Halfway to Soft Machine’s “Third”: Prog Review #40
There’s something unfair about this entire project of listening to an album with the purpose of generating content, a review that both forms a judgment of the artist and some pithy observations about music, culture in general, or myself.
While I do give myself a lot of time to fully absorb these albums and listen to them in different contexts, it’s still asking a lot for me to come at something new and, within a week or two, (or months and months when I’m too busy to blog,) pronounce on it. It’s also unfair to the artists who never intended their music to be listened to in this way.
It’s an artificial approach to music appreciation. The stuff that becomes a part of us is the music that hits just right when we don’t expect it. Or, it’s the highly anticipated album that you’ve waited months or years for that you dedicate yourself to listen to closely.
What I’m doing is its own thing that is as much about my writing process as it is about discovering music. I’m trying to approximate the experience of absorbing the music and the associated feelings that normally take years to develop.
All this to say that I’m usually quite successful at giving each album its due and forming a solid opinion of it (with an occasional exception.) This time around, I don’t feel I can write anything quite so considered.
But I can make an attempt.
Soft Machine’s Third (1970) comprises 4 tracks of nearly 20-minutes apiece. These are not multi-part suites, but rather improvisational jams. Yes’s Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973) is also 4 long songs, and if I haven’t been able to process that album over the last 15 years or so since I bought it, I can’t expect to give the more chaotic Third it’s due, having just heard of it a few weeks ago.
Each of Third’s four tracks has its own vibe. I had to take my earbuds out when “Facelift” started; it’s full of piercing guitar whines and wobbly synths. Eventually, these shape themselves into a groove and a melody. “Slightly All the Time” follows, and it’s a delightful light jazzy tune with harmonious flute and judicious use of sax. This song was perfect background music for relaxing after the kids had settled down for bed.
“Moon in June” is a little more psychedelic with its gurgling bass and fuzzy synths, and it’s the only tune with lyrics (I think. It’s hard to track exactly across four long songs). And then “Out-Bloody-Rageous” closes it out with something more akin to a King Crimson song but jazzier as it alternates relaxed spacey synth-led sections and wailing sax over thick walking basslines. It also features a distinct synth tone—more on that later.
Getting back to the synths.
Soft Machine is regarded as the central pillar of the Canterbury scene of progressive rock. Like many attempts at defining a musical moment, the label doesn’t mean much, but I do hear the connections between Soft Machine and the other two Canterbury scene acts I’ve covered: Gong and Caravan. The tone of the synths (see, I said I’d get back to that) on parts of this album is the same as on Caravan’s In the Land of Grey and Pink (1971), while the slightly jazzy, slightly psychedelic improvisational approach to songwriting is very much like Gong’s You (1974) and parts of the Caravan album.
These are not bands I’ve spent much time on; I do love the sound of the synths on “Out-Bloody-Rageous” and throughout In the Land of Grey and Pink. Some research tells me this is probably a Hohner Pianet that I’m enamoured of, rivalling perhaps my beloved Mellotron that also has some appearances on Third. When the Pianet is used well alongside the horns and a good bass groove, both Soft Machine and Caravan hit me just right. I’d like to hear more like that.
Will I come back to this album though? Unlikely, simply because nothing on it sticks in my brain, but there’s lots to like.
Rolling Stone Rankings
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Rush - Moving Pictures
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Yes – Close to the Edge
Genesis - Selling England by the Pound
Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick
Can - Future Days
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Yes - Fragile
Rush - Hemispheres
ELP - Brain Salad Surgery
Pink Floyd - Animals
Genesis - Foxtrot
King Crimson - Red
Gentle Giant - Octopus
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All
Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per Un Amico
King Crimson - Larks’ Tongue in Aspic
Camel - Mirage
Rush - 2112
Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
Magma - Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh
The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium
Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts
Supertramp - Crime of the Century
Opeth - Blackwater Park
Dream Theater - Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory
U.K. - U.K.
Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning
Kansas - Leftoverture
TOOL - Lateralus
Caravan - In the Land of Grey and Pink
Banco - Io Sono Nato Libero
Harmonium - Si on Avait Besoin d'une Cinquième Saison
Marillion - Clutching at Straws
Gong - You
Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet
Soft Machine - Third
ASK Rankings
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Supertramp - Crime of the Century
Genesis - Foxtrot
Caravan - In the Land of Grey and Pink
Marillion - Clutching at Straws
Camel - Mirage
Yes – Close to the Edge
Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning
King Crimson - Red
Gentle Giant - Octopus
Dream Theater - Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory
Genesis - Selling England by the Pound
Harmonium - Si on Avait Besoin d'une Cinquième Saison
Rush - 2112
Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick
ELP - Brain Salad Surgery
U.K. - U.K
Rush - Moving Pictures
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Kansas - Leftoverture
Banco - Io Sono Nato Libero
The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium
Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per Un Amico
Gong - You
Soft Machine - Third
King Crimson - Larks’ Tongue in Aspic
Pink Floyd - Animals
Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet
TOOL - Lateralus
Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All
Yes - Fragile
Rush - Hemispheres
Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
Magma - Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Can - Future Days
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts
Opeth - Blackwater Park
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here