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Critic Reviews
90
This is the one record that effectively assimilates rock, absurdist humor, jazz, and the avant-garde, and it misses classic status only due to some dissonant instrumentation on side two
11y
80
This album would mark a rough thematic template that SM would take to its extremes in the years to come.
3y
The History of The Albums – n°425
1969/04/05 (fictive date), double review,
Small musical revolutions are rare, and sometimes their origins are even more astonishing. Let's head for the south-east of England, in the county of Kent, more than fifty kilometers from London, in a town with a population of less than 50,000 at the time: Canterbury. Founded a very long time ago, this now rather touristy little place is one of the coun-try's most important religious lands, and is also home ... read more
When I thought Soft Machine cannot get any more fucked up they did and OH MY GOD. This album is absolutely insane. The missing piece between the largely psychedelic, quirky debut album that established the signature Canterbury sound and the grand, mysterious masterpiece that was Third. Hugh Hopper's inclusion welcomed the jazz-oriented grooves and structures, but the band didn't stray away from it's roots completely yet and the eclectic form of Volume Two is as unique as ... read more
It’s a messy album but damn there are some absolute highlights on here like Hibou Anemone and Bear, as long as he lies perfectly still. Moments of ethereal beauty and nostalgia. I don’t care so much for the noisy sections tho
A massive improvement from their first album. This album is more jazzy, feels like their growing into their mold with this one.
This still has short songs on it though, which I'm not to familiar with, but I thick they will fix that with Vol. III considering I looked at the track list and all of them are 20 plus minutes.
Standout Tracks
Hibou Anemone And Bear
Dedicated to you but you wernt listening
10:30 Returns to the Bedroom
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Track List
Rivmic Melodies
| 1 | Pataphysical Introduction - Pt. I 1:00 | 75 |
| 2 | A Concise British Alphabet - Pt. I 0:10 | 69 |
| 3 | Hibou, Anemone and Bear 5:58 | 89 |
| 4 | A Concise British Alphabet - Pt. II 0:12 | 69 |
| 5 | Hulloder 0:52 | 82 |
| 6 | Dada Was Here 3:25 | 87 |
| 7 | Thank You Pierrot Lunaire 0:47 | 80 |
| 8 | Have You Ever Bean Green? 1:23 | 83 |
| 9 | Pataphysical Introduction - Pt. II 0:50 | 80 |
| 10 | Out of Tunes 2:30 | 83 |
Esther's Nose Job
| 11 | As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still 2:30 | 88 |
| 12 | Dedicated to You But You Weren't Listening 2:30 | 72 |
| 13 | Fire Engine Passing With Bells Clanging 1:50 | 73 |
| 14 | Pig 2:08 | 86 |
| 15 | Orange Skin Food 1:52 | 83 |
| 16 | A Door Opens and Closes 1:09 | 85 |
| 17 | 10.30 Returns to the Bedroom 4:14 | 90 |
Total Length: 33 minutes
