All Aboard the Ghost Train! (A Jet-Propelled Soft Machine)

All Aboard the Ghost Train! is the sixteenth studio album by the English rock band Soft Machine. The album was produced by their long-time producer, Anthony Moore. Ghost Train became Soft Machine's return to EMI and Columbia Records after sixteen years, releasing the album in 26 March 1994 in UK/Europe by EMI and Worldwide by Columbia. It was their last album with Ollie Halsall who died in 1992 due to a drug-inducted heart attack.

Kevin Ayers and Robert Wyatt started to record their next albums in 1991 separately. Ayers expressed his wish to release his album as part of Soft Machine to Ollie, who was recording the album with, and invited Robert Wyatt to make the drums. With an opportunity to return, Wyatt and Ayers proposed to record both tracks to release under the Soft Machine.

The first sessions happened at the Chapel and Townhouse Studios, which happened separately, and the group reunited at the Abbey Road Studios with Ollie Halsall and Dave Sinclair, Caravan's keyboardist, who was hired as a session musician to help with the keyboards of their next album. In 1992, the sessions were tragically interrupted by the unexpected death of Ollie Halsall, caused by a drug-inducted heart attack, making the band put the sessions into a hiatus.

The recording sessions of All Aboard the Ghost Train resumed in February 1993, with the return of bassist Hugh Hopper, Kevin Ayers assuming the role of guitarist, and Dave Sinclair joining the group. Soft Machine was switching between Abbey Road Studios and Britannia Row Studios, finishing the sessions in November 1993, to mix in early 1994, with the release being announced in January 1994.

In The Ghost Train, Soft Machine decided to move away from the electronic and new wave influence to return to their roots, noticed by the absence of the synthsisers on pop songs, using more traditional musical instruments. The album has a primordial influence of the progressive rock and canterbury scene genres, mixed with pop and art rock genres. The lyrical themes of Robert Wyatt are abstract and philosophical themes contrasting the material and real themes of Kevin Ayers and Ollie Halsall.

All Aboard the Ghost Train topped in almost every country since United States to United Kingdom, France and Spain, where it has the biggest fanbases of the band. All the singles released were written by Kevin Ayers, Feeling This Way, Ghost Train, and Something in Between. Feeling This Way was commercially successful worldwide, as Ghost Train in Europe. Something in Between was a hit in isolated places, such as France and a minor hit in UK.

The album was received with great appraise with good reviews, viewing a great return of Soft Machine on music. Ghost Train received 2x platinum certifications in the United States by RIAA, 3x on the United Kingdom, and 3x diamond certifications in France. The tour promoting the album was one of the most successful tours of the band. After the tour, Soft Machine dissolved again, returning in 2001 until the final dissolvement, in 2008.

Soft Machine

 * Kevin Ayers - lead guitar, bass guitar, lead and backing vocals [1; 3; 5; 8; 10; 12]
 * Robert Wyatt - drums, percussion, keyboards, piano, percussion, lead and backing vocals [2; 4; 6-7; 9; 11]
 * Ollie Halsall - lead guitar, acoustic guitar [1], vibraphone [10], backing vocals
 * Dave Sinclair - piano, Hammond organ, synthesizer, keyboards
 * Hugh Hopper - bass guitar

Additional personnel

 * Mike Oldfield - guitar [10]
 * Kevin Armstrong - guitar [3]
 * Mark E. Nevin - acoustic guitar
 * Simon Edwards - guitarrón [1]
 * Graham Henderson - piano [8], accordion [5]
 * B.J. Cole - pedal steel guitar [1]
 * Danny Thompson - double bass
 * Anthony Moore - keyboards, producer, programming