Volume Two (The Soft Machine album)

Volume Two
Studio album by The Soft Machine
Released	September 1969
Recorded	February–March 1969 at Olympic Studios, London
Genre	Progressive rock,[1] Canterbury Scene
Length	33:20
Label	Probe SPB 1002 (UK); CPLP-4505 (US)
Producer	The Soft Machine
The Soft Machine chronology
The Soft Machine (1968) Volume Two (1969) Third (1970)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

Volume Two is the second LP album by The Soft Machine, released in 1969. A jazz influence is added to the humour, dadaism, and psychedelia of their first LP The Soft Machine (1968).

Overview

The album was inspired by The Mothers Of Invention's Absolutely Free and consists of two suites – "Rivmic Melodies " and "Esther's Nose Job" – with "As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still" and "Dedicated to You" serving as interludes. Acting on a recommendation from Zappa, the band split the main tracks into smaller pieces to increase the band's income from the album.^[3]

In the lyrics to Have You Ever Bean Green? Soft Machine thanks The Jimi Hendrix Experience, with whom they had just toured through the United States in 1968. As Jimi's opening band they were exposed to large crowds for the first time. The title of this song is a play on the soulful plaint in the song Are You Experienced?, "Have you ever been experienced?". Wyatt thanks "Brian" (Brian Hopper) and "George" (engineer George Chkiantz) in the next section, Pataphysical Introduction – Pt. 2, which also includes a quote of "These Foolish Things." The title of Side 2, "Esther's Nose Job", is derived from a chapter in Thomas Pynchon's novel, V.

Track listing

Side 1

1. "Rivmic Melodies" - 17:07
   1. "Pataphysical Introduction – Pt. 1" (Robert Wyatt) – 1:00
   2. "A Concise British Alphabet – Pt. 1" (Hugh Hopper, arr. Wyatt) – 0:10
   3. "Hibou, Anemone and Bear" (Mike Ratledge, Wyatt) – 5:58
   4. "A Concise British Alphabet – Pt. 2" (Hopper, arr. Wyatt) – 0:12
   5. "Hulloder" (Hopper, Wyatt) – 0:52
   6. "Dada Was Here" (Hopper, Wyatt) – 3:25
   7. "Thank You Pierrot Lunaire" (Hopper, Wyatt) – 0:47
   8. "Have You Ever Bean Green?" (Hopper, Wyatt) – 1:23
   9. "Pataphysical Introduction – Pt. 2" (Wyatt) – 0:50
   10. "Out of Tunes" (Ratledge, Hopper, Wyatt) – 2:30

Side 2

1. "As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still" (Ratledge, Wyatt) – 2:30
2. "Dedicated to You But You Weren't Listening" (Hopper) – 2:30
3. "Esther's Nose Job" - 11:13
   1. "Fire Engine Passing with Bells Clanging" (Ratledge) – 1:50
   2. "Pig" (Ratledge) – 2:08
   3. "Orange Skin Food" (Ratledge) – 1:52
   4. "A Door Opens and Closes" (Ratledge) – 1:09
   5. "10.30 Returns to the Bedroom" (Ratledge, Hopper, Wyatt) – 4:14

Personnel

• Robert Wyatt – drums, lead and backing vocals
• Mike Ratledge – piano, Lowrey Holiday De Luxe organ, Hammond organ (on 3) harpsichord (on 12), flute (on 3 and 10)^[4]
• Hugh Hopper – bass guitar, acoustic guitar (on 12), alto saxophone (on 3 and 14-16)

Additional personnel

• Brian Hopper – soprano and tenor saxophone

References

External links

• Soft Machine biography at www.progarchives.com
• Discography at Calyx website
• Volume Two (The Soft Machine album) at Discogs (list of releases)