Track Listing

1. Hope For Happiness
2. Joy Of A Toy
3. Hope For Happiness (1)
4. Why Am I So Short
5. So Boot If At All
6. Certain Kind
7. Save Yourself
8. Priscilla
9. Lullaby Letter
10. We Did It Again
11. Plus Belle Qu'une Poubelle
12. Why Are We Sleeping
13. Box 25/4
14. Pataphysical Introduction Part 1
15. Concise British Alphabet Part 1
16. Hibou Anenome And Bear
17. Concise British Alphabet Part 2
18. Hulloder
19. Dada Was Here
20. Thank You Pierrot Lunaire
21. Have You Ever Bean Green
22. Pataphysical Introduction Part 2
23. Out Of Tunes
24. As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still
25. Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening
26. Fire Engine Passing With Bells Clanging
27. Pig
28. Orange Skin Food
29. Door Opens And Closes
30. 10.30 Returns To The Bedroom

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24661 in Music
• Released on: 1989-06-12
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

CD Description
A pairing of Soft Machine's first two albums, an astoundingset of music that hasn't been repeated or equaled by anyoneelse since. Mixing rampant experimentalism with a well-grounded sense of human scale, Hugh Hopper's bass playing and Mike Ratledge's electric piano and organ playing were both freely embellished with sonic innovations. Robert Wyatt's drumming drew more from jazz and Elvin Jones than rock music, notunlike Mitch Mitchell in the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Here Robert Wyatt's distinctive singing voice is a fragile andsubtly beautiful instrument that is expressive in an utterly honest, near-conversational way. Kevin Ayers, who was responsible for a wide-eyed folk-rock element in Soft Machine's early songwriting, left after the first album. However, the band's overall sound was so distinctive that this change waseasily absorbed.

Customer Reviews

Vol.2 - my favourite album of all time
These 2 albums were released originally independently, and you can see a true progression in the way that pop/psychedelia was being explored in the UK/60's. Vol.1 was "feeling" the way, but still had a basis rooted in their contemporaries (floyd, beatles etc.). But when Vol.2 came out -WOW!!! Even the first few chords of the 1st track (from "Pataphysical Intro") showed that this album would be like nothing like anything else that preceded (and arguably followed) it. It is so difficult to categorize it - but why bother? Just enjoy it. It's got everything in it (including "knickers and panties - nude, bare, naked" - and with no scrimping on the rich and sometimes complex arrangements. Tracks flow into and recede from each other to make this a listening experience where you have to hear the whole record from start to finish. In vol.1 this linkage, again is experimented with, but lacks the polish and completeness of vol.2. I heard that on the strength of Vol.2, Soft Machine were invited to do the proms (1st pop/rock group to do so). As to the richness of the sound, compare vol.2 with its live "Paradiso" session (also on cd). Same tracks, yet the trio amazingly still manage to convey the sound of a small orchestra! This along with Can's "Tago Mago" must rate as one of my all time favourites! Both smashed the underground frontiers of the music scene in that magic period that straddled the 60's & 70's. This is the sort of cd you by 2 of ...and hand down to your kids and their kids!

Out Freaks the Floyd
These two albums really show what the Soft Machine was capable of in the late sixties, while Psychedelic rivals and contemporaies Pink Floyd were still suffering from Syd Barrett's departure, The Soft Machine had used a gruelling tour supporting Hendrix across America to hone their own skills to ragged perfection. The first volume is basically the live set recorded in a studio, it sounds like Jazz played by punk rockers, all distorted organ and plunky bass flying off in random directions held together by Ayres pop sensability and Wyatts wonderful drumming and very English sounding vocals. The second album was recorded after a Ayres had left exhausted by the US tour, and was originally meant to be the last album, The first side is a suite of newly drafted in Bassists jazzily wonderful pop songs re-arranged by Wyatt. however one of the finest moments on the first side is Organist Mike Ratledge's Hibou, Anmone and Bear. The second side features two indepent songs the first a homage to former bassist Kevin Ayres, the second a strange - but oddly beautiful- song of Hugh Hopper's. The album ends with Mike Ratledge's powerhouse suite Esther's Nose Job - featuring some comical lyrics in the first section. Together these two albums add up to a brilliant hour and a bit of Pure jazzy Psychedelic fusion that really rocks hard!

Brilliant English Eccentricity
Marvellous albums, excellent value - they could have been very rich & famous a la Pink Floyd but in the words of Major Willard in Apocalpyse Now 'they went for themselves'

I often wonder what happened on their USA Tour supporting Jimi Hendrix - the audience must have been totally bemused by this bunch.

Oh well - It all went t*ts up after Robert Wyatt flew the coop but we have these 2 albums which still sound utterly radical (& wouldnt get anywhere near any 'chart' even today)

Well done those men!