The Soft Machine (Volume 1) - Original 1971 US Probe label 7-track LP - Gimmick Cover Issue

Rare 1971 US Probe label 7-track vinyl LP - Canterbury scene psychedelic jazz-rock combos magnificient debut album - their only album comprising Kevin Ayers.

'Like Pink Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Volume One was one of the few over-ambitious records of the psychedelic era that actually delivered on all its incredible promise.' allmusic.com

Vinyl has the matt black company labels with upper boxed colour-spectral Probe logo integrated with boxed grey and white Command/ABC logo - centreprint in silver, rim print in red.

Vinyl is housed in a heavy duty circular die cut gatefold picture cover featuring a kinetic moving clockwork centre-insert through which band members and imaginery can be viewed on a further inserted full-color backing sheet.
Cover features the uncensored image of a nude girl with a winder key attached to her back on back and in inner spread.

Condition: VG+(+) (Vinyl and Labels)/VG+(+) (Cover):
Vinyl is bright and supershiny. Side 1 has a couple of light and inaudible marks located in the 1st half - a couple of faint ones stretching from the middle of the last track. Side 2 is plain mint.
Side 1 label is off centre with a couple of mm's but labels are otherwise mint and does not display any signs of play or handling.
The shine of the vinyl, the perfect labels and the fact that there is no sleeve wear what so ever supports the thought that this album was probably just tried on a couple of times... handled without too much care and then stored.
Vinyl is overall visually close to near mint/excellent but plays magnificent - straight and without noise, but with superb dynamics, great instrument differentiation and overall fidelity.

Cover has almost no wear or edge rubbing - barely any damage to corners. Inner spread is mint and makes that crackling sound when opened suggesting very little handling.
The only imediate imperfection is a touch of sun discolouration along spine stretching a little into top seam area. This is a simply extremely nice cover - graded at least close to near perfect/excellent - probably the nicest copy we have had.

Tracklisting:

Side 1:
1 Hope For Happiness 4:20
2 Joy Of A Toy 2:49
3 Hope For Happiness (Reprise) 1:37
4 Why Am I So Short? 1:38
5 So Boot If At All 7:22
6 A Certain Kind 4:10

Side 2:
1 Save Yourself 2:25
2 Priscilla 1:05
3 Lullabye Letter 4:37
4 We Did It Again 3:46
5 Plus Belle Qu'Une Poubelle 1:01
6 Why Are We Sleeping? 5:31
7 Box 25/4 Lid 0:47

Recorded April 1968 at Record Plant Studios, New York City

Credits:
Kevin Ayers - bass, vocals (on 'We Did It Again' & 'Plus Belle Qu'Une Poubelle'), backing vocals (on 'Save Yourself' & 'Lullabye Letter'), piano (on 'So Boot If At All')
Robert Wyatt - drums, lead vocals
Mike Ratledge - keyboards

Hugh Hopper - bass (on 'Box 25/4')
The Cake - backing vocals (on 'Why Are We Sleeping?')

Technical Credits:
Chas Chandler, Tom Wilson - Production

Artwork:
Henry Epstein, Brian Goto, Eli Aliman - Cover Design
Arnold Shaw - Liner Notes