Land of Cockayne (A Jet-Propelled Soft Machine)

Land of Cockayne is the thirteenth studio album by the English rock band Soft Machine. The album was mixed and produced by Anthony Moore. Land of Cockayne was released in 14 February 1982 by RCA Records. It is the last album with keyboardist Karl Jenkins, who would quit the band right after the release, being eventually replaced by Richard Wright.

The sessions of the album lasted a month to record new songs and additional vocals. Big part of the album is reminiscent of the recordings sessions of Soft Machine's Fictitious Sports, which was mixed by Anthony Moore.

By being and having the reminiscent of the previous album, Land of Cockayne maintains big part of the influences on Fictitious Sports, but it is noted an approach of the emergent new wave music on the album, mainly by Kevin Ayers pop-driven songs.

The seven-minute instrumental track Hot-Biscuit Slim starts the album, followed by Ayers's Miss Hanaga. Then, it appears two of Robert Wyatt's jazz-rock tracks with a Ollie Halsall rocking track in the middle. The second side is filled with I'm So Tired and followed by two more pieces of Jenkins with Given and Taken intersecting both tracks, finishing with I'm a Mineralist, the second longest track of the album.

Land of Cockayne peaked in number 9 in Billboard 200, falling out quickly. In the United Kingdom, the album reached number 2, and topped in France and Spain. Ollie Halsall's Steppin' Out was released as a single, hitting in the United States. Later, the band released Hot River, received better in Europe.

Although a lesser performance in the album charts, the album was a hit-driven album. Miss Hanaga and I Was Wrong became worldwide hits, Given and Taken, a hit in United Kingdom, France and the rest of Europe, while This One's For Me hit in Australia & New Zealand and Americas.

The album is usually labeled as a sequel to its predecessor. It has received mixed views, such as the "a wasted potential hit album as the predecessor, because of the track listing which the tracks seemed in the wrong positions". The promotional tour of the album was companied of Dave MacRae as the keyboardist. It was the debut tour of Soft Machine in East Europe, with concerts in East Berlin, Leningrad and Moscow. In the USSR, Robert Wyatt included The Internationale in the set as a prelude. The act was a bit criticized.

Soft Machine

 * Kevin Ayers - bass guitar, lead and backing vocals [2; 6; 8; 10]
 * Robert Wyatt - drums, percussion; lead and backing vocals [3; 5; 10]
 * Karl Jenkins - synclavier, C.S. 80, Mini Moog, piano, orchestration
 * Ollie Halsall - lead guitar; lead and backing vocals [4]

Additional personnel

 * Clare Torry - backing vocals [8]
 * John Marshall - drums
 * John Halsey - drums, lead vocals [4]
 * Michael Mantler - trumpets, recording engineer
 * Gary Windo - tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, flute
 * Gary Valente - trombones
 * Howard Johnson - tuba
 * Ray Warleigh - alto saxophone
 * Anthony Moore - producer