SOFT MACHINE — Volume Two (review)

SOFT MACHINE — Volume Two album cover Album · 1969 · Jazz Related Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
snobb
After Soft Machine's strong and innovative debut, second album is more evolutionary,than revolution. Kevin Ayers is gone and bring with him psychedelic pop tunes. In new lineup (as quartet instead of debut's trio) the band got a sax player on board for a first time.

Musically less pop oriented, this album is real Wyatt product: his vocal,tender and melancholic,with jazzy feel strongly influenced common album's atmosphere. Drumming there is seriously jazzy as much as some free jazz elements in music.

Not radically different from its predecessor,this album made a first step from catchy and freaky psychedelic pop/rock of their debut (still obviously influenced by Daevid Allen) towards later complex and quirky jazz fusion works. Still more psychedelic rock with jazzy arrangements album then real fusion, this work contains plenty of soft acoustic sounds,quite complex (and in time a bit bulky) arrangements,and having very influential atmosphere, lacks direction and is a bit raw and bulky in details.Being a most influential Allen's Soft Machine album, it prepared serious changes in direction happened soon after its release. Important work in Soft Machine discography and possibly most Canterbury-sounding in musical sense, this work is great, but far not a masterpiece. Real masterpiece will be released very soon though.
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