Automating Volume Two
Details
1989 12" UK United Dairies UD030
Black vinyl copies in regular sleeve
Track Listing
Side A
  1. The Strange Play of the Mouth [cmedd1161] [nwwckg] [ps1] [tm1] [tmt04] [ud015] [vod120]
  2. Elderly Man River / Dance of Fools [lay15] [nwwckg] [yangki1]
Side B
  1. Lonely Poisonous Mushroom [nwwckg] [nwwfflveac] [vaclp01]
  2. Human Human Human [sx004] [sx012]
  3. Lea Tantaaria [bru002] [nwwawca] [nwwckg]
Sleeve Notes
3) - words: THE LOCAL BAND
narration: LARRY WENDT & FRIEND
music: NWW / ORGANUM
5) - based on the painting by ADOLF WÕLFLI.
Notes
All tracks previously released in some form or other on various compilation LPs.
Automating Volume Two
Details
1989 CS UK United Dairies UDT032
In regular cassette box
Track Listing
Side A
  1. The Strange Play of the Mouth [cmedd1161] [nwwckg] [ps1] [tm1] [tmt04] [ud015] [vod120]
  2. Elderly Man River / Dance of Fools [lay15] [nwwckg] [yangki1]
Side B
  1. Lonely Poisonous Mushroom [nwwckg] [nwwfflveac] [vaclp01]
  2. Human Human Human [sx004] [sx012]
  3. Lea Tantaaria [bru002] [nwwawca] [nwwckg]
Related Items
Automating Volume Two
Details
1989 est. CS US RRRecords UDT032
In regular cassette box
Track Listing
Side A
  1. The Strange Play of the Mouth [cmedd1161] [nwwckg] [ps1] [tm1] [tmt04] [ud015] [vod120]
  2. Elderly Man River / Dance of Fools [lay15] [nwwckg] [yangki1]
Side B
  1. Lonely Poisonous Mushroom [nwwckg] [nwwfflveac] [vaclp01]
  2. Human Human Human [sx004] [sx012]
  3. Lea Tantaaria [bru002] [nwwawca] [nwwckg]
Notes
Not officially licensed and at the time of writing (March-2009) it is not available.
Automating Volume Two
Details
2002 CD UK United Dairies UD054CD
In gatefold digipak
Track Listing
  1. The Strange Play of the Mouth (8:58) [cmedd1161] [nwwckg] [ps1] [tm1] [tmt04] [ud015] [vod120]
  2. Elderly Man River / Dance of Fools (11:10) [lay15] [nwwckg] [yangki1]
  3. Lonely Poisonous Mushroom (8:50) [nwwckg] [nwwfflveac] [vaclp01]
  4. Wolfli (6:11) [bru002] [nwwawca] [nwwckg]
  5. Human, Human, Human (5:48) [sx004] [sx012]
  6. New Dress (9:43) [bar001] [cf20] [cmedd1161]
Sleeve Notes
thanks Matt Waldron - insert drawing
Babs Santini - cover art
Jeremy Cantwell - Calligraphy
Matt Black - Photoshop stuff
Denis Blackham - Digital Transfer
Notes
"New Dress" is identical to "A New Dress (Remix)" from Crumb Duck UD059.
Insert reveals track listing of Automating Volume 1 UD053CD.

Wolfli is renamed from "Lea Tantaaria"
Bandcamp
Reviews
This CD release of Nurse With Wound's compilation track collection LP from 1989 will not come as a surprise to any of the insane fans, who, like me, have already tracked down this material long ago and are very familiar with it. However, it's always nice when these works are given the CD treatment, often it means improved sound and extra tracks. Well, I can't detect any difference in sound from the LP edition. As for extras, the one bonus track, "New Dress," is not really that special, having already been issued (and still readily available) on the United Dairies edition of 'Crumb Duck,' the Stereolab collaboration. It is an awesome track, however, one of Stapleton's better ambient works. The tracks on 'Automating Vol 2' run the gamut of Stapleton's various styles. The first track "The Strange Play of the Mouth" is a good example: It begins with a woman singing, her voice being distorted and phased into psychedelic oblivion. Then the track suddenly shifts into an industrial drill attack along the lines of 'Thunder Perfect Mind', then the voice returns and is placed into a sound patchwork featuring old records and wacky sound manipulations a la 'Sylvie and Babs.' All in the span of eight minutes. "Elderly Man River/Dance of Fools" is a Jacques Berrocal-style free-jazz improvisation, with one of the most absurd takes on the old standard "Old Man River" that you will ever hear. The absurdity quickly segues into an aggressive Whitehouse noise attack, then a chorus of girls saying some deeply weird things about a hobby horse. "Lonely Poisonous Mushroom" (a collaboration with Organum) and "Lea Tantaaria" (renamed as "Wolfi") are eerie, atmospheric sound collages, featuring bell tones, randomly plucked guitars and nonsense piano. "Human, Human, Human" is my favorite on the album, utilizing the mutated sounds of a typewriter behind a truly odd New Age cult indoctrination record. A male and female speaker read a text aloud that is so full of psychobabble, twisted logic, and space cadet reasoning, it puts Heaven's Gate propaganda to shame. Although it's far from a great Nurse With Wound album, the variety of music on this disc might be a pretty good place for NWW novices to get an idea of the breadth and scope of Stapleton's oevre.

Jonathan Dean