Land of Cockayne (album)

Land of Cockayne
Studio album by Soft Machine
Released	1981
Recorded	June & July 1980
Genre	Progressive rock, Jazz Fusion
Length	43:51
Label	EMI EMC 3348
Producer	Mike Thorne
Soft Machine chronology
Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris (1978)Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris1978 Land of Cockayne (1981)

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Land of Cockayne is the tenth and final studio album by the Canterbury associated band Soft Machine, released in 1981. By this point, the band contained none of its original members. The title refers to the medieval land of plenty.

Overview

The album came about as the result of a project in which Karl Jenkins and John Marshall had been involved featuring top session musicians. The ad hoc band, Rollercoaster, had recently recorded the Stevie Wonder tribute album Wonderin' and decided to record another album together. Many of the musicians included on the Cockayne album would make up Soft Machine's final live line-up which played a six-night residency at Ronnie Scott's in 1984. This is the only Soft Machine album to feature a string section.

Track listing

All compositions by Karl Jenkins.

Side one

1. "Over 'n' Above" – 7:24
2. "Lotus Groves" – 4:57
3. "Isle of the Blessed" – 1:56
4. "Panoramania" – 7:07
5. "Behind the Crystal Curtain" – 0:53

Side two

1. "Palace of Glass" – 3:22
2. "Hot-Biscuit Slim" – 7:27
3. "(Black) Velvet Mountain" – 5:10
4. "Sly Monkey" – 5:00
5. "A Lot of What You Fancy..." – 0:35

Personnel

• Karl Jenkins – keyboards, synths, orchestration
• John Marshall – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Jack Bruce – bass
• Allan Holdsworth – lead guitar
• John Taylor – electric piano
• Ray Warleigh – alto saxophone, bass flute
• Dick Morrissey – tenor saxophone
• Alan Parker – rhythm guitar
• Stu Calver – vocals, backing vocals
• John G. Perry – vocals, backing vocals
• Tony Rivers – vocals, backing vocals

External links

• Soft Machine: Land of Cockayne at Discogs (list of releases)