Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Soft Machine
Label: Probe Records
Release: 1969
Runtime: 33:20
Rating: 4/5
With »Volume Two«, English prog-rock innovators Soft Machine took their first step in a sonic transition from provocative psychedelic rock to mostly instrumental jazz fusion. In many ways »Volume Two« was a stylistic bridge between the approach of their psychedelia-spiked debut »The Soft Machine« (1968) and the unbridled jazz fusion they developed on »Third« (1970). The key event behind the shift was the departure of founding bassist/vocalist Kevin Ayers, who was getting harder and harder to deal with for the remaining members, namely drummer/vocalist Robert Wyatt and keyboardist Mike Ratledge. Thanks to him, Soft Machine went into the »Volume Two« sessions without a guitarist: at Ayers’ request they had kicked future The Police guitar master Andy Summers out of the band in mid-1968, with no idea what kind of guitar gem they were throwing away. In the end Ayers’ nerves snapped too, so he packed his bags and set off on an interesting and relatively successful solo career.
Soft Machine fell apart soon after, but not for long, because Wyatt and Ratledge finally managed to find Ayers’ successor in their equipment guy and occasional musical collaborator Hugh Hopper. A huge jazz fan and former member of the cult outfit The Wilde Flowers, Hopper, who would become one of the most resilient Soft Machine members, had already guested on bass on »The Soft Machine«, but he had to wait for Ayers to leave before he could finally become a full-fledged part of the English experimentalists.
»Volume Two« was thus recorded without a guitarist, and that state of affairs lasted in Soft Machine’s music, which at this point had very little to do with rock, all the way until 1973, when Allan Holdsworth joined the band. »Volume Two« is said to have been inspired by Frank Zappa’s studio classic »Absolutely Free« (1967), and here and there you can pick up the outlines of a concept. It was Zappa who, while the Soft Machine guys were knocking around America on tour, kindly suggested that they chop their longer compositions into shorter pieces to get a better cut of the songwriting royalties. They followed his advice pretty faithfully on »Volume Two«, which changed completely already on »Third«.
»Volume Two« was split into two suites, »Rivmic Melodies« and »Eshter’s Nose Job«, while the tracks »As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still« and »Dedicated to You But You Weren’t Listening« act as a sort of connective tissue between the two quasi-conceptual halves. Drumming ace Wyatt became the main vocalist after Ayers left, delivering mostly humorously spiced lyrics on this largely instrumental effort. With the stylistic turn brought on by Ayers’ departure, Soft Machine suddenly started developing a much more obscure sonic approach, although elements of psychedelic rock and psychedelic pop were still around here and there, especially on tracks like »Dada Was Here«, »Thank You Pierrot Lunaire« and »Have You Ever Been Green?«. These were already too experimental for commercial radio, yet still had enough melodic arrangements for the album as a whole to come across as an ‘easy bite’ for the listener compared to Soft Machine’s future exploits, which are mostly aimed at jazz-rock fusion gourmets only.
On the flip side, »Volume Two« already contains some seriously demanding experiments, with wild improvisations between the rhythm section and the keyboards, such as the dissonant »Out of Tunes«, the chaotic »Fire Engine Passing with Bells Clanging« or the repetitive-provocative »Orange Skin Food«. This is where you can really pick up certain influences from Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. In between are scattered gems of a stylistic ‘golden mean’, like the excellent »As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still«, which stylistically recalls Caravan more than the later, classic, jazzy Soft Machine, while »Dedicated to You But You Weren’t Listening« already sounds a lot like some of Wyatt’s later solo ventures. »Pig«, for instance, was a kind of prototype for what Robert would create with his later, short-lived group Matching Mole. The road ahead can be heard, thanks to wild sax parts and Hopper’s rasping bass lines, which mesh perfectly with Wyatt’s drum fills, on the superb but short experimental adventures »A Door Opens« and »10.30 Returns to Bedroom«.
With the transitional »Volume Two«, Soft Machine began smartly moving out of the world of experimental psychedelia and onto the improvisational plains of jazz fusion, which would soon become their trademark. In that sense »Volume Two« was definitely an artistic step forward from the debut, even if it had the bad luck of being completely overshadowed in 1970 by the classic »Third«, which marked the birth of the classic Soft Machine. Even though it soon became clear that Wyatt wouldn’t be a member much longer, which was already evident on »Volume Two«, the creative chemistry of this version of Sot Machine was truly top-notch. In this short-lived »Volume Two« lineup, Soft Machine also served as the backing band on the solo debut of former Pink Floyd guitarist/vocalist Syd Barrett, »The Madcap Laughs« (1970).
Lineup
Robert Wyatt – drums, vocals
Hugh Hopper – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, alto sax
Mike Ratledge – keyboards
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Brian Hopper – soprano and tenor sax
Production
Soft Machine
Tracklist
Side 1 – Rivmic Melodies:
1. Pataphysical Introduction Pt. I (1:00)
2. A Concise British Alphabet Pt. I (0:10)
3. Hibou, Anemone and Bear (5:58)
4. A Concise British Alphabet Pt. II (0:12)
5. Hulloder (0:52)
6. Dada Was Here (3:25)
7. Thank You Pierrot Lunaire (0:47)
8. Have You Ever Bean Green? (1:23)
9. Pataphysical Introduction Pt. II (0:50)
10. Out of Tunes (2:30)
Side 2 – Esther’s Nose Job:
11. As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still (2:30)
12. Dedicated to You But You Weren’t Listening (2:30)
13. Fire Engine Passing With Bells Clanging (1:50)
14. Pig (2:08)
15. Orange Skin Food (1:52)
16. A Door Opens And Closes (1:09)
17. 10.30 Returns to the Bedroom (4:14)
