1. The Soft Machine
As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still 2:32
Volume 2, 1969, Probe/ABC

A tribute to former bandmate Kevin Ayers.

2. Love Song With Flute (Mono) 4:11
Caravan
Caravan, 1969, Verve

In glorious mono. Another offshoot of The Wilde Flowers is Caravan, which included bass player Richard Sinclair.

3. 5 And 20 Schoolgirls 4:19
Daevid Allen
Majick Brother
Actuel, 1969

This is the third branch of the Wilde Flowers. Australian guitarist and singer Daevid Allen first met Robert Wyatt from the Soft Machine when he was lodging in Wyatt’s parents’ house near Canterbury. After a bried tenure in the Soft Machine, Allen went on to form Gong in Paris when he was refused re-entry into the UK after a tour in Europe.


4. The Song Of McGuillicudie The Pusillanimous 5:07
Egg
Egg, 1970, Deram

Egg included in its early incarnation the guitarist Steve Hillage, who played with Gong and Kahn.

5. Girl On A Swing 2:49
Kevin Ayers
Joy Of A Toy, 1970, Harvest/EMI

From his 1970 debut record Joy of a Tory.

6. Elastic Rock 4:06
Nucleus
Elastic Rock

Band members later became part of the Soft Machine

Roy Babbington and John Marshall from Nucleus went on to play in late-period Soft Machine. The band also featured at one stage Andy Summers who, as we know, formed The Police.

7. O Caroline 5:04
Matching Mole
Matching Mole, CBS

Robert Wyatt has an amazing skill to extract love songs from the obliquest of situations. This is O Caroline. After Robert Wyatt left Soft Machine, or was fired, due to musical differences, he started a new project Matching Mole, which is a pun from the French translation of Soft Machine, Machine Mole. Matching Mole included former Caravan member Dave Sinclair.

8. This Is What Happen 5:02
The Keith Tippet Group
Dedicated To You, But You Weren't Listening

9. Stranded 5:56
Khan
Space Shanty, Decca, 1972
Legend of a Mind, 2002, Decca

I first heard this on the fantastic Decca Deram Nova compilation I picked up in a record shop in Brighton for a few pounds.

10. Bittern Storm Over Ulm 2:19
Henry Cow
Unrest

Unrelated to Canterbury rock geographically but whose members collaborated with Canterbury groups and artists.

11. Underdub 4:03
Hatfield and the North
The Rotter’s Club, 1975, Virgin

12. Terran 3:49
Art Bears
Hopes And Fears

Art Bears were formed from the ashes of Henry Cow, with singer Dagmar Krause and avant-garde guitarist Fred Frith.

13. Norrgarden Nyvla 2:58
Fred Frith
Gravity