Land of Cockayne (album)

Land of Cockayne is the tenth studio album by the jazz rock band Soft Machine, released in 1981. The title refers to the medieval land of plenty. It would be the last album released under the Soft Machine moniker until Hidden Details in 2018.

Land of Cockayne
Studio album by Soft Machine
Released	March 1981
Recorded	June & July 1980
Studio	Pye Studios & Riverside Studios in London
Genre	Jazz rock
Length	43:51
Label	EMI EMC 3348
Producer	Mike Thorne
Soft Machine chronology
Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris (1978) Land of Cockayne (1981) Hidden Details (2018)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Overview

In 1979, Karl Jenkins, who had been a member of Soft Machine from May 1972 to the band's split in December 1978, was among a number of top UK session and jazz musicians put together as an ad hoc band called Rollercoaster to record a tribute album called Wonderin' (1980) featuring jazz-funk cover versions of Stevie Wonder songs. After the completion of that album, a number of the Rollercoaster musicians decided to record another album together, this time under the Soft Machine name.^[2] Some of the musicians involved in the project would later be part of Soft Machine's next live line-up which played a six-night residency at Ronnie Scott's in 1984.

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

Soft Machine

• Karl Jenkins – piano, Minimoog, Yamaha CS-80, Synclavier, arranger, conductor
• John Marshall – drums, percussion
• Allan Holdsworth – lead guitar
• Ray Warleigh – alto saxophone, bass flute
• Dick Morrissey – tenor saxophone
• Alan Parker – rhythm guitar
• John Taylor – electric piano
• Jack Bruce – bass
• Stu Calver – vocals, backing vocals
• John Perry – vocals, backing vocals
• Tony Rivers – vocals, backing vocals

Additional personnel

• Mike Thorne – production
• Bill Harman – orchestra leader
• Roy Ellsworth – artwork