Pictured above: The Soft Machine, 1969
After returning from the first leg of their American tour with The Jimi Hendrix Experience in April 1968, The Soft Machine were joined by guitarist Andy Summers. After a few weeks of rehearsal, the quartet returned to the US for another tour, doing a few solo shows before reuniting with Jimi Hendrix during August and September 1968.
The new addition of Andy Summers wouldn’t last very long, as he was fired after the final show of the tour, at the insistence of bassist Kevin Ayers, and for the rest of 1968, The Soft Machine were no more. However this hiatus would not last for very long, as in December 1968 they regrouped due to contractual obligations.
“We started work on the second album in about February… when we saw Syd (Barrett) stop by for a pop in, checking out how things were… Then an idea popped into my head… why don’t we let Syd help us do some guitar work for the album! I asked Syd if he’d be alright with it, and with a small smile, he said ‘Of course!’
Kevin Ayers, 1977
Volume Two was recorded between the months of February and March of 1969, with Syd Barrett credited as a studio musician in the liner notes, along with the older brother of their road manager Hugh Hopper, Brian Hopper, on saxophone. It was released months later on the ELP format.
Volume Two
- 01. Pataphysical Introduction (1:21) [1]
a. Pataphysical Introduction, Part I
b. A Concise British Alphabet, Part I
c. A Concise British Alphabet, Part II
- 02. Town Feeling (4:51) [2]
- 03. Soon, Soon, Soon (3:25) [3]
- 04. Lady Rachel (5:16) [2]
- 05. Dedicated To You But You Weren’t Listening (2:32) [4]
- 06. Eleanor’s Cake (Which Ate Her) (2:53) [2]
- 07. Song For Insane Times (3:59) [2]
- 08. Ether’s Nose Job (11:10) [4]
a. Fire Engine Passing with Bells Clanging
b. Pig
c. Orange Skin Food
d. A Door Opens and Closes
e.10:30 Returns to the Bedroom
- 09. Singing a Song in The Morning (2:51) [2]
- 10. Girl on a Swing (2:49) [2]
- 11. As Long as He Lies Perfectly Still (2:34) [2]
- 12. Hibou, Anemone and Bear (5:59) [4]
- 13. Rivimic Melodies (9:52) [1]
a. Dada Was Here
b. Thank You Pierrot Lunaire
c. Have You Ever Bean Green
d. Pataphysical Introduction, Part II
e. Out of Tunes
- 14. All This Crazy Gift of Time [2]
Released: September 1969
Track sources:
[2] - Kevin Ayers - Joy of a Toy, 1969
[3] - Kevin Ayers - Joy of a Toy CD bonus track
[4] - Soft Machine - Volume Two, 1969
Pictured above: The Beatles, 1969
After the release of Unfinished Music, The Beatles were called into the office of Brian Epstein, CEO of Apple Corps, to discuss the future of the band following the release of the album. John Lennon jokingly said that they’ll make a follow up album called Finished Music. Epstein did not take kindly to the joke, saying he was “destroying The Beatles’ spotless record with your ‘aventguard’ crap.” Lennon fired back with a derogatory comment on Brian’s homosexuality; “You wouldn’t get it, would ya, you fucking queer.” Paul McCartney then broke the two men up before the bickering escalated further.
Epstein then said that the band should try to release something commercial, and proceeded to give McCartney the title of official creative leader of the band.
“That title went straight to Paul’s head, he became more and more bossy as the sessions went on, and it was driving me up the fucking wall”
- John Lennon, 1971
Sessions for the album began in the basement of Apple Corps’ new HQ at 3 Savile Row on April 1st, 1969. John would bring along Yoko for some of the sessions, much to the annoyance of Paul and George Harrison, with Ringo being as indifferent as ever.
Tensions would quickly rise in these new sessions, with the album tentatively called Get Back, named both after one of Paul’s songs and Paul’s intention for The Beatles to “get back” to their rock and roll roots. The first song to be rehearsed was the Lennon-McCartney song I’ve Got a Feeling, although John quickly ran out of ideas for songs himself, showing little interest in songs Paul and particularly George were offering. Unable to generate much attention, a lot of the band’s playing was largely unprofessional and offhand rehearsals of songs and superficial jams that led to nowhere.
On April 14th, George Harrison brought in keyboardist Billy Preston in an attempt to augment the band’s sound and ease tensions within the group. The group took a liking to Preston, and there were even ideas being thrown around of making him a full-time member of the group. However tensions only grew further in the band, which culminated on April 24th, with a particularly severe argument between Harrison and Lennon, which allegedly descended into violence with a fist fight between the two men. After lunch, George Harrison announced he was leaving the band.
“I’m leaving the band now. You can place an ad in the NME. See you around the clubs.”
- George Harrison, 1969
After George left the studio, John, Ringo, and Terry Doran (director of Apple Records) discussed what to do should Harrison not return to the group. The entire conversation was recorded, with Lennon saying “George doesn’t come back by Monday or Tuesday, we ask Eric Clapton to play.”
As Tuesday came, John reluctantly called up Eric, asking if he’d be alright doing guitar parts for The Beatles’ new album. His response was simply “I’ll think about it.” He then proceeded to call George about the situation.
“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. John does run his mouth a lot but I didn’t expect him to actually go through with it. I reluctantly gave Eric my blessing to take my place in the band. Honestly I was quite mad at the whole situation, but at that time I didn’t have the energy to deal with The Beatles any further.”
- George Harrison, 1995
Sessions for Get Back carried on with John, Paul, Ringo, Eric and Billy. John wanted Billy and Eric to be signed as official members, however due to legal and contractual reasons they couldn’t be signed as such, and the album would credited under the moniker of “The Beatles, Eric Clapton and Billy Preston”.
Pictured above: The Velvet Underground, 1969
The Velvet Underground spent most of 1969 on the road both in the US and Canada, enjoying their newfound commercial success. Their live shows focused mostly on playing both re-worked songs for their past albums, and debuting new songs that would later appear on their fourth and fifth albums. While still doing extended improvisations in their live shows, their focus mostly shifted to tight live performances, with several of the shows being released as live albums years later.
“Foggy Notion was our last album for Verve, before we moved to the other label (laugh).”
- Sterling Morrison, 1985
During 1969, the band recorded on and off at multiple studios, according to Lou Reed “recording wherever we could on the road.” Creating a lot of promising material, it was released a mere four months after their previous album.
Foggy Notion
Side A
- 01. Foggy Notion (6:41) [1]
- 02. One of These Days (3:59) [1]
- 03. Lisa Says (2:54) [1]
- 04. I’m Sticking With You (2:26) [1]
- 05. Andy’s Chest (2:50) [1]
- 06. I Can’t Stand It (3:21) [1]
- 07. She’s My Best Friend (2:47) [1]
Side B
- 08. We’re Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together (2:55) [1]
- 09. I’m Gonna Move Right In (6:29) [1]
- 10. Ferryboat Bill (2:10) [1]
- 11. Ocean (5:10) [1]
- 12. Coney Island Steeplechase (2:25) [1]
- 13. Ride Into the Sun (3:41) [1]
Released: August 13, 1969
Track sources:
[1] - The Velvet Underground, 45th anniversary super deluxe bonus tracks
Author’s notes:
Well folks, as promised, we’re now getting into the real meat of the year with tensions between The Beatles results in Harrison leaving the group for good. How will Get Back turn out without one of The Beatles’ key members? Well, that’ll be resolved on a future post.
As for the sudden spike in new post frequency, we can’t say it’ll be a constant, however we will try to post somewhat more often now that we have a lot figured out.
As always, thank you for sticking with us!
very meaty
ReplyDeleteWow! Interesting developments! Certainly wasn't expecting this! :)
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