Atom Heart Mother

Emerging from the Syd Barrett-led 60ts phase – PINK FLOYD started the new decade with the frankly bizarre "Atom Heart Mother" – a late 1970 album that signalled the new more Prog sound to come - but in "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" held onto the lunacy of old. And you have to give them credit for the name "Atom Heart Mother" and the wacky utterly unforgettable artwork – a lone moo-moo staring out at us from a field wondering what in God’s name is that man doing pointing a camera at my posterior when I’m just trying to graze some grass here? Curiouser and Curiouser...Always a task trying to find a decent vinyl copy original – the length of the LP at just over 52 minutes did for its fidelity too. But all of that is thankfully part of the past because this 2011 James Guthrie and Joel Plante CD Remaster is a massive improvement on a dog’s ear of a recording (relaunched January 2016 on Pink Floyd Records). Here are the Holy Cows and the Funky Dung...UK re-released 8 January 2016 – "Atom Heart Mother" by PINK FLOYD on Pink Floyd Records PFR5 (Barcode 5099902894027) is a straightforward 5-track reissue CD using the Remaster from 2011. It's once again housed in a gatefold card digipak, has a stickered sleeve (on the outer shrinkwrap) with the new catalogue number PFR5, a 12-page colour booklet with photos and lyrics and the same barcode as the 2011 issue (52:06 minutes). The original album gatefold is the centre pages of the booklet while the lyrics (never on the original) are now featured over new photographs of shovels and a pair of boots and other useless and pointless images. It looks nice for sure but informs you of nothing – no history – no liner notes – no updates or insights. It’s a damn shame that 2016 wasn’t used as a way to pump up the booklet into something special from their laughable 'discover nothing' from our 'discovery' editions of 2011. In fact you could argue that this 'Pink Floyd Records' 2016 reissue is in itself 'corporate' – the very thing they raged so much against on "Animals" and "The Wall" in 1977 and 1979.The original version of this Remaster was released 26 September 2011 as a 'Discovery Edition' single CD on EMI/Harvest 50999 028940 2 7 (Barcode 5099902894027) – this 2016 version on Pink Floyd Records uses that 2011 remaster and the same artwork. The 'Discovery Edition' sticker is gone as is the horrible 'green and blue Ds' reinvented CD artwork that came with the 2011 issue – that's thankfully been replaced on the CD with the front album cover artwork.1. Atom Heart Mother (Suite):(a) Father's Shout(b) Breast Milky(c) Mother Fore(d) Funky Dung(e) Mind Your Throats Please(f) Remergence2. If [Side 2]3. Summer '684. Fat Old Sun5. Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast(a) Rise And Shine(b) Sunny Side Up(c) Morning GloryTracks 1 to 5 are their 5th album "Atom Heart Mother" – released 10 October 1970 in the UK on Harvest SHVL 781 and in the USA on Harvest SKAO-382. Produced by PINK FLOYD and NORMAN SMITH – Recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London in 1970 – it peaked at No. 1 in the UK and No. 55 in the USA.PINK FLOYD was:DAVID GILMOUR – Lead Guitar and VocalsROGER WATERS – Bass, Guitar and VocalsRICHARD WRIGHT – Keyboards and VocalsNICK MASON – DrumsGuests: JOHN ALLDIS CHOIR on parts of "Atom Heart Mother"Mastered by JAMES GUTHRIE and JOEL PLANTE at Das Boot Recording Studios in Tahoe in California in 2011 - the original 1st generation master tapes have been given a thorough going over (Guthrie is a Sound Engineer associated with the band since 1978). In fact - each song feels like these experts have spent a staggering amount of time worrying over every single nuance - because the audio result is truly impressive. That 2011 remaster has been reused for the January 2016 reissues.The entirely instrumental Side 1 six-part suite "Atom Heart Mother" runs to 23:42 minutes and typically fades in with mad brass and a droning synth note. Avant Garde artist RON GEESIN being the fifth accredited writer along with the four boys in the band – gives us a cornucopia of sounds - cars starting up – engines turning over – until it all settles down into a "Meddle" like duo of Richard Wright on Organ and Gilmour on Guitar. The clarity as Gilmour solos over that brass and lone organ is impressive – and as the still unidentified leading lady of the John Aldiss Choir comes sailing in – you can so hear where Mike Oldfield got some of his more orchestral ideas for "Tubular Bells" and "Ommadawn" from. When they fade out and we’re in "Funky Dung" – the Remastered Wright/Gilmour combo of Organ and Guitar is superb and certainly more muscular than I’ve ever heard it - and I still can’t make out what the Kate Bush-mad chanting voices are saying (very cool though).After the indulgence of Side 1 - Side 2’s "If" comes as an Acoustic relief – Roger Water's delightfully upbeat "...if I go insane...please don't put your wires in my brain..." lyrics feeling like 1977 and not 1970. The audio on Gilmour's guitar is beautiful and even the background Richard Wright Organ/Piano playing is more evident. Richard Wright then stumps up "Summer '68" which feels like the kind of pretty song that would have not been out of place on 1972's "Obscured By Clouds" or even Kevin Ayers 1971 Harvest Records LP "Whatevershebringswesing". The brass and piano are loud and open for all the right reasons. Gilmour vocals his own "Fat Old Sun" but I've always felt it was not a great song. The album ends on the nutty 13-minutes of "Alan Psychedelic Breakfast" where someone babbles on about liking Marmalade and Porridge as they potter about in a kitchen before keyboards take over. After the musical interlude - it returns to our still unidentified hero warbling this time about 'breakfast in Los Angeles' with 'macrobiotic stuff'. It's fun but that's about all and you can't help thinking that they would have been better just allowing those lovely Acoustic Guitars in the centre passage simply play out the album (music boys - remember)."Atom Heart Mother" is part genius, part knob and very much an example of an experimental time and a label prepared to let their artists go a bit bonkers for the sake of their art. But at least on this 2011/2016 CD Remaster - you can now hear it. And that faucet tap dripping that looped on the Side 2 run-out groove as your needle went over to the label can now be heard too. Moo moo indeed...PS: OK - Cue the cow jokes:I'd review this if only I 'cud' - you should see the 'udder' guy - let's 'milk' this one again - I'd lift this CD but it's too 'heffer' - check out the 'teats' on this one - I think we're 'dung' here...

Seems like the hip thing to do back in the 70's was to match up rock bands with either horn sections, or an orchestra; Moody Blues, Deep Purple, the Doors, ect.. I'm not sure whose idea this was, but the Moodys were the only one where it worked out with any measure of artistic success. The first side of Atom Heart Mother (with orchestra) is interesting, but kind of boring - to be quite honest. Something about the honky horns just totally kills the chill of the psychedelic piece.The three actual songs on the flipside are actually quite good, and when I pull out this CD for a listen, that's about all I need. Roger Water's "If" is actually exceptional. Then the album ends with the quirky Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast which "is interesting", but like the Orchestral piece - It's not something you're going to need to revisit often.

This is nearly identical to my prior reviews of early Pink Floyd music.I was into "Quadrophonic" (very early surround-sound) and this album's "SQ" encoding is why I bought MY FIRST Pink Floyd vinyl LP in late 1970. The Floyd was, like me, an early adopter of multi-channel sound and that is the primary reason I have always considered them a "Progressive" band. To listen to "Atom Heart Mother" suite on modern multi-channel audiophile equipment is to appreciate how close to a fully realized state of musical genius this band was at the dawn of 1980's. Even (comparatively) weaker works like this clearly show that Pink Floyd was WAY ahead of their time.While I never was a big fan of pre-"Meddle" Floyd this and many other of the band's early songs clearly deserve an occasional listening. We are fortunate that the "Discovery" albums were so lovingly remastered; I doubt that any of the recordings in that box set will ever sound better. That said, IMHO inclusion of this into any "Best Of" compilation is essential :)

The track 'Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast' is the weakest track on this album and really is not much more than filler for an otherwise utterly brilliant album. If this last track had been left off, you would still have had an album release only a minute or so shorter than the average for the time.The whole of the 1st side of the original album was the title track 'Atom Heart Mother' a single work with 6 named sections. It is a brilliant fusion of rock band with brass and choral elements composed/arranged by Ron Geesin. After the grand opening theme with brass there is a meltingly beautiful cello solo with keyboards that sets the high standard for the rest of the piece. There is some extreme weirdness towards the end but I think the whole thing works wonderfully.There are also 3 songs, one each from Waters, Wright and Gilmour each very different in style and all sung by their respective writers. Each track is a miniature marvel in itself.I have loved this album since first hearing it a few years after it was released. It has only grown on me over the years.The best CD version I have heard is the 1994 remaster, the original CD (1987) has virtually no treble at the top end and the 2011 remaster is also disappointing.

Even the band themselves do not claim to look back on this album with great affection. Yet it does demonstrate an important landmark in the band's development, not least because it attained their first UK number one album. The brass and choir arrangements (accredited to Ron Geesin) complement the themes, which were often played on tour by the four members themselves, without the brass or choir. There is a natural progression between Ummagumma, this and Meddle. For example, Echoes (on Meddle) would probably not have been composed with AHM coming before hand. The one paradox to me is the Summer '68 was the only track on the album never performed live. Fat Old Sun was performed live, often as a 15 minute opus, rather then the lightweight ditty on the album.As something of a fanatic, I look at this album as snapshot of evolution and certainly one exemplifying a highly creative episode within my favourite period of the band's development 1969 to 1971.

I think I wore out two or three vinyl copies of this album, now I have this remixed version on CD. To me it sounds a little different to the original mix, a little brighter and sharper - but this is purely subjective (even the sleeve graphics are higher contrast than the original LP sleeve). It is neither better nor worse than the early vinyl mix, just different, and I am enjoying the music as much as ever.The CD came in a cardboard sleeve which I prefer to the horrible plastic boxes that are prone to breaking, but of course the cardboard sleeve is not big enough for its traditional use, ah those were the days. . . ..Atom Heart Mother never seems to have been as popular as Darkside of the Moon but is every bit as good, and when you have these two then of course you need Meddle and Ummagumma and Saucerful - all of which I think are Pink Floyd at their astral boogie best and most creative.

Probably the point at which the Floyd started to find their feet a little and tried to produce an album with a little more direction than previous efforts. It was kind of slated at the time and the group have come to hate it but it does have its seminal moments of better things to come . Nice digipak, audio not greatly different to previous versions

Always was and still is a brilliant album. Never listened to it before through my 30 yr old system. I replaced the old turntable with an inexpensive. Sony PS-HX500 turntable. I was immediately blown away again by the delivery, brining an old classic back to life.