Kings and Queens (A Jet-Propelled Soft Machine)

Kings and Queens is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Soft Machine, and the second and last one with their touring band, The Whole World. The album was produced solely by Soft Machine, and released in 29 November 1971 by Harvest in the United Kingdom and Capitol in the United States.

According to Robert Wyatt's biography, Kings and Queens was an album with greater freedom given to the band. Without Peter Jenner, the group started to record the piece in mid-1971 with Teeth, by Mike Ratledge. During the recording sessions, the band contacted the brazilian jazz musician Hermeto Paschoal, who the band have met during the South American leg of the tour, to record his parts on the album, in Teeth, and in Kevin Ayers' There is Loving/Among Us/There is Loving.

The album peaked in number 3 in UK Album Charts, and in number 52 in Billboard 200. The song chosen to be the lead single was Margaret, a song written by Ayers, and a soft rock pastiche. In South America, an edited version of Among Us was released as single, backed by Girl on a Swing.

By the critics, the album is labeled between the advance of the group in free jazz of Mike Ratledge and Hugh Hopper, to standard pop tunes and symphonic compositions by Kevin Ayers, and to the instrumental piano pieces of Robert Wyatt. It is noted the absence of lead vocals by Wyatt, being an entirely with lead vocals of Kevin Ayers. In following years, it has gained a cult status

Soft Machine

 * Kevin Ayers - lead guitar, lead and backing vocals [1; 4-6; 8]
 * Robert Wyatt - drums, percussion; organ, piano [all on 3 and 9]
 * Mike Ratledge - electric piano, Lowrey Holiday De Luxe organ, Hohner Pianet
 * Hugh Hopper - bass guitar

The Whole World

 * David Bedford - organ, orchestral arrangements
 * Elton Dean - alto saxophone, saxello
 * Mike Oldfield - electric guitar
 * Alan Skidmore - tenor saxophone
 * Bruce Malamut - incidental brass
 * The Whole World Chorus

Additional personnel

 * Roy Babbington - double bass [6]
 * Mark Charig - cornet [2]
 * Nick Evans - trombone [2; 6]
 * Gerry Fields - violin [8]
 * Johnny Van Derek - violin [4]
 * Hermeto Paschoal - flugelhorns [1; 7]