VOLUME TWO

EDIT on 30.08.17: This is a dated review. This album has really grown on me and now I love it by bits. I will edit this review soon to express how much I do. Now, enjoy my old-ish review that, as time proved, I wrote wayyy to quickly. After a succes of their debut, Soft Machine setteld in the United States after playing support for Jimi Hendrix. Robert Wyatt stayed in New York producing his solo material with Jimi Hendrix on bass guitar, which was released on an album "'68" in 2013. Kevin Ayers could not stand the tension of touring, so he left the band recommending Hugh Hopper as a replacement. In 1969, the band reformed and recorded "Volume Two".

To start out, I could never really like this album. After a fantastic debut, Soft Machine produced material which was sort of a let-down (I'm talking about this album in particular, because "Third" was a really solid effort). The case with this one, I think is similar to Rick Wakeman's solo albums. It does have a true potential lying in great musicians, but for most part its sound is a big overload of ideas thrown here and there. The tracks like "A Concise British Alphabet" or "Pataphysycal Introduction" are interesting with a sense of humour typical of Soft Machine, but these kinds of ideas are all over the place. The thing is, "Volume Two" lacks a climax that is hard to achieve. Some albums do not need a climax, that's true. Nonetheless, the music quickly becomes a collection of short comedy sketches that don't contribute to a reasonable whole with just a few extended jams (which indeed are interesting). However, this album does feature some neat moments like "Hibou Anemone and Bear" which is undeniably Soft Machine's classic, signature sound, or "10:30 Returns To the Bedroom".

I want to give this album 3 stars, as it does have a potential, could be a nice work and it showcases good musicianship. A lack of flavor lets it down. I wouldn't recommend this album to anyone, because I wouldn't be honest. Sorry, Soft Machine. Much better things were to come! However, this is definitely recommended for a Canterbury scene fan. Even if you won't like it, this is an essential Canterbury album.