Pink Floyd - "Atom Heart Mother" (1970) - Harvest
Hello Friends,
On tonight's edition of Prog Rock Saturday, we've got Pink Floyd's 1970 oft-overlooked release, Atom Heart Mother.
Oft-overlooked, you say? Why's that? Well, for starters, its kind of in that gray area between the early Syd Barrett stuff and the juggernaut the band would eventually become in the Seventies. It tows the line between whimsical psychedelic pop and weird, "out-there" experimental prog rock. It also seems like the band wasn't really overly satisfied with the record. None of the material really ever became live staples and the best song on the record, Richard Wright's "Summer '68", was never performed live!
Actually, its a pretty great album, just not as great as what was to follow-- including the outstanding Meddle, the fairly normal-sounding Obscured by Clouds and the classic Dark Side of the Moon! Atom Heart Mother is the sound of seeds being planted and laying the groundwork for the in-studio virtuosity that was just around the corner!
The album's cover artwas designed by Hipgnosis-- the English designers who created most of the band's iconic album covers. Reportedly, the band requested the cover to be "something plain" and not psychedelic at all. I guess they got what they wanted with ol' Lulubelle!
Side One is completely occupied by the titular suite. Part spaghetti western, part free form, psychedelic jam, "Atom Heart Mother" sounds like it could be the soundtrack for a Stanley Kubrick movie! (In fact, rumor has it that Kubrick wanted to use this music in his Clockwork Orange film but was reportedly denied by the band! Here's a video of what the intro to the film might have looked like if Stanley got his way!)
Written by the entire band plus composer, Ron Geesin, the "Atom Heart Mother" suite is a pretty trippy composition. Very soundtracky. Lots of ambiance. With a definite beginning, middle and an end. Lots a quiet-loud-quiet. Crescendos. Repeated themes. Some great David Gilmour guitar work (especially on the suite's Fourth movement, entitled "Funky Dung".) There's no singing, but there are wordless vocal choruses. Its no "Echoes" or "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", but its not too far off.
Incidentally, some original titles for the instrumental piece were "Theme From An Imaginary Western", "Epic" and "The Amazing Pudding". The title "Atom Heart Mother" was lifted from the headlines from the Evening Standard newspaper from an article about a pregnant woman who received an artificial nuclear pacemaker!
Side Two contains four songs each sort of displaying the talents of the four individual members of the band.
"If" is a gorgeous Roger Waters ballad. Say what you will about Waters, the dude could write a ballad and "If" is cranky Roger at his introspective, vulnerable and paranoid best.
"If I were a swan, I'd be gone.
And if I were a train, I'd be late.
And if I were a good man, I would talk with more often than I do.
If I were to sleep, I could dream.
If I were afraid, I could hide.
If I go insane, please don't put your wires in my brain."
Some great guitar work as well. Not many could bend the strings quite like Dave Gilmour could!
Keyboardist Richard Wright's aforementioned, "Summer '68" is next. An upbeat (by Pink Floyd standards), Beatles-ish romp featuring some great Wright piano playing as well as some interesting overlapping harmonies. The song seems to be about hooking up with a groupie that you're really not all that interested in:
"I hardly even like you, I shouldn't care at all.
We met just six hours ago and the music was too loud.
From your bed I gained a day, and lost a bloody year...
My friends are lying in the sun, I wish I was there.
Tomorrow brings another town, another girl like you."
Ouch!
David Gilmour contributes the acoustic "Fat Old Sun", another fantastic track that if heard with the right ears echoes the Kinks' "Sunny Afternoon" on Seconal. Very pastoral... a perfect song for a late Summer's evening:
"When that Fat Old Sun in the sky is falling,
Summer evening birds are calling.
Children's laughter in my ears,
The last sunlight disappears."
And our favorite line on the album, "New mown grass smells so sweet..."
One of the problems with an album like this, and with a lot of prog rock in general, is when a band wants to display the talents of each of the members collectively and individually. Lots of times this forces a non-songwriting member of the band, usually the drummer (in this case Nick Mason), to contribute something individual. This is always a problem on a ELP records or on something particularly bloated like Yes's Topographic Oceans. No one wants to hear a 20 minute drum solo!!! Mason's contribution here is "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast", a soundscape that revolves around some ramblings by Floyd roadie, Alan Styles. (An idea which would be fleshed out with roadie, Roger "The Hat"'s insane-sounding musings appearing throughout Dark Side of The Moon.) Also like on Dark Side, there are sound affects galore; frying eggs, pouring cereal, sipping coffee, faucets dripping, banging pots and pans, etc.
Aside from some fantastic Dave Gilmour acoustic / lap steel guitar work on the middle section, the tune itself is pretty forgettable!
On tonight's edition of Prog Rock Saturday, we've got Pink Floyd's 1970 oft-overlooked release, Atom Heart Mother.
Oft-overlooked, you say? Why's that? Well, for starters, its kind of in that gray area between the early Syd Barrett stuff and the juggernaut the band would eventually become in the Seventies. It tows the line between whimsical psychedelic pop and weird, "out-there" experimental prog rock. It also seems like the band wasn't really overly satisfied with the record. None of the material really ever became live staples and the best song on the record, Richard Wright's "Summer '68", was never performed live!
Actually, its a pretty great album, just not as great as what was to follow-- including the outstanding Meddle, the fairly normal-sounding Obscured by Clouds and the classic Dark Side of the Moon! Atom Heart Mother is the sound of seeds being planted and laying the groundwork for the in-studio virtuosity that was just around the corner!
The album's cover artwas designed by Hipgnosis-- the English designers who created most of the band's iconic album covers. Reportedly, the band requested the cover to be "something plain" and not psychedelic at all. I guess they got what they wanted with ol' Lulubelle!
Side One is completely occupied by the titular suite. Part spaghetti western, part free form, psychedelic jam, "Atom Heart Mother" sounds like it could be the soundtrack for a Stanley Kubrick movie! (In fact, rumor has it that Kubrick wanted to use this music in his Clockwork Orange film but was reportedly denied by the band! Here's a video of what the intro to the film might have looked like if Stanley got his way!)
Written by the entire band plus composer, Ron Geesin, the "Atom Heart Mother" suite is a pretty trippy composition. Very soundtracky. Lots of ambiance. With a definite beginning, middle and an end. Lots a quiet-loud-quiet. Crescendos. Repeated themes. Some great David Gilmour guitar work (especially on the suite's Fourth movement, entitled "Funky Dung".) There's no singing, but there are wordless vocal choruses. Its no "Echoes" or "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", but its not too far off.
Incidentally, some original titles for the instrumental piece were "Theme From An Imaginary Western", "Epic" and "The Amazing Pudding". The title "Atom Heart Mother" was lifted from the headlines from the Evening Standard newspaper from an article about a pregnant woman who received an artificial nuclear pacemaker!
Side Two contains four songs each sort of displaying the talents of the four individual members of the band.
"If" is a gorgeous Roger Waters ballad. Say what you will about Waters, the dude could write a ballad and "If" is cranky Roger at his introspective, vulnerable and paranoid best.
"If I were a swan, I'd be gone.
And if I were a train, I'd be late.
And if I were a good man, I would talk with more often than I do.
If I were to sleep, I could dream.
If I were afraid, I could hide.
If I go insane, please don't put your wires in my brain."
Some great guitar work as well. Not many could bend the strings quite like Dave Gilmour could!
Keyboardist Richard Wright's aforementioned, "Summer '68" is next. An upbeat (by Pink Floyd standards), Beatles-ish romp featuring some great Wright piano playing as well as some interesting overlapping harmonies. The song seems to be about hooking up with a groupie that you're really not all that interested in:
"I hardly even like you, I shouldn't care at all.
We met just six hours ago and the music was too loud.
From your bed I gained a day, and lost a bloody year...
My friends are lying in the sun, I wish I was there.
Tomorrow brings another town, another girl like you."
Ouch!
David Gilmour contributes the acoustic "Fat Old Sun", another fantastic track that if heard with the right ears echoes the Kinks' "Sunny Afternoon" on Seconal. Very pastoral... a perfect song for a late Summer's evening:
"When that Fat Old Sun in the sky is falling,
Summer evening birds are calling.
Children's laughter in my ears,
The last sunlight disappears."
And our favorite line on the album, "New mown grass smells so sweet..."
One of the problems with an album like this, and with a lot of prog rock in general, is when a band wants to display the talents of each of the members collectively and individually. Lots of times this forces a non-songwriting member of the band, usually the drummer (in this case Nick Mason), to contribute something individual. This is always a problem on a ELP records or on something particularly bloated like Yes's Topographic Oceans. No one wants to hear a 20 minute drum solo!!! Mason's contribution here is "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast", a soundscape that revolves around some ramblings by Floyd roadie, Alan Styles. (An idea which would be fleshed out with roadie, Roger "The Hat"'s insane-sounding musings appearing throughout Dark Side of The Moon.) Also like on Dark Side, there are sound affects galore; frying eggs, pouring cereal, sipping coffee, faucets dripping, banging pots and pans, etc.
Aside from some fantastic Dave Gilmour acoustic / lap steel guitar work on the middle section, the tune itself is pretty forgettable!
RATING: 4 Dark Sides of the Moo out of 5
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