

I enjoyed this to begin with, as it was different to what I was expecting, but after a while - probably during the first tune, as it's nearly 20 minutes long - my interest started to wane. A lot of jazz leaves me cold, and prog makes me feel a bit queasy, so prog jazz is not really going to float my boat. Too much showing off, and for far too long.

Surely this is one of the most eclectic and eccentric albums on the list! This album has a strange but wondrous magic to it. The playing by the band is all great; excellent bass, drum and keyboard parts throughout. My favorite part of the album is the second half of Moon in June, there's something so enchanting about it to me. I also like the vocal bits, and Slightly All the Time is awesome all the way through. Such a journey of an album.

Wow, I re-listen an album I liked before and find out I actually love it? Who Could've guessed something like that would happen to me! Sarcasm aside, this album is magnificent, with a hard-coded display of jazz rock at its instrumental finest, with a sonic blast of buzzing organs, complex drum patterns, and bass playing that is just subtle enough to feel like a texture that keeps my mind fuzzy. Even better is the third track's vocal performance via Robert Wyatt, who's voice I adore to no end, and I really soak in each word he speaks, as, alas, this is our only moments with him vocally. I originally was turned off by the opening track for being too all over the place and nonsensical, and while it is still the weakest track, I can wrap my mind around it just enough to love the parts where all the instruments explode at once, or when the music reverses and goes forward at the same time. Assuredly a sick experience to see live, and the rest of the album's non-live performances are also top-notch. Figures that I like it when British white guys do crazy, long form jazz instead of albums like Bitches Brew. Because I'm a bad person. Ah, well... someday that album will click with me. Maybe. Probably not. But this one does! This is fantastic, and worth the re-listen just a month later!

Jazzy prog? Wow I have been sleeping on these guys. I know some of Robert Wyatt's solo stuff but somehow haven't ever explored Soft Machine. I clearly have work to do!

now this is the kinda weird shit i am looking for drone, jazz, rock, electronic. only thing i'm not into is the vocals on track 3

Sometimes the best albums are the ones we can't figure out

One of my favorite album ever, by which I discovered the incredible Robert Wyatt. Uncompromised and so unique experimental jazz music with a canterbury scene feel. Listening to Robert Wyatt singing Moon In June while drumming is one of the best thing a human can experience.

So crazy good so cool instrumental stuff absolutely yes

Very cool listen. A bit of a synth psychedelic feel to the finish which I really dug. A bit up and down as far as how much I enjoyed it, but overall a cool album

A mix between electronica, prog rock, and free jazz. In other words, pretty awesome!

I really liked this; a mix of pop, avant garde, psychedelic, jazz, progressive all wrapped in that late 60s lofi sound. Lovely.

Wow, this album is a wild trip. I ignored first track - it is unbearable to listen to from first second. But rest of it is just crazy. During one 20 minute track it can go from perfect harmony to totally dreadful chaos and go back to great harmony. And this album is doing this many times this process is so smooth that I can't wrap my head around it. I have never heard other song with part that was monotonous and not interesting just to use it as a base to build more on it and turn it great and fascinating. Avoid first track.

Considering Third's reputation on this site (with a 2.45 average score) i was going into it thinking that i would absolutely hate it. But i didn't hate it, rather, i tolerated it somehow. I will get this out of the way, Yes, the album can get pretty noisy when it wants to. Those noisy sections were surprisingly rare though as when the album was actually trying to sound like proper music, It didn't sound too terrible. I guess the length did kinda help me get through this album's quirkiness. The vocals in the third track were cool as well. I didn't think i would not dislike this album but somehow, it turned out to be surprisingly okay. Best Song: Moon in June Worst Song: Out-Bloody-Rageous

While I appreciate Soft Machine’s risk taking and experimentation, I’ve always found Canterbury scene prog to be a little boring and self-important.

Somewhere between ethereal and jazz.

This was tough. It seems like it couldn't pick a lane - not jazz, not psychedelic rock, not folk rock, but trying to be everything at once while succeeding at none of them.

Good free jazz but the intros to the songs are way too long

The Wiki for this album states: "Not exactly rock, Third nonetheless pushed the boundaries of rock into areas previously unexplored, and it managed to do so without sounding self-indulgent" I couldn't disagree more. It's a highly self-indulgent album with solo's that go nowhere. Quick shifts in tone out of no where that disrupt your rhythm. The entire first track is unlistenable. The rest just leave you feeling anxious and confused. The wiki is right about one thing. It explored previously unexplored areas. Ones that probably shouldn't have been explored. Not the worst album on this list, but still only 1 star. And no, none of these 4 excruciatingly agonizing and long songs will make the 1001 best of playlist. They're that bad.

Out-bloody-rageously awful.

The first 1/3 of the first track on this record very nearly made me give up (the project, to be clear, not life). I don't understand how anyone can sit down and listen to that for pleasure. I don't know if it was some sort of Stockholm Syndrome but I enjoyed some small parts of some of the later tracks. Overall however this was not a pleasant listening experience. I didn't hate it as much as some other albums, but it's really not deserving of a 2/5, so it's going to have to be another: 1/5

5/20/25. Meh, I generally like this genre of music but this one didn’t do it for me. Never really picked up or became interesting as I listened on. Not terrible by any means, just didn’t click with it.

Such an insufferable amalgamation of noise. How did this album make the cut??? 40 minutes of rush hour car horns would have been more enjoyable.

Self indulgent hot trash. The more prog I listen the stronger my view point. Hard listen to get through, jazz rock, insults 2 genres at once, posh prog boys wanting to be Coltrane, and the jazz aspect is the better part of this, the vocal track, oh dear. 1 Star because can’t give zero, never want to, and won’t hear again.

# 480 : Third : 14/05/2025 meh! I knew from the first track that I was going to hate this album. An 18 minute track where it takes more than half the duration to get going. Even after that it just sounds like noise. Pointless, annoying, way too long. Its not big or clever and someone actually paid to make this!

Here was my progression in listening to this. *Track one I want to kill myself and potentially also kill my children so that they would never accidentally have to listen to this. *Track two Maybe this isn’t that bad. It’s not exactly the best jazz I’ve ever heard but it’s OK. *Track 3. Nope back to child murder it’s the only humane thing to do *track 4. I do not know what it sounds like because I’m either dead or in jail for the aforementioned child murder

Enter all the fucking jazz fans telling you how creative and smart this music is. It's not. It's this isn't enjoyable. Every track was tedious randomness.

I know it's experimental, but this lacks all of the hallmarks of good/popular music. They kind of just threw together a bunch of semi-coherent musical ideas and noises without any thought and called them songs. Each song is super long so I wonder if they could have been edited down into something decent.

Wow, another terrible British band from the 1970s. Groundbreaking. TWO HOURS of this? Are you out of your fucking mind??

Complete miss on all accounts. Not sure what they were going for in this album? I want to call it experimental noise jazz? It’s fine to set out to make an album that sounds like nothing else ever done, but I feel like it has to have something that keeps the listener engaged.

I don't get it. This was awful to listen to and just went on and on. Non-musical and atonal in places, noisy, discordant, poorly recorded, just really bad. I would give it zero stars if I could -- one star.

There are moments of relief while listening to this, but that's not what I'm putting an album on for. 90% of the time I'd rather take this off than keep listening.

There seems to be a big separation in my mind between too types of jazz: “Feel Cool” jazz, and “Mess Around Making A Racket” jazz. Unfortunately, this falls into the latter. There isn’t really anything positive that I can see about this album. It was, to my ears, annoying noise. It did quite literally nothing for me, and I can’t say I’m happy to have heard it. I’ll say no more, because there is nothing else I can really think of.

Saw the song duration and was extremely hyped. Left extremely disappointed. I did not get this at all, but now clearly see where some of the more meandering aspects of Robert Wyatt's solo material comes from.

Just rename the list ... it's not 1001 Albums to Listen to before you Die ... it's really: A Bunch of Really Terrible English Prog Rock Albums from the 70s ... and some Other Stuff. This is just dreck.

Hurjaa settiä mahtavaa!

Holy shit. How is this album 55 years old. How.

Soft Machine was a British band that made instrumental, jazz based rock, with extensive use of electronic instruments and effects. Their work is psychedelic and intricate, and near the origin of both progressive rock and acid jazz. These are fascinating, challenging compositions, which employ a range of instrumentation. All of the players incredibly skilled, allowing them to explore a range of sounds with technical prowess.

I really should buy this album. I have listened to it several times, usually as part of a 'project' like this 1001-thing, or doing a deep dive into Prog while reading along ('A New Day Yesterday' is a good history), and I have never failed to be rewarded. Third is Jazz-Rock, with heavy emphasis on the jazz. Four pieces taking up a side each of the original double vinyl. Apparently the band were at each other's throats and different lineups and guest players feature. Opening side, "Facelift" is recorded live although manipulated. There is a section in which recordings of two performances are played together, one backwards (!) There is a lot of avant-garde free jazz which reminds me of Coltrane's Ascension and, like that album, it is a challenging listen, but well worth it. "Slightly All The Time" is a gentler, meandering piece which, at times reminds me of Miles Davis '60s work, Jazz Messengers at others. It becomes more electronic and experimental as it progresses. "Moon In June", which appears to be largely a Robert Wyatt solo piece on which he plays all instruments and sings is the most recognisably '70s prog, very Genesis-like in parts. Wyatt's fragile tenor floats in and out of the music, sometimes almost disappearing, and the lyrics appear to be stream of consciousness. The music becomes more experimental and drone/noise driven as the song reaches its final minutes. "Out-Bloody-Rageous" is an ambient piece which opens with loops and repeated keyboard patterns which build in volume and intensity as the track develops. Around the 5 minute mark it becomes a swinging jazz fusion - electric piano vamps, sax and synth, some excellent drumming from Wyatt - and continues to evolve over the remaining runtime. Third is a commitment, a journey. It is not an album you are going to dip into, nor add tracks to a random playlist. It is very English in places yet it is not unlike some of what the likes of Kamasi Washington are doing in jazz today.

"Third" feels like a missing link between jazz, the avant garde side of classical music, and prog rock. Supposedly Robert Wyatt was once briefly denied entrance to the Royal Albert Hall where Soft Machine were scheduled to play. He was told "they only have proper music in there." That seems like a fitting way to describe this album. It's complex drawing on influence from jazz greats and composers like Terry Riley but it's all put into a rock context. I actually love how maddening this album is. There's so much going on and each section feels like a radical departure from the previous one. There's no need to worry about pretentiousness here, as the band are extremely playful which gives the music a nice balance. The songs get better the more I listen. My only complaint is that I wish they'd broken the very long tracks up into their different sections, just because it would really help to process everything that's going on here.

This was good, but was it 5-star good? I feel like I might be inclined to give this the benefit of the doubt. I loved the fourth track, and a replay went down great as well. There's a lot to unpack here, so I feel like I will need to come back to this again.

First thing I must say is bothering me a little bit, is the sound. Not good quality. Putting that aside, for the first few minutes I didn't care about it, but as it progressed I started to like. The band is tight and composition interesting. Track 2 begins beautiful. Wow. Continues amazing as well. Flute, Saxophone, bass, keys, drums- all playing so well. Creating a sound landscape dark, deep and groovy. Incredible progression between parts and solos. Best long piece I've heard in a while. Track 3. Robert has a beautiful singing voice. I love the way the drums and keys company the vocals, added by the bass later. 7 min in, it's super special. Free composition but feels very rehersed, no doubt about that. Sweet transition at minute 13,30. Turning more and more experimental. Tape loops and effects. But still so intriguing. Great one aswell. Track 4. Some interesting textures to begin with. Wow, another awesome transition at minute 5. So cool. Great bass and drums under the keyboard solos. In a way it's less exciting than the two previous ones, but I'm really sinking into it. "If you got that far" vibes. Another loop section in the end. What a great way to finish. I would surely listen again. I've been a bit hard the past few days, it's 4 1/2, but I'll give it a

Loved it, long songs that you don’t get tired of

50 years old and still fresh and riveting to listen to. Adored the first two tracks especially, I was just brought on this wild journey. Didn't expect something this totally contemporary but I sure was up for it! So happy when sticking with this challenge gets me a truly unexpected listen

good as background noise

Super weird and very cool. I rarely give a five to something I've never heard before, but this deserves it.

wtf is this. amazing. one of the best albums we have had so far imo

Post-Ayers Soft Machine starts moving towards a jazz rock sound. Lots of cool stuff happening here. Rather undeniable if you give it a chance.

free and beautiful music. what i appreciate most is the care taken to make each of the four tracks as distinct as possible...different sound palates, tones, musical ideas. wraps from challenging to lovely any anything else u can think of probably...each central seed for a track is brought out and grown into a wide spread u can just soak in, with too many cool things happening along the way to count. my mind jumps to the image of a seed cuz this is a weirdly plantlike album for me...sort of in the vein of my experience with autechre's draft 7.30. rly looking forward to chewing on this more at some point

Awesome. I'm really happy to find out about the existence of this band. It's like Pink Floyd veered into jazz fusion instead of prog rock. I'm gonna need to give this another few listens before I know how I really feel about it, but by the end of the first listen I was mightily impressed.

What GHAAAASTLY NOISE is that??

Brilliant album. It really surprised me how early this is made and the tone of the album.

I think it’s fair to say that this album probably falls more under the umbrella of jazz. Whether you call it jazz or prog rock, this is definitely a free-form improv album that’s on the experimental and avant-garde side. It’s amazing to see this band’s progression as I work my way through their albums. “Third” is definitely a highlight because I really enjoy the way they incorporated the use of studio techniques and electronics. I look forward to hearing this more in the future and continuing my journey through their discography.

Favorite discovery from this project so far. This is fucking sick. Weather report/Can vibes

The first five minutes borrowing from the gurgles of *musique concrète* could scare you into believing that this record is a self-indulgent borefest even worse than the ones of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. But as some other reviewers pointed out here, that introduction is just a recording of Soft Machine flexing their muscles onstage ("Facelift" is a mash-up of two live shows) before the *real* performance begins. And what a performance it is! *Third* is a double-album. Forget prog-rock, its first disc, with one long track for each side, is actually a free jazz masterpiece akin to the ones of John Coltrane or Miles Davis circa-*Bitches Brew*. Coupled together, those modulated harmonies and syncopated rhythm patterns offer so many *tight*, intense moments that it's easy to lose count. And even if the guitar work is stellar there, it's mostly brass and organ that steal the show. The fusion of the two into a fully zany, "experimental"-yet-groovy mode--plus the addition of tropical flutes and more abrasive tones once in a while--has rarely sounded so inspiring and enticing. Not only will *Third* delight most fans of the legendary jazzmen quoted up there, but it will also please a lot of folks looking for hypnotic soundscapes of all stripes. The second disc, also made out of two tracks with each one of them taking up one side, uses those jazzy shores as a starting point to indeed explore uncharted territories--thereby foretelling Robert Wyatt's solo output. The drummer's distinctively frail yet expressive and moving voice can thus be heard throughout *Moon In June*, a very adventurous track that oscillates between dreamy dirges and prog-rock flourishes. And interspersed between short "ambient" sequences that would have sounded at home in Tangerine Dream's early LPs, the "Out-Bloody-Rageous" instrumentals closing the proceedings return to a vein that throws post-bob and free-jazz aesthetics into a mesmerizing arty landscape close to what krautrock would have to offer in the months and years that would follow the release of this record. The penultimate section of this cut is for instance a gorgeous thing, with its ecstatic sax lines aiming at the skies, drenched in echoes and propelled by a hectic rhythm section grouding the whole thing into very human emotions. And the synthetic-sounding outro is a pure wonder, the stuff that dreams are made of. *Third* is therefors one of those records structured around the idea of "build-up", either within the tracks or as a whole. And patience will warrant any listener who's attentive and open-minded enough to give a chance to it. Given the very poor global score this album received on this app, it seems that patience and open-mindedness are not key assets in most listeners, unfortunately. Their loss. And the gain of everyone else who *get* what Soft Machine accomplished here. 4.5/5 for the purposes of this list, rounded up to 5. 9.5/10 for more general purposes (5+4.5) Number of albums left to review: 190 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 351 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 203 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 258

Fascinating Prog Rock Jazz, disconcerting at first but beguiling by its conclusion, four eccentric compositions draw the listener in and also repel them. Experimentation at its finest.

Marvelois

Originally I wanted to write and excessively long and detailed review of this record, but now I’m done with this whole thing and this is the only album left to be rated! So I will be writing by heart, be as long as it may. Soft Machine formed in Canterbury as psychedelic/progressive rock band, with founding members including genre stalwarts Kevin Ayers and Daevid Allen. As the band progressed they moved further from rock, dropping the guitars, and further towards jazz, adding wind instruments. This leaves us at Third, a album with lengthy jazz soloing with a recognizable prog rock base. The album features original members Mike Ratledge’s defining keyboards, Hugh Hopper’s bouncy (heh) yet solid basswork, Robert Wyatt’s unmatched drumming, as well as Elton Dean’s alto sax trading solos with the likes of Lyn Dobson, Jimmy Hastings and Nick Evans. The first thing you will likely about the album is that it’s 75 minutes long with only 4 tracks across 4 sides: This is a committed listen. Despite the length, I never feel as if the album or any of the individual pieces go on too long. The length is merited by the content filling it out. Starkly, “Facelift” opens with abrasive organ noise. One could easily mistake this as something produced by a guitar (as I originally did), one contributing factor to the rock feeling even in the complete absence of guitar. Eventually the track settles into a march like 7/4 groove, the band playing the piece’s theme before setting off on an extended bout of soloing. This is the track most singularly focused on jazz soloing, going through different moods and sections, but largely the members give their solos before returning to the theme to close out the first side. “Slightly All the Time” is the most jazzy track on the album, with swinging drums and Hugh Hopper’s brilliant bassline. This album also features many unusual time signatures (as does the whole album, a particular joy of mine), going between 11/4, 9/4 and 10/4 throughout it’s different sections. The track, as expected, features much soloing as well as dynamic melodies and section changes, ending on a somewhat playful note. ”Moon In June” is the odd man out: A quirky sung song (the last of Soft Machine’s career) featuring Robert Wyatt playing all the instruments in the first section. As well as being a prime example of Wyatt’s unbridled musicality and creativity, it is also a solemn reminder of what the drum world lost with his accident leaving him paraplegic. He switches between nasty grooves so rapidly it seems like would never run out. After this long first part of the song, we shift into more familiar jazz rock territory featuring the rest of the band, then ending on an eerie drone. Just when you might think the album is out of suprises, “Out-Bloody-Rageous” begins with a long section of keyboard tape-loops. The loops layer on top of each other at different speeds, creating an enveloping soundscape. For my money, this section could continue for the full length of the track, but we are treated with another section of nimble jazz rock, this time in 15/8 time. This section follows the familiar themes and solos structure, before ending with a short tease of more tape-loops before a piano interlude. More jazz rocking follows, before ending on one last tape-loop soundscape. Soft Machine went further into jazz on following releases, with many changes in line-up. To me, this album offers a whole that I can’t find quite anywhere else. The whole-hearted embrace of jazz, the prog-psych heart, the odd-time grooves, free experimentation and just overall high quality of musicianship, composition and sound. This is one of my all-time favourite records, not necessarily for any emotional significance, but the music and the rich listening experience it continues to provide.

9/10 kind of a mess of an album, but I absolutely adore this shit

It's one of my favorite albums from the early 1970s. Such a great mix of jazz, rock and electronic music. I got into their first two albums because I was a big fan of psychedelic rock and 'Soft Machine' and 'Volume Two' were two great records from that era. 'Third' made me got interested in jazz fusion and electronic and opened new doors in my world of music. It was unusual for me, a then 22-year-old girl to listen to such music but I'll always be grateful that I discovered this band. Apart from the first few minutes of 'Facelift', this album is such an inspiring listen to me every time I listen to it. The reason is that it never gets boring and I always find some nuances that I discover while I listen to it. I fully understand if it not everyone's cup of tea, but this gets a 5 from me no doubt.

This album is a 78 minute opus with only four songs. The genre can loosely be said to be progressive rock, but that doesn't even begin to encompass what is here. Soft Machine have clearly done their homework and are influenced by Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and early jazz fusion. This modal jazz influence is the dominant one and the album can be characterized by long passages with a simmering quality before building to a crescendo and starting over again. At no point did this have a noodly quality to it, but rather feels improvisational within a careful framework that the whole band is locked into. In that way it distinguishes itself among other albums of this type.

On my current round of overnights, I've been revisiting random albums that pop into my head. One of those records is "The Apocalypse Inside of An Orange" by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, guitarist for the Mars Volta. I bought that record at age, like, 13, because I had randomly stumbled into being a fan of TMV and wanted to consume everything they made. I bring it up because, I think that record was severely inspired by this one. This record is drenched in psychedelia, acid, and even that kind of electronic that sounds "space age". I groaned when I saw that it was only four songs initially, but ended up walking away really loving it? It aged well, despite definitely sounding confined to the era in which it was birthed. I hesitate to give it a five here, all because of the vocals on "Moon In June". They aren't the strongest, the lyrics aren't great, and overall just feels like a throw-away. Other than that, I really love how weird this record gets, and found the 80 minutes (or so) pass by relatively quickly. Will definitely revisit. Favorite tracks: "Facelift", "Slightly All the Time"

love it

What a pleasant surprise. This album was a jazz/prog adventure. There were moments thwt sounded like King Crimson and early Kansas. I had to look up this band because the sound King Crimson is very prominent within this record and I wanted to see if there was any cross over. This band has gone through a number of members... Their current line up has Theo Travis on it, formerly of King Crimson. Theo also has worked with Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson's solo stuff. Remember the killer flute solo In The Raven that Refused to Sing? That was Theo Travis. Awsome listen. Would love to show this off to my fellow prog friends.

I was very surprised to find this one on this list, but hey! I'm not going to complain. A really great album from a really great band. Moon in June is just incredible and makes me crave for some more. I understand that this album might scare a lot of people, but I swear it's quite the journey!

Long and jazzy

dahora, quero ouvir mais.

Hell yeah. This is sick.

Totalement et absolument ma came, je connaissais pas Soft Machine mais je kiffe, la découverte de cet album vaut tout à fait l'ensemble du projet des 1001 albums tructrucs

5. I really like this album. It is a new sound for me with jazz that I really like and wouldn't mind hearing more of

8=D

Extra très bon! Meilleur que l'album semblable de Pink Floyd.

4* 87%

The third track, the one with vocals, was hard to get through. The other 3 tracks were fantastic jazz-rock fusion instrumentals.

Casi hora y media, solamente 4 tracks, un experimento muy extraño pero siempre sorprendente. Lo escuché completo en una larga caminata y siempre me tuvo atento sin saber qué seguiría después. Me gustaron los Soft Machine, pero creo que necesito escucharles un par de discos más para más o menos agarrarle bien a su onda. De entrada, Third está muy bien.

One look at the track listing for this album is enough to fill one with trepidation, especially with labels such as 'Avant-Prog'. This was, however, a thoroughly enjoyable surprise that is likely to only get better with repeated listens.

Fantastic instrumentals.

File this under: have been meaning to listen to for years. Really loved this, only the first track feeling a bit less interesting than the rest kept it from being a 5. Note to self: check out Canterbury scene properly.

Impressive. I love this kind of prog, when it's full of jazz and avant-garde, and not just overly serious hard rock with too many complicated time signatures

A lot of really great moments, but also a lot of self indulgent crap. Still gets a 4 because the good outweighs the bad.

Begging you all to power through the Guantanamo style opening to this album. Moon in June is such a treat.

This is a strange album right here. Soft Machine's third album, fittingly titled Third, has a lot of things to talk about. Well, except for songs. There's only 4 of those on here. However, this album could definitely be considered prog rock, and as such, each song is about 18 to 20 minutes in length. Hell yeah. I love prog rock, and this is a pretty solid prog rock album. The style is interesting. What's weird is that the first song is a live recording, while the other three are studio recordings. That's neat. In addition to prog stuff, there's also quite a bit of jazz rock elements in here as well, which I really like as well. The vibes here are nice. There's a bit of crazy stuff to appreciate, but you can also chill out a bit. There's only singing on one of the album's songs, but it works pretty well in that one. All of the songs are cool. The album is definitely on the longer side, but I'm actually okay with it for an album like this, though that may just be my prog bias speaking. Overall, Third is a pretty compelling album for someone like me. I enjoy it. 4/5.

3.8 2x i like this instrumental type album

Decent talent but songs are way to long even for jazz

What the hell 8/10