Soft Machine, The

• 3 PANEL DIGIPACK EDITION

The aptly titled Volume Two introduced a retooled Soft Machine lineup, with Wyatt and Ratledge joined by bassist Hugh Hopper, an old Canterbury friend who had guested on the first album.

The sophomore disc finds the threesome moving towards a more explicitly jazz-influenced sound, with an increased emphasis on instrumental material. The album is bookended by a pair of extended compositions, "Rivmic Melodies" and "Esther's Nose Job," which are broken up into shorter individual tracks bearing whimsically arbitrary titles. That approach was suggested to the band by Frank Zappa, whose Mothers of Invention album Absolutely Free was reportedly an influence on Volume Two.

PERSONNEL:

• Mike Ratledge - (piano, organ, harpsichord, flute)
• Hugh Hopper - (bass, alto sax, acoustic guitar)
• Robert Wyatt - (drums, percussion, vocals, arranger)

• With:
• Brian Hopper - (tenor & soprano sax)

TRACKS:

• 01. Pataphysical Introduction Pt. I
• 02. A Concise British Alphabet Pt. I
• 03. Hibou, Anemone and Bear
• 04. A Concise British Alphabet Pt. II
• 05. Hulloder
• 06. Dada Was Here
• 07. Thank You Pierrot Lunaire
• 08. Have You Ever Bean Green?
• 09. Pataphysical Introduction Pt. II
• 10. Out of Tunes
• 11. As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still
• 12. Dedicated to You But You Weren't Listening
• 13. Fire Engine Passing With Bells Clanging
• 14. Pig
• 15. Orange Skin Food
• 16. A Door Opens And Closes
• 17. 10.30 Returns to the Bedroom