Third - Soft Machine

Third (Soft Machine, 1970)

1. Facelift (Live) - 18:54

2. Slightly All the Time - 18:14

3. Moon in June - 19:18

4. Out-Bloody-Rageous - 19:11

This album is a behemoth of jazz-influenced experimental rock. It takes a lot of listens to get into it (unfortunately), but once the intrepid listener is in, there is a richly bizarre world to explore.

Facelift is an aggressive sax-driven track. It starts in anarchy with distorted keyboards, bass drones, and two saxophones flickering in and out of the sonic palette. The miasma coalesces into a vaguely menacing melody before bursting forth in full flame, with Elton Dean and Lyn Dobson's saxes burning through the danceable jazz vocabulary with infectious abandon. Hugh Hopper's bass and Robert Wyatt's drums keep things moving, even during the mysterious middle part where Dobson trades his sax for a flute. The song has good melodies, creative structuring, and rock viscera spread all over the place.

Slightly All the Time is a very good composed piece. It goes through four or five different sections, each flowing well into the other despite different time signatures (11/8 to 9/8 to 4/4). The chord progressions make for some excellent solos from Mike Ratledge on keyboard and Elton Dean on sax. At times the melodies trip lightly over nimble bass lines and drum patterns, while at other times the beat is more insistent. There is a great dreamy section in the middle where the sax floats over a sea of organ, bass, and relaxed hi-hat, lulling the listener into pleasant quietude before picking back up into a fast swing. This song has accomplished musicianship mixed with the occasional dip into pure rock fun.

Moon in June was initially my favorite tune on the album, and it's easily the most accessible. The first 9 minutes have vocals! Shocking! Robert Wyatt's whimsical lyrics deal with relationships, homesickness, and the purpose of music, mixing British wit and Dadaist stream of consciousness rambling ("Ah, but I miss the rain, ticky tacky ticky..."). The most striking part for me about the vocal section is the plethora of melodies. There's not really a verse/chorus structure, just engaging melody after engaging melody. Yummy! The playful vocal portion merges seamlessly into a bracing 12/8 jam with a searing organ solo, fierce distorted bass backing, and some tasty scat vocals. It all builds to a glorious, cathartic climax - and then there are five more minutes. The piece decays slowly, with lots of weird tape effects and creepy studio manipulation, topped off by a deranged violin solo. Wyatt's wordless vocals seep through occasionally like light from dying embers. It's madness, but it's delicious madness.

Out-Bloody-Rageous tops it all off with a summation of the disparate elements of the album. It starts and ends as a solo keyboard piece with lots of looping effects and ambient, experimental techniques. Sandwiched in the middle is another spritely jazz workout with saxophone taking the lead, this time in (be still my heart) 15/8. It's just a pleasure to hear musicians testing their limits--and perhaps holding on by the seat of their pants--as they journey through another session of instrumental creativity and bliss.

Overall, this is a very good album, definitely more jazz than rock. More vocals would have been nice, but the instruments carry a lot of melody. The recording quality isn't the best either, but that's the way it goes sometimes...

Arbitrary rating: 5 out of 5 ticky tacky ticky