String Driven Thing
The Machine That Cried

Sometimes even machines cry...

String Driven Thing is proof of that.

They formed as a trio in the late sixties in Glasgow (Scotland - U.K.) and after a self-produced self-titled work, their stubbornness, combined with talent, led them to sign with the Charisma label and become the official opening act for Genesis. The group expanded to four and then five members and released another self-titled work for the major, which was enthusiastically received by critics. But fate lurks. In early 1973, the group's leader, Chris Adams, was hospitalized due to a collapse, and the following week proved crucial for the group's future. It was during these seven days that in Adams' mind (and his wife Pauline's), the idea for the group's third act, and masterpiece, began to take shape... indeed The Machine That Cried.

This work alternates moments of extreme sweetness with unsettling progressive rides, askew and (never before has it been more appropriate) sickly. Certainly, Adams' near-death experience is constantly at the center of the work, just as Graham Smith's electrified violin is the true backbone of the entire album, supporting the visions of the Adams couple. The voices become restless and frightened in the most anxious and uneasy moments of the work, such as in the title track or in the opening "Heartfeeder" where tension seems to reign supreme, a perfect counterpoint to the acidity of the violin lines. In other moments, tender and subdued harmonies emerge, for which Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, and the entire elite of folk are taken and remixed into dreamy ballads, full of emotion, as in the splendid "To See You", the ethereal "Travelling", or the popidelic "Slow Down the River". Folk that mixes Arthur Lee's Love with Waters' Floyd in "People On The Street" with her splendid voice breaking through and gently leading the instruments to a finish; becoming soft and seductive in the homage to the passionate Joan Baez in "House".

But they are not limited in any way and use brilliant psychedelic colors to paint the southern-blues of "Night Club" or the more funky one of "Two Timin' Mama" with Pauline's voice frequently reminiscent of Jim Morrison's sensuality and her husband Chris enhancing her sexuality. All leading to the final eleven minutes of "River Of Sleep", an almost obvious reference to Adams' lived experience; the composition is divided into three acts, starting with "The Sowee", where Barrett, Waters, and Dylan are magically blended to describe the sense of complete disorientation experienced by the protagonist, with the bass pulsing in the foreground, the violin emerging torn from the depths, and a chorus of compassionate yet subdued voices repeating mantra-like "Times is sleep and sleep is time".

The second part, "Search In Time" is pure acid, progressive, and psychedelic instrumental folk that perfectly underscores the powerlessness and suffering experienced during those difficult days, where the voice doesn't want to come out, choked by pain and fear, with siren sounds attempting to cover the continual lacerations thrown by the violin... before closing with the sweet Pauline singing "Going Down", a cry for help that becomes a faint dawn light after a dark and stormy night... where even the machine wept.