Halfway to Soft Machine’s “Third”: Prog Review #40

Soft Machine - Third

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 closely.

Let's all make sure we've got the time / Music-making still performs the normal functions - / Background noise for people scheming, seducing, revolting and teaching - “Moon in June”

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.

Hohner Pianet N - Dave Sinclair of Caravan used this model on In the Land of Grey and Pink

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

1. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

2. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King

3. Rush - Moving Pictures

4. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

5. Yes – Close to the Edge

6. Genesis - Selling England by the Pound

7. Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick

8. Can - Future Days

9. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

10. Yes - Fragile

11. Rush - Hemispheres

12. ELP - Brain Salad Surgery

13. Pink Floyd - Animals

14. Genesis - Foxtrot

15. King Crimson - Red

16. Gentle Giant - Octopus

17. Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells

18. Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All

19. Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per Un Amico

20. King Crimson - Larks’ Tongue in Aspic

21. Camel - Mirage

22. Rush - 2112

23. Tangerine Dream - Phaedra

24. Magma - Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh

25. The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium

26. Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts

27. Supertramp - Crime of the Century

28. Opeth - Blackwater Park

29. Dream Theater - Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory

30. U.K. - U.K.

31. Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning

32. Kansas - Leftoverture

33. TOOL - Lateralus

34. Caravan - In the Land of Grey and Pink

35. Banco - Io Sono Nato Libero

36. Harmonium - Si on Avait Besoin d'une Cinquième Saison

37. Marillion - Clutching at Straws

38. Gong - You

39. Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet

40. Soft Machine - Third

ASK Rankings

1. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

2. Supertramp - Crime of the Century

3. Genesis - Foxtrot

4. Caravan - In the Land of Grey and Pink

5. Marillion - Clutching at Straws

6. Camel - Mirage

7. Yes – Close to the Edge

8. Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning

9. King Crimson - Red

10. Gentle Giant - Octopus

11. Dream Theater - Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory

12. Genesis - Selling England by the Pound

13. Harmonium - Si on Avait Besoin d'une Cinquième Saison

14. Rush - 2112

15. Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick

16. ELP - Brain Salad Surgery

17. U.K. - U.K

18. Rush - Moving Pictures

19. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King

20. Kansas - Leftoverture

21. Banco - Io Sono Nato Libero

22. The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium

23. Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per Un Amico

24. Gong - You

25. Soft Machine - Third

26. King Crimson - Larks’ Tongue in Aspic

27. Pink Floyd - Animals

28. Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet

29. TOOL - Lateralus

30. Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All

31. Yes - Fragile

32. Rush - Hemispheres

33. Tangerine Dream - Phaedra

34. Magma - Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh

35. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

36. Can - Future Days

37. Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells

38. Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts

39. Opeth - Blackwater Park

40. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here