Third

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.

A random set of noises that occasionally form interesting music.

Первые секунд тридцадцать я был настроен на время всей своей жизни кек (спустя какое-то время, когда я буду перечитывать свои высеры, я уже не буду помнить, это ирония или нет, отчего еще интереснее). Супэр музон в дорогу, на фон под шкодинг, в кухню и так далее. Лучшая песня - Slightly All The Time.

Part jazz, part psychedelic rock, one hundred percent freewheeling and experimental. Facelift takes a little while to get going, initially lost in its own whirs but it settles into some genuinely compelling jazz which is somehow both uplifting and disturbing. Slightly All the Time has a more straightforward appeal. This is the song you could pluck out and show a friend, with a slow, stately build throughout the 18 minutes Moon in June brings in elements of English folk singing, or at least charming vocal wandering, courtesy of Robert Wyatt. It’s a less jazz-y more Hammond organ-y affair but no less densely textured. Out-Bloody-Ragious moves the band back to base a bit but messes with the production and gets into some nice saxophone loops. Overall there are moments that I absolutely love, and others which I’m less sure about. It’s a phenomenon though. A must listen.

It was some cool jazz but wasn't really my thing

Okay, I can dig this. Nice Mars Volta vibes. Jazz / Prog and writing this as I’m just half way into the first track but excited to see where it goes but feel aligned and interested so far. Snarky Puppy vibes. ‘Facelift’ feels like a gradual welcoming and unfolding into a jazz crescendo, before coming back down to rest to move into ‘Slightly All The Time’ a slow moseying bass line that again, could easily be a snarky puppy song and ventures all over melody’s and tempos as the song develops. First album I’ve added to my general playlists. ‘Moon in June’ first introduction of vocals and probably enjoyed it more without. Loses half a star for this. Dreadful song and vocals. 2nd half of song better than first. ‘Out-Bloody-Rageous’ back to the enjoyable grooves and prog jazz. Great end, shame about third song. (3.5)

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.

Noodling

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

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!

I didn't get on with this at all. I don't know why; I'm not against prog rock. Maybe it's the acid jazz. The only track I can say that I liked was Moon In June.

Hard to underestimate how little i was interested in listening to 4 x 20 minute prog sessions today. It's fine, but it really didn't hit

That was.... Something... But not gunna lie kind of fun.

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.

Feels like this is the predecessor of stoner rock. Very slow and laid back album.

Finally a prequel to The Script - #3. It's pretty fun, unique, but also too long and the first song is too weird. Hard to believe it's live. And I'm not sure if an album like that should just fade out. Or maybe it should.

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

too avant garde for regular listening imo, but it was an interesting listen. possibly groundbreaking for its time.

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.

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.

I was not excited when I first started this album, it did not begin on the right foot for me. It did get better as things went on, but still a bit too experimental for my tastes. 2.35/5

The inferior third on the list

This was like the soundtrack to a gritty 70s thriller about a cop who doesn’t play by the rules. That’s a compliment.

Unique sounding album, but it wasn’t very interesting to me. I got bored of it about a third through it and it did not pick up for me. I’ve heard prog rock before and this was one of the most boring albums in that genre I’ve heard. So unfortunately I can’t find myself ranking it highly. Favorite Track: Moon In June

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

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.

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.

Nicht wirklich meins, packte mich an keiner Stelle, plätschertenur vor sich hin.

non male, ma troppo lungo

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.

Should be called Turd

I... hm. I want to hate it for its arrogance and self-indulgent wankery, but I can't. I actually found this quite enjoyable as background music.

Cool but not my thing

This is another overlong (75 mins!) live album, so who knows how good they were in the studio, but even Timothy Leary amounts of acid wouldn’t make this enjoyable.

Moon in June

Not for me

Meh

Fantastic instrumentals.

The prog jazz-rock is trying to pull me in but I can smell the weed and god knows what else.

Couldn't really get on board with this one. Sounds like a mix of soundtracks from 70s cop movies, jazz and early 70s Pink Floyd. I'm sure it's probably really good at what it's trying to do. 2/5

slightly all the time is amazing though

"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.

Well, it's certainly...unique. It's like part jazz, part prog, part experimental...there are parts that almost sound very early electronic. I'll say that while I didn't *love* it, this would be the best "jazz" album I've listened to in this project. Conversely, it's probably the worst prog rock album I've gotten. Overall, I don't hate it, and I tend to have a soft spot for music where you can hear the foundations of what's to come, and that describes this album pretty well. I don't know the history of prog rockery well, but I imagine an album released in 1970 must have been right around the beginning, and so this is the band that had to crawl so that bands like Rush could run, and Tool could fly. 3 stars because it is fun, new (to me), and influential.

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.

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.

Way too long. Also this is just jazz theres no progressive rock here

It’s just noise to me

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.

Some real funky stuff! I enjoyed it but probably not for regular listening

4.5/10

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.

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.

Jesus, what a slog. As a listener I felt completely unnecessary; this is music made for the people playing it and literally no one else. Self-indulgent rubbish

This was bloody awful, just a mash of sounds. Far too long…. I could have rewatched the original disney's jungle book instead of this rubbish, then I would have at least I would of heard some good songs

Man fuck prog rock and fuck the Canterbury scene. This is unbelievably pretentious and that's coming form a jazz lover.

I must not be in the right mindset because this just sounded like a mess.

Jazz-Prog that's good for a bit, but I got a little tired of it at the end of Moon In June. I'd still listen again and maybe give a higher rating. 3 stars for now.

Quizá eso es música en otra dimensión, no en ésta en la que estoy, o me intrpolan mientras trato de comprender la fusión donde percibo jazz, psicodelia, rock, ruido. No es para mí, es para mí resaca

1h20m.. 4 tracks. That’s you know you’re in for some weird shit. Liked it, quite unique and can see it being abit of a trip. 3.5

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

One of those albums I don't hate or love, not something I'd pick myself, and truthfully probably will never listen to again, it's strange but interesting, definitely some great parts, would work well as a movie soundtrack. Didn't care too much for the vocals.

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

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.

I like prog. I like jazz. I like Robert Wyatt. I like long compositions. But what is the actual meaning of this? Some redeemable features along the way, but it really is far too long and meandering.

Hmm, I'll have to listen more. Too skronky for now but clearly talented

1/5

double album of jazz rock from 1970 - one track per side - they don't make 'em like this anymore !

Didn't finish. Not my cup of tea.

Get high first, then get super comfy on the couch, then melt into it all. Was surprisingly good. 3.5

This is musically quite brilliant. The live takes, along with the tape sounds and effects make it feel very organic. Unfortunately a lot of the singing sounded very out of tune, I can see why Moon in June was the last song they ever wrote with lyrics.The album as a whole isn't very coherent, probably due to the fact that it was recorded over a period where the members changed around. It really feels more like a compilation of some recordings and ideas that they had either edited together or turned into medleys. There were sections which I felt were downright unpleasant to listen to whilst others were a blast.

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

I am not a huge an of the start of the opening track. But as I went through the album I liked it more and more. I'm glad I gave it one more listen before making this review.

awful. Ill try again in 20 years maybe Rating: 1.2

Pointless, annoying, way too long noise being called progressive Rock.

Started rough, but found itself after a bit. A unique sound and a unique album organization but it works.

Thanks generator, I hate it. When I listen to music I am not interested in ‘the tension between complicated harmonies, extended improvisation, and the sincere desire to write catchy pop songs’. Well, they certainly failed in the last one here. This is music for boring musos - those who would rather stand at the back of a gig analysing the music than really getting in to it. Robert Wyatt’s accent is irritating (although at least there is not a great deal of it here). And I can’t even imagine this being a blast live, unlike the likes of Throbbing Gristle, Einsturzende Neubaten etc where there is very much a performance element. I imagine them standing concentrating, noodling away. No thanks. Bonus, I was motivated to do my hoovering on the second listen through

First song is unbearable. Gets better after that. But four total songs on a double album is silly. 2.0

FUCK. ROBERT. WYATT. Favourite song: Moon in June Least favorite songs: Facelift, Slightly All the Time, Out-Bloody-Rageous 1/5

Never listened to Soft Machine, I like some Robert Wyatt quite a lot. Loved the monolithic jazz-noise-rock-ambient-something first track, which seems to have turned off a lot of people on here. Track 2 seems more structured from the outset. Much less adventurous, I drifted out of concentration for a little while. Still, there's some great sax almost throughout. I'm not sure I liked either of the last two tracks as much as track 1, but there are good parts in both.

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.

18 dakikalık physchodelik şarkılar benlik değilmiş

Awful. Waste of time and space.

i enjoyed some parts, but others were genuinely painful to listen to!

Soft Machine, Hard Work. (albeit slightly easier after the first track)

Weird start into the Intro but the album itself was a good listen. More jazzy than rocking progressive songs but it goes well. (3.0/5.0)

So ahead of their time and influential! They influenced the sound of the dial up modem

Sizzler salad of music

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.

Very jazz heavy album with some psychedelics thrown in. I was jamming along to some parts of the songs but then they got a bit to strange for me. The instruments were great and then the singer started making strange sounds for a while before singing. I would have liked the album much more without the singing parts. Just the jazz sound would have gave it a higher score for me.

3.8 2x i like this instrumental type album

Je me considère comme un grand amateur de prog rock, mais là même ça j’ai eu de la misère à finir. Y’a des bons passages, mais il y a des moments où tu veux juste pitcher tes écouteurs, histoire de retrouver le doux silence de l’usine de pâte et papier

4x 18 minute prog jazz/ prog rock. Nope, not for me.

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

Decent talent but songs are way to long even for jazz

Pretty cool!

40min into the album after 2 songs was enough

If you like that sort of thing it’s the sort of thing you’d like. I have a pretty high tolerance for experimental bullshit. But Jesus is it intolerably long. It’s just jazz!!! Like I guess it’s rock because…there’s electric guitars? It’s jazz. And not particularly engaging or fun jazz at that

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

Decent

What the hell 8/10

If the first track was as good as the other 3, this could’ve been something great. The first track just sucks so bad.

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

Slightly All the Time was okay, but listening to this after The Dave Brubeck Quartet has jaded my opinion.

Dit is mij net iets te wazig en ongefocust. Wel origineel. Net geen 4

Jazz crap

good as background noise

I just couldn't get into it. It was good at times but each song was too long

seventies endless rock

I like prog, but this was a bit much even for me to he honest.

Day420 - first had me thinking that the album would be awful but the second track was really good. unfortunately the third and fourth songs followed the same pattern

No, just no. What even is this?

от нудятина

??? gave up by first song. 20 mins long no vocals is crazy

I have no reference point for this at all…

There were moments when the jazz was working for me, but the unlistenable opening track, plus the vocals ruined it. Since I managed to enjoy some of it I will grant it 2 stars

instrumental and kinda slow but could be right for certain occasions.

Dont have the patience for this right now

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

Pre-bloody-tentious

Turd.

Turd 💩

2>4>3>1

wish I could give it negative stars

Hmm

Förstår inte varför jazz måste låta gnissligt jämt.

despite my genre prejudices, enjoyed a lot. does not compromise on its virtuosity.

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

The more proggy tracks are crazy but still need more listens on the free jazz ones. They sound a little bit too free right now 4.5

Stuck between giving it a 1 or a 2. It gets a 2 but only because 1.5 isnt an option.

I do love the fact this album is very unique... And has a strong prog rock/avant-garde/jazz fusion taste. But I just think there are so many better versions of this genre out there than this album (for example, Chick Corea). This album lacked a general sense of cohesion, struggled to really pull me in, and was a little too much "out there".

It occasionally found a song

Third, Soft Machine’s sprawling 1970 double LP that essentially asks, “What if jazz fusion but also calculus?” It starts with the 19-minute Facelift, which sounds like a tape machine being drop-kicked down a flight of stairs before recombobulating into something resembling music. It’s equal parts exhilarating and exhausting, like being cornered at a party by a guy who really wants to explain why John Coltrane was basically the first punk. Third fully commits to labyrinthine compositions and modal spelunking. Slightly All the Time and Out-Bloody-Rageous move with the grace of jazz but the intensity of something much stranger, like they’re perpetually a few notes away from turning into a hostage situation. Robert Wyatt’s drumming is frantic yet fluid, Mike Ratledge’s keyboards sound like they’re actively conspiring against the listener, and Hugh Hopper’s fuzz bass could be classified as a controlled substance. Then there’s Wyatt’s rare vocal moment on Moon in June, a ghostly reminder that this band once wrote actual songs before deciding that chord progressions were bourgeois. For all its cerebral bravado, though, Third is one of those albums that rewards the foolishly persistent. There’s a hypnotic quality to its repetition, a perverse beauty in its refusal to resolve in expected ways. It is, in many ways, the ur-text for every jam band and experimental jazz unit that ever decided to turn one idea into a side-long odyssey. If you can handle the fact that it occasionally sounds like a high-speed chase through a music theory textbook, there’s real magic here. Just don’t expect an easy ride—Soft Machine isn’t here to hold your hand, and if you get lost, well, that’s kind of the point.

the first songs were a little sloggy but i really liked the last 2! definitely more jazzy than straight prog rock but it worked well

28/1001 - The weird intro was more fun than the large sections of jamming with mostly uninteresting solos. Singer is very British (gonna have to get use to that on this list). Last song was kinda cool but the intro was too long and then a random piano intro started and I realized there was 8 more minutes of the same song again!

I was hoping this would be all weird glitchy stuff like the first 5 mins (because I like that kind of bollocks) but it's just jazz jams after that for two pissing hours. A bit like Heavy Weather, I feel like there's something here that you could get into, but I'm not so it's a 1

A few minutes into the first track and I was ready to give this album a 1, but after making my way through it - solid 2. Will I ever rate an album a 1?! This was listenable, and a 1 IMO is not. Wandering, nonsensical jazz is not my thing. I'm itching for more structure and melody. The vocals don't add much at all here either, would possibly prefer just the music. Flute goes hard at times.

My CalArts friends love prog rock and experimental jazz. And I heard a lot of it when I spent my early LA years visiting them. So this is not uncharted territory for me. I can get into it at times and hate it others, but for me the vocals kill this record. I would've much preferred a purely instrumental effort from Soft Machine as Robert Wyatt voice sounds flat as a pancake most of the time.

Starting off crappy

People listen to this sort of crap on purpose? I would give this zero stars if I could.

This succeeds, but only just. What works works well indeed, such as the exploratory, outre sax on the opener. What doesn't work – quite shaky vocals from the weird and wonderful Wyatt – ask a lot, maybe too much, of the listener. "Slightly All the Time" is epic, rooted in improvisatory jazz, even if the ending feels pretty abrupt. The last bit is the most experimental and very cool (Tubular Bells-esque) and well-named besides. One senses the editors protestething too much, calling the Softs a major band (based on which criteria exactly, one wonders). Still one likes this well enough for its difference and being just offkilter from prog, too. 3.9 > 4

Classic Jazz Fusion album 4/5

Not for me, too 1970’s modern jazz.

Track 4 just about saved this album from falling into my one-star bin. I'm proud of my tenacity for listening through the whole gamut of weird noises interspersed with a few melodic interludes.

Albumi #139, 06.02.2025 Pienen tauon jälkeen taas kuuntelemaan 1001 albumia. Soft Machine-yhtyettä en ole kuullut aikaisemmin. Third on nimensä mukaan orkesterin kolmas albumi. Se on tupla-albumi jossa albumin jokaisella neljällä puolella on yksi noin 19 minuuttia kestävä kappale. Third on siirtymäteos yhtyeen aiemmin psykedeelisemmästä tyylistä enemmän jazzrockin ja progressiivisen rockin suuntaan.

I usually love psychedelic music but to appreciate this album, I think you needed to be there and preferably stoned.

I didn't think I was going to make it through that first song. After that it got a little more bearable but still terrible. Just noise and screeching. 1.5 stars

A little too experimental for my tastes, couldn’t get through any of the songs

Do you like jaaaaaaaz? How about industrial jaaaaaaaaz? Мне вот не особо

один нормальный трек, на 20 минут нахуй

Not really sure what the deal is here. Listenable but nothing particularly good. Will say the 2 side of a 2.5.

This is the second "Third" album I've generated(the first "Third" I had was twenty-fourth). Just like the first "Third", I was underwhelmed. On this one, the shortest song was 18 minutes, and 12 seconds long. This normally wouldn't bother me too much, but with repetitive instrument play, and scarce lyrics, it becomes boring very quickly(especially since this is one of the longest albums I've listened to in my life). For the third consecutive day, I have to give out a "2" rating. I'm tired, boss. Favorite Song: "Moon In June".

Psych

Musically, not bad. But not something that I can say I enjoyed listening to. If I was in a better mood I'd probably enjoy this more.

Not good just weird. I get the influence on psychedelic rock but I think others just did it way better after them

This is some of the smelliest trash I've listened to on this list. When the first song began with discordant electronic noises, I wished for the end of this double album. The instrumental parts were OK at times. I do enjoy jazz, but the electronic bits made it so unenjoyable. And when the vocals began, I missed the instrumental parts. The vocals were so terrible and out of tune! I refuse to ever listen to this disaster of an album ever again.

I regret ruining the start of a good Friday with this album. I mean, jazz and prog rock are already two genres that I struggle with...what did we think would happen if the two merged? This was truly just exhausting.

This is an awful cacophany of noise for me.

Unlistenable but at least there's a lot of it

At first I was like, yeah! this is fun! BUT ITS TOO LONG please I can't listen to 20 minute songs 3/5

This is my first Soft Machine album. I tried to prepare myself mentally for a 73 minute, 4 song album. At its best, it reminds me of jazz/prog rock albums that I like. At its worst it floated by in the background while I worked. The album can go off the rails, like in the first 8 (who's counting) minutes of "Moon in June", but even that track still has some legit jams. I guess I'm a sucker for this type of music, but there is enough interesting material to revisit.

Was not available

Not sure what this was, but there was a lot of it.

3+

Erikoinen psyke rokin ja jazzin sekoitus, mutta toimii. Kappaleissa on kyllä tosi hienoja ambienttisia kohtia, kuten esim Out-Bloody-Rageouksen alku. Parhaat: Moon In June, Out-Bloody-Rageous

eh

The Robert Wyatt side is great, the last side also very listenable. But side 1 and 2 lean heavily into the jazz squawk. Overall 2.5 but feeling generous so a 3.

If I had headphones and a lot of pot this would be a 5 but it’s a 3.5

It's too hard to listen to this kind of album: It screams historical importance, probably influencing many artists that I like, but it's so boring that I feel ashamed for listening to it. I can probably just read a music history book with the same effect.

Progressiv rock, 4 laaange numre, liveudgave, lidt psyk, lidt jazzet også

It's a bit *too* avant-garde sounding for my taste starting out, but it improved as it went on.

meh

Never loved prog rock even in its heyday when you weren't cool at school if you didn't & it's aged poorly.

I really wanted to enjoy this but then they started singing and it all went downhill

No thank you. Not for me. Accomplshed musicianship for sure but not a fun listen.

Wondered when on Earth it was going to end

Not for me. And at an hour and 18 that pushed it

I can't listen to this.

Second half of Facelift is good, enjoy the more Jazz style. First half a little dull. Out-Bloody-Rageous is nice, again because of its more jazz sound. The vocals are atrocious

Not sure what this was doing on the list. It was alright nonetheless

Sounds like it was just improvised jazz jam sessions. Long and definitely won't revisit

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

This is #day159 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... it seems I’m on a jazz streak—this is the third jazz record in a row on the list. To call this one just jazz, though, would be slightly misleading. It’s more psychedelic jazz-rock. Not the softest listen, but still interesting. Avant-garde, droney... I learned about the Canterbury scene, after all. This gets a 3 out of 5 from me. After reading some reviews, I wish people were a bit more open-minded. There's no way Kanye West albums are rated higher... Looking forward to #day160.

Can't be bothered with that

Different, got better, tempo changes were interesting

Está muy bueno de a ratos cuando se vuelve un jazz-rock y en otros se pone muy somnífero o trival.

No fucking way

Cool, but also a little bit Spinal Tap Mark 2 : Jazz Odyssey written by Derek Smalls on the bass.

Nah Don't mind noise but this sounds like everyone is playing every instrument for the first time at points. The fact that it hits some amazing grooves at other points only hammers home that it could have been something better. Was relieved when it was over

Thank god it was only the A side, once again I have a hard time enjoying any full length album without lyrics.

This was pretty crap. Lots of noisy sounds.

Experimental, some of it lands while other aspects fall flat. Rhythmically fascinating

Some was nice (I feel it's more of a live music type of listening), some felt was really annoying to listen to.

Very Yes/King Crimson-esque. Maybe before King Crimson/Yes? Too lazy to check. Facelift after 8 minutes in gets awesome. This music is a little long winded (not this specifically just the genre) but its cool. The stereo mixing is a little eh but it was made in a different time so can't hold against it if all the drums are panned right even if it's annoying. Good for the genre but needs multiple listens to appreciate as all tracks are over 15 minutes in length.

I feel like I'm getting abducted by aliens and probed. Which is a cool event but I wouldn't do again

Really cool but just too long. I respect the hustle put into the production and charting for this. The drums are so cool the whole time. However this isn't one I can see myself revisiting too often.

This is a musical loaf of bread. It’s interesting, but like a rye it sure is dense. I’m not sure one listen was enough, but I doubt one or two more would change my thoughts much. The jazzy soundscapes here are unique and worthy of listening to. Not sure starting off with the most obtuse song was really the best idea. My favorite song was Slightly All The Time.

My favourite bit was when it was over.

That’s a negative sir.

Third is a live and studio album by the Soft Machine, originally released in 1970. I believe this is the first time I'm hearing a Soft Machine album. They lean heavily into the prog/jazz-rock sound. What makes them really stand out is the obvious Coltrane/Bitches Brew-era Miles influence on here. Even better, this is a live album. They really jam and let the songs breathe. These jams also become experimental at times. Super Cool.

Absolutely no thank you

Very few regrets when it comes to my career in Houmous & Chutney. Devising and inventing Prog Rock is one of them. 1.7

Normally ambient music works for me but this was a little too much. 3

Very tedious listen. I’m generally pretty open to prog, but this was meandering and each track being 18 minutes long made this a chore. Moon in June is the best track by virtue of there being some sense of direction due to the vocals.

Brill

Un exemple parfait de pourquoi je peux autant adorer que détester les albums supers progressifs. Soit c'est un incroyable voyage musical, ou c'est du gros jerk off prétentieux avec aucune substance ou direction. Cet album tombe dans la 2e catégorie. 2/10

Boring but the occasional good part, glad 20 minute songs died.

Look, I'm fine with experimental. I love some experimental music. But I also understand that some experiments just don't yield good results. It's ok to admit that. What baffles me is that this experiment, in which four apparently excellent musicians get high and/or drunk and muck about on their instruments (sadly including the quite awful vocals of Robert Wyatt), has made it not only out of the jazz club where it took place but was then actively and consciously pressed onto a release and shared with the world. Sold for money. And even after that series of questionable decisions, the editor(s) of this book somehow decided to go one further, and that a lot of pissing about with instruments was worthy of being deemed a *MUST* hear. And I use the term 'a lot' because it is. 75 long, hard minutes. SEVENTY-FIVE MINUTES. It took about half an hour for any discernible melody to attempt to emerge and I use the term very loosely indeed. I had high hopes as my Dad has raved about Soft Machine for years but either he had gone off them by this point, started to lose his hearing, or he was just taking the piss out of me.

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.

Idk seems a little experimental First track? Wait its getting better... Favorites: Moon in June The song is so long

Not my cup of tea

If this album was half as long, it'd rank up there among my favorites in this entire exercise

Urrffff

Turd.

Oh man I did not like this. Jazz rock makes me think of Steely Dan, which is an instant negative. Combine that with very little singing (when there was singing, it was not good) and lots of random sounds to make “music” and you get a real clunker. Ciara said it was the kind of music you hear in a record store and I think it’s spot-on. It’s pretentious, boring, and a real slog to get through. Every song had redeemable moments, but they inevitably found a way to become grating and terrible. I guess if there’s one that was listenable it would be “Slightly All the Time” but that was the jazziest so not saying much there. Just completely not for me

I've liked Bundles by Soft Machine on Spotify but I'm not too familiar with that album or Soft Machine's catalogue. I wasn't really in the mood for prog today. Was listening to this in the background but found it to be a slog to get through. Vocals were abismal and lacking charm in Moon in June. Probably an unfair rating but on this day I have to give it 1/5

very prog, much long, great oddness

I'm sure each musician is a master of their instruments but jazz often sounds like a 5th grade band class randomly playing stuff just before the teacher walks in.

Not exactly my style, but I can see how other people would like it. Moon In June was definitely nice, but each song was 20 minutes

Stor 2’er, ikke for mig men lyder imponerende

Synes de egentlig fusionsjazz bands fra den her æra var bedre til fusionsjazz, men kunne stadig godt lide det! På alle måder en ret ekstremt plade der virkelig skider på konventionerne, mere interessant end det meste jamband shit vi har hørt.

Trippy, stressful, proggy at times.. It had a lot of things going for it!

Jazz-rock progresivo. Se me ha hecho bola. Un 2.

Jazz rock, electronic, ambiental. Muy largo. Si no fuera por lo largo que es, le subiría la puntuación.

Masturbatory self indulgent tripe. Way too long and way too boring. As I reach the end of this, this kinda shit is just so uninteresting. It's just too. fucking. long. 1.5/5

prog rock..nuff said

When you get an album called Third right after a Big Star record, and that album is not Big Star's Third, it's going to be a disappointment. This was kinda cool when it was a bit of an abrasive sounds jam near the beginning. The more there were 'songs' and the more the synth played melody lines the worse it got. They do a bunch of work to make sure you're sick of this by the time anything good comes in again. music: hated. (⌐■_■)

At times this drags quite a bit (obvious by the total run time x number of tracks) but it also has a lot of moments where it locks into something really rad. And also I’m very partial to Robert Wyatt.

Avant-garde, not my thing.

absolute dog shite

Just noises

Absolutely not

WTF.

Ugh wanky wizard jazz.

Cuando leí Third pensé que era el disco de Portishead.

Definitely something you'd need to be in a certain mood to be into. Not bad as focus music, could be useful if trying to recreate a 70s NYC cop movie in your head, or even if you're just tripping balls.

I had a migraine when I started this album. It didn't help. It immediately starts off like you dropped the needle in the middle of Coltrane's Om and stays that way for the first two song before going into this Zappa/Yes phase and it works. It's good. Something that I may come back to when I'm sans headache.

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: None Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Nope.

Uma experiência psicodélica que mais parece uma junção de várias trilhas sonoras. Se quiser viajar nos seus pensamentos, pode colocar isto para tocar. O pessoal nessa época estava bem louco!

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.

Cool jazz rock experimental long form jams. I really enjoyed this one. I feel like I’ve listened to Soft Parade before but I don’t remember to what capacity. All the musicians laid down some stellar performances and the recording sounds incredible too. The half way point on “Slightly All The Time” is pretty heavy while the second half of “Out-Bloody-Rageous” and it’s outro take you to outer space. All around a cool experience.

First, I love the hair cuts. I've never heard of these guys, but I like the sound. Jazzy, progressive music? Sign me up! This was a really fun one to listen to while working. These guys were definitely groundbreaking. I'm upset I'd never listened before, but no time like the present to listen to all their albums. The vocals aren't great, but I understand it's difficult to sing on acid. I'll give this a 3.5.

If I dig deep enough into bands that influenced my favorite bands, I often come across the name Soft Machine. I have previously put on some of the tracks I found online, but nothing entirely grabbed me. Third appears to go into more of jazz direction than what I remember about them. After a slow experimental mood builder, we finally get glimpses of melodies and progressions about 6 minutes into the opening track. This approach demands alot of attention and buy-in from first-time listeners; as such, faith that the album would be any good almost relies solely on the quality of previous work and their reputation, which assumes someone is aware of that. In the end, endurance pays off. "Slightly All The Time" is more focused in execution, maintaining the jazz approach and changing the feel throughout the composition in order to stay interesting. It would sound more improvised if not for the doubling of the saxophone and flute lines; they are intentional and rehearsed, although they feel freeform since they don't really create and return to a musical theme. Usually the lack of a musical theme on instrumental pieces feels too sprawling, but there's an intelligence in the movements that keeps my interest. It changes often enough to explore different moods, but not too much to be frantic and aimless. "Moon in June" is the first time we hear a vocal: thin, pinched, soft, and vulnerable, and not unlike a more tentative Jerry Garcia. We also feature the guitar and organ more predominantly than on the previous songs. This one did feel sprawling to me. With a name like "Out-Bloody-Rageous" and with the crazy stuff they already threw at me, one would expect this track to be mind-blowing. Another sprawler. I bet this album would be great to see live, to be amongst the mass-hypnotized in that moment, collectively experiencing the weird together. And if it was recorded as a testament to and a document of the live experience, so be it. But there's really only one track that I would play at the house; though ambitious and obviously skilled, as an album, Third is generally too unfocused to keep me coming back for more.

Cool sounds but a little too abstract for me.

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.

Way too all over the place. Frantic jazz is just not for me.

I ain't gonna listen to this whole thing. Not 1-star worthy, but f this

The most positive thing I can say is that there are some listenable sections.

Trippy songs that go on way too long.

I rate these albums based on how much I like them and how good they make me feel (I'm not a musicologist or an expert, so it couldn't be any other way!). This album is definitely not my thing, sorry; I know it's considered by many to be a perfect 5 but, for me, I can't give it more than 1 star :-( Next :-)

Wasnt that good. I like that it exists and it was mustve been pretty cool in the 70s, but I think a lot other bands since did this style better.

Experimental jazz fusion. Excellent musicians (except the occasional singing), but not my kind of music

Not for me.

As Dwayne Johnsson once said: "It's the biggest piece of dog shit that I've ever heard" The album is tiring and boring. No matter how technical and innovative the sound may be, if it doesn't create connections with the listener, none of it makes sense. I'm gonna leave 2 stars today.

Schizo music into And then he got... this run music into Slightly different than usual Robert Wyatt music into Electronic jazz music? I honestly don't know All in all, not the worst Third on this list, but not the best either

This was one of those albums where the first few minutes are so harsh that I kind of zone out and listen to it passively and it wasn't until the jazz kicked in about 10 minutes later that I snapped back into listening actively. I loved the remaining part of the album so much that I had to listen to it again to see if I actually remembered right that the start of the album just sounded like garish noise. (except for that weird synthy part halfway through, that was too long)

Progressive jazz rock. Or jazzy rock prog. Or prog rock jazz? No matter what you call it, it’s still a no from me, dawg.

Wow. First two tracks reminded me of a cart made from parts cobbled together from a Ford, a Tesla, a Chevy and a goat cart, powered by a team of cats and geese. Ready for the journey but no one had the slightest idea of where it was supposed to go

Saved by that second track which is pretty okay jazz. Everything else is overlong garbage I must say.

I get the concept but this was was trying to be too avant garde for me. At some point, it's a lot of noise.

Talk about challenging listens. Double album, 4 sides, 4 songs, each running close to 20 minutes each of Prog rock, exhausting! Listening, it felt even longer, if you're a classical music fan, maybe you would appreciate these overlong compositions and though I pride myself of being tolerant to all kinds of music, it was difficult to take it all in at once. Good background music, with what I assume is brilliant musicianship with a fusion of all kinds of stuff and the performance is without doubt impeccable, especially considering this is live. Not for all tastes, for me it depends on what type of mood I'm in and listening I admit I was intrigued. It is interesting and kinda cool.

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

Some tracks are really good. Some not so much.

Don’t know what to make of it - a bit overplayed and quite forgettable. Not my cup of tea.

Not for me.

In your face, wall of sound (most of the time) ambient band. Kind of reminds me of Godspeed. Not as good though.

Not my thing

I can respect what they're doing here, but god damn if this isn't just really annoying music to listen to. Every time I listen to a prog rock album punk music makes more and more sense to me.

Not my cup of tea

A bit too chaotic for me. I like a smoother jazz. I know what they were going for and it’s just not my thing

Boy howdy was this one a big tease. The first few minutes of track 1 are almost unlistenable, and they remove any hope that this album will be anything more than a collection of noise someone made in a studio. And even then, the rest of track 1 is just randomly cut together...jams?...I guess, that were obviously a collection of interspersed thoughts edited together to make a 20 minute track. But after that, it's actually quite a delightful jazz/prog/space album! Still, too long, and not enough connective tissue to make me want to revisit this one any time soon.

A cerebral jazz-fusion odyssey that intrigues more than it entrances.

Das ist aber reichlich abgehoben. Jazz, kein Rock

Honestly good, Really cool its a live concert i love that, i love the soft machine and i need to read up more about them. It reminds me of a freeform jazz concert where they are just jamming noodling no real song or direction, but then moments that are melodic and have form and enjoyable but for the most part you need to be entirely focused on the music for me to enjoy and its a bit exhausting.

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.

Foundational prog rock-jazz fusion. Pleasant and good to drive.

Once you get past the first 5 minutes of the first song, it gets more interesting. But still way too long. I am grateful that the second disc is not on Spotify.

18 minutes for a song is always too much but If ur gonna make a long song atleast make it very good. This wasn’t that.

Started out really weird. Stayed weird throughout but ended up being alright background music while I worked. 6.5/10

4/10 - It was sort of jazzy and rock like but worse in every way. The songs were way too long. The album was over an hour and there were only 4 songs. The one song with lyrics was so bad.

Very early and very pretentious prog? Not a huge fan. Some of the jazzier parts were nice though

Electronically a little bit dated in it’s instrumentation but still a brlliantvdruggy fusion of jazz rock electronica.

Really not good, avant garde

Surely this album was created to challenge my will to live. Not a single track under 18 minutes long. This album ended and I am still here. In terms of albums I don't love, I can understand this being on the list.

This kind of self-indulgent guff is usually right in my wheelhouse. Meandering, largely tuneless hippie nonsense...love it. That being said, this is almost too much for me. Almost. The most tuneful parts sound like the least tuneful parts of Caravan. It's strong beer. Three stars from me, but I can imagine a cavalcade of (one) stars from a good many others.

Four very long jazz tracks? Color me impressed. When I read the wiki I got very nervous when it said live and studio album, I couldn't tell this was live so I won't count it. These were great songs to have on just like any other jazz type rock album. Very enjoyable.

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

75 minutes. Four songs. This prog must cease. There was actually a few interesting bits in there, but I can't see me thinking 'oh I'd like to listen to minutes seven to nine of that terrible song by Soft Machine'.

Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes made a soundtrack to a Noah Baumbach Film about a D-list Batman villain finally seeking therapy after his mundane but painful divorce.

The first song is an absolute trainwreck. The last few are better but just fine.

Why in the world would you start your album with 10 solid minutes of tuning up and making noise? 1/5

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.

I'm tems of best albums, it's not third that's for sure

I am a pretty big fan of noise rock, so hearing these sounds at the beginning of the album is insane for 1970. However, the recording of the horns/woodwinds could have been a lot cleaner. Ok, this reminds me a lot of In the Court of the Crimson King. I'm not sure why there are so many 1's and 2's. I had crazy low expectations for this album, but it was a pleasant surprise. Very unique album that I would happily listen too again. If you enjoy this kind of stuff, you should think about attending a King Gizzard concert. Mid 4.

Glimpses of quite nice things in amongst a migraine of free jazz prog rock pain.

I like how the intro steadily drives into intensity on the bass line, then sidetracks out into sax and flute land and then on into the unconquered territories. Songs? Hell, lets give up the tired notion of songs--let's do an album side per song. When you're stoned you don't want to bother to have to attend to such things. Jazz? Jazz Rock? Free Jazz Rock? Free Psychedelic Jazz Rock? Free Electronic Jazz Rock? Side note for Pynchon fans: The 2007 CD reissue has a bonus disc with "Esther's Nose Job," which includes "Pig."

This wax fine to have on in the background but left do little impression I didn’t even notice when it finished.