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SteveG 
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 Topic: Atom Heart Mother: Pink Floyd
Posted: October 28 2014 at 09:48 |
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An album I dismissed when I first heard it but has grown on me over the years due to it's uniqueness. The dated left channel guitar and right channel orchestral stereo separation still doesn't do the album any favors but as I said, I can't think of too many other albums that sound like this one. What do you think of AHM?
Edited by SteveG - October 28 2014 at 09:59
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HolyMoly
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Posted: October 28 2014 at 09:58 |
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I love it. It's my favorite Pink Floyd album, though I probably wouldn't objectively call it their best work. The title track and Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast always lift my spirits when I'm down. I have very happy memories of my childhood with this album.
Ron Geesin probably deserved co-billing on the album. The title suite is largely his. I have a few of Geesin's own albums (including the one with R. Waters) and he's a unique guy in the avant garde world.
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TODDLER
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Posted: October 28 2014 at 10:38 |
Ron Geesin is a genius! He was one of the first artists to play all the instruments on an album in the world of Rock music. Years before Mike Oldfield had released Tubular Bells. Ron Geesin knew how to compose the most perfect film scores. Perfect in the sense that these scores would adapt to the deepness of a film. He is a complete masterful genius at this feat. Pink Floyd were basically out of ideas in some area which happens to be unknown to me. They handed Geesin the backing tapes of Atom Heart Mother...so obviously they DID have ideas? Maybe after Ummagumma, they were unable to add something dimensional in sound to A.H.M. and that being the reason to sought out Geesin...who was a very intense composer and had a long reputation for being progressive. Roger Waters seemed to be close with him in the early 70's and if you're a Ron Geesin fanatic like me....you'll notice that "Several Species Of Small Furry Animals" from Ummagumma is a take on Ron Geesin's style. Everything about it smells like Ron Geesin...so I believe for a short while the band was interested in him as a composer.
Syd Barrett taught Roger Waters about the details of composing and how to basically make a song work for you. Barrett taught Waters "when not to play" and how to go about training ones ear in order to do that. This can be credited to the song "Breath". After Syd left the band, Waters continued to master this method or idea to composing and he turned out some very timeless songs, but with A.T.M....there was a defeat in the band and lack of confidence to record everything they had already written. They needed a composer to assist them by adding in new ideas for melodies and additionally charting out for horns and string instruments.
Edited by TODDLER - October 28 2014 at 10:39
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Meltdowner
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Posted: October 28 2014 at 10:39 |
 HolyMoly wrote:
I love it. It's my favorite Pink Floyd album, though I probably wouldn't objectively call it their best work. The title track and Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast always lift my spirits when I'm down.
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My exact opinion too. I listen to this album before stressful ocasions and it always calms me down.
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AZF
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Posted: October 28 2014 at 11:30 |
Was a brilliant soundtrack to watching footage of a recent Tour De Force. The actual Atom Heart Mother suite is a work of beauty and I don't even notice the problems of changing tempos. The second side has "Summer '68" and even "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" has a certain charm and some beautiful moments. All but ignored by the compilations, and all the more "undiscovered gem" for it.
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HolyMoly
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Posted: October 28 2014 at 11:48 |
TODDLER wrote:
Roger Waters seemed to be close with him in the early 70's and if you're a Ron Geesin fanatic like me....you'll notice that "Several Species Of Small Furry Animals" from Ummagumma is a take on Ron Geesin's style. Everything about it smells like Ron Geesin...so I believe for a short while the band was interested in him as a composer. |
Yeah, definitely! In fact, some people think that's Ron Geesin's voice doing that Scottish rant at the end of the song, but it's not. Cool to see more Geesin admirers here. I get his albums wherever I can find them, which isn't many places.
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HolyMoly
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Posted: October 28 2014 at 11:52 |
Meltdowner wrote:
HolyMoly wrote:
I love it. It's my favorite Pink Floyd album, though I probably wouldn't objectively call it their best work. The title track and Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast always lift my spirits when I'm down.
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My exact opinion too. I listen to this album before stressful ocasions and it always calms me down.
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It's a little ironic how the "cow" album cover was kind of meant as a cynical joke - Thorgerson was instructed to do the least psychedelic cover imaginable - but the rural farm setting still seems to rub off on the music, giving it a rustic, homey feel that the band probably didn't even intend to give it. As Johnny says above, the band was kind of at a loss for ideas. I still can't fully understand why I love the album as much as I do. It's like that old crappy t-shirt that you love to wear even though it looks like garbage. OK, maybe that's taking it a little far - this is Pink Floyd after all, and they've really never truly done anything in a half-assed way.
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TODDLER
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Posted: October 28 2014 at 12:36 |
HolyMoly wrote:
TODDLER wrote:
Roger Waters seemed to be close with him in the early 70's and if you're a Ron Geesin fanatic like me....you'll notice that "Several Species Of Small Furry Animals" from Ummagumma is a take on Ron Geesin's style. Everything about it smells like Ron Geesin...so I believe for a short while the band was interested in him as a composer. |
Yeah, definitely! In fact, some people think that's Ron Geesin's voice doing that Scottish rant at the end of the song, but it's not.
Cool to see more Geesin admirers here. I get his albums wherever I can find them, which isn't many places.
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If you write him..but...actually a hand written letter inquiring about his releases, he will write you back and possibly send some music to you as a gift of appreciation. He appreciates opinions on his music. I have about 8 of his cd's ..which the most difficult to obtain was "Right Through" ..which he sent as a gift.
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HolyMoly
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Posted: October 28 2014 at 14:15 |
TODDLER wrote:
HolyMoly wrote:
TODDLER wrote:
Roger Waters seemed to be close with him in the early 70's and if you're a Ron Geesin fanatic like me....you'll notice that "Several Species Of Small Furry Animals" from Ummagumma is a take on Ron Geesin's style. Everything about it smells like Ron Geesin...so I believe for a short while the band was interested in him as a composer. |
Yeah, definitely! In fact, some people think that's Ron Geesin's voice doing that Scottish rant at the end of the song, but it's not.
Cool to see more Geesin admirers here. I get his albums wherever I can find them, which isn't many places.
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If you write him..but...actually a hand written letter inquiring about his releases, he will write you back and possibly send some music to you as a gift of appreciation. He appreciates opinions on his music. I have about 8 of his cd's ..which the most difficult to obtain was "Right Through" ..which he sent as a gift. |
"Right Through" was the last one I got - I found the LP in a bookstore just about a month ago. I love it. I would love more albums like that. Maybe I will write him.
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My other avatar is a Porsche
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.
-Kehlog Albran
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Dayvenkirq
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Posted: October 28 2014 at 14:51 |
SteveG wrote:
An album I dismissed when I first heard it but has grown on me over the years due to it's uniqueness. The dated left channel guitar and right channel orchestral stereo separation still doesn't do the album any favors but as I said, I can't think of too many other albums that sound like this one. What do you think of AHM?
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When I listen to an album, I expect most of the tracks on it to have some character, but not generic character. It's OK if it doesn't sound unique to me, though that would be a pretty huge bonus if it does.
Why do I like this album? Depends on the track, really. Though not consistently enjoyable (for how mundane "If" and "Fat Old Sun" are), the band certainly cared about form/structure on the rest of the album, and the instrumental bits have some character to them, and that's important to me - character.
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Meltdowner
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Posted: October 28 2014 at 15:36 |
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Michael678
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Posted: October 28 2014 at 15:43 |
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ahhhh, my 5th favorite album of theirs. my favorite would probably be Fat Old Sun, followed by the title suite.
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Progrockdude
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dr wu23
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Posted: October 28 2014 at 16:48 |
It was a good period piece.. and fit those 'halcyon days' of 1970.
A bit pastoral, a bit trippy/psychedelic, a bit progressive, and a bit symphonic.
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
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TODDLER
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Posted: October 29 2014 at 04:58 |
He sent me the cd. Are you interested in the cd?
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moshkito
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Posted: October 31 2014 at 15:30 |
Hi,
AHM, was, by far, one of the very first things I heard from Pink Floyd, which led to me getting other works of theirs right after it. Meddle was next for me. Between AHM and Echoes, I could easily tell you that these were my first trips along with "Close to the Edge" and a bootleg by Jethro Tull that had a 15 minute version of "My God" with the best solo I have ever heard in my life.
As time went by, what I liked the most was the 15 different versions (however minor you want to discuss!!!) of AHM and then slightly later another 15 versions of Echoes ... all of them gave me shivers and excitement to no end. All of them felt different in such a minute way, but stood out beautifully.
AHM, is also the piece that got trashed the most, because a famous ballet person wanted to design a ballet to it, and Pink Floyd created a "lullaby" version of ATH that can only be found on bootlegs, and won't ever be released. The show, was trashed so hard, by the media for the use of ballet with rock, and for using rock music on a ballet, that no one thought that anything would be worth while looking at and appreciate, in what was left of it.
I, for one, would have loved to see it.
Later, after PF was over, Roger ended up doing "CA IRA", and that is the piece that no one on this board will ever hear or buy, and Roger, for all the bruhaha and ideas, should have reconsidered redoing a ballet, this time designed by him, instead of some idealistic concept. What he did in "CA IRA" was very good, but none of us will ever give it a decent ear because it doesn't have a guitar or keyboards in the way that we like it! And the idea was not "good enough" to get any attention from the classical music group ... !!! Surprised? Many of them think that rock folks are idiots and not musicians!
Edited by moshkito - October 31 2014 at 15:31
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Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
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moshkito
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Posted: October 31 2014 at 16:20 |
TODDLER wrote:
... if you're a Ron Geesin fanatic like me....you'll notice that "Several Species Of Small Furry Animals" from Ummagumma is a take on Ron Geesin's style. Everything about it smells like Ron Geesin...so I believe for a short while the band was interested in him as a composer. |
I have 3 of the albums including "Right Through".
It's hard to say something on this, and I can not say that I am right, and could be totally wrong.
My interpretation is that between Syd and Ron, Roger learned to identify AND ILLUSTRATE "sounds" which helped him become the composer that he became. So, between Syd, charismatic and pointed lyrics, to Ron's ability to come off crazy and silly, Roger found his own footing.
Add to this that right after Syd, PF went on an experimental phaze that did not last very long but it obviously gave us the rest of "Saucerful of Secrets" and right after "Ummagumma", and several other pieces that were being played in concert that were not released as yet.
What probably led PF to Dark Side of the Moon, was that in the early days, and it is visible in the bootlegs, the band was using sound effects and these were quite evident in the Hollywood Bowl concert, in the fall 1972. Now, why the sound effects, SPECIALLY in between the music pieces? My guess is that they needed the minute break to reset some special effects, maybe even lights, in order to show their stuff properly, since they started doing their "quadraphonic" setup, which had a lot of music going around you, and even solos and music details specifically designed to move around in the sound system ... the opening notes in "One of These Days" had an echo that started behind you that ended in front of you and it was powerfull as the notes repetead from back to front and back and front again!!! It added MASSIVELY to the effect ... that a mp3 small thingie in your hand can NOT DUPLICATE!
I am of the opinion that the sound/special effects owe a small bit of inspiration to Ron Geesin, but this is not for me to decide. His albums show a bit of insanity, that helped define "Dark Side of the Moon" ... specially when we call some of our cheeks, moons, and Roger and Ron had a nice mooning in "Music from The Body". We will just call that a bit of English comedy!!!!!!
Edited by moshkito - October 31 2014 at 16:22
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Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
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TODDLER
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Posted: November 01 2014 at 11:37 |
moshkito wrote:
TODDLER wrote:
... if you're a Ron Geesin fanatic like me....you'll notice that "Several Species Of Small Furry Animals" from Ummagumma is a take on Ron Geesin's style. Everything about it smells like Ron Geesin...so I believe for a short while the band was interested in him as a composer. |
I have 3 of the albums including "Right Through".
It's hard to say something on this, and I can not say that I am right, and could be totally wrong.
My interpretation is that between Syd and Ron, Roger learned to identify AND ILLUSTRATE "sounds" which helped him become the composer that he became. So, between Syd, charismatic and pointed lyrics, to Ron's ability to come off crazy and silly, Roger found his own footing.
Add to this that right after Syd, PF went on an experimental phaze that did not last very long but it obviously gave us the rest of "Saucerful of Secrets" and right after "Ummagumma", and several other pieces that were being played in concert that were not released as yet.
What probably led PF to Dark Side of the Moon, was that in the early days, and it is visible in the bootlegs, the band was using sound effects and these were quite evident in the Hollywood Bowl concert, in the fall 1972. Now, why the sound effects, SPECIALLY in between the music pieces? My guess is that they needed the minute break to reset some special effects, maybe even lights, in order to show their stuff properly, since they started doing their "quadraphonic" setup, which had a lot of music going around you, and even solos and music details specifically designed to move around in the sound system ... the opening notes in "One of These Days" had an echo that started behind you that ended in front of you and it was powerfull as the notes repetead from back to front and back and front again!!! It added MASSIVELY to the effect ... that a mp3 small thingie in your hand can NOT DUPLICATE!
I am of the opinion that the sound/special effects owe a small bit of inspiration to Ron Geesin, but this is not for me to decide. His albums show a bit of insanity, that helped define "Dark Side of the Moon" ... specially when we call some of our cheeks, moons, and Roger and Ron had a nice mooning in "Music from The Body". We will just call that a bit of English comedy!!!!!! |
Very good points!
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moshkito
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Posted: November 01 2014 at 13:06 |
TODDLER wrote:
moshkito wrote:
TODDLER wrote:
... if you're a Ron Geesin fanatic like me....you'll notice that "Several Species Of Small Furry Animals" from Ummagumma is a take on Ron Geesin's style. Everything about it smells like Ron Geesin...so I believe for a short while the band was interested in him as a composer. |
I have 3 of the albums including "Right Through".
It's hard to say something on this, and I can not say that I am right, and could be totally wrong.
... snip snip (to shorten the post)
I am of the opinion that the sound/special effects owe a small bit of inspiration to Ron Geesin, but this is not for me to decide. His albums show a bit of insanity, that helped define "Dark Side of the Moon" ... specially when we call some of our cheeks, moons, and Roger and Ron had a nice mooning in "Music from The Body". We will just call that a bit of English comedy!!!!!! |
Very good points!
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Just a shame that most folks will miss the "English Comedy" bit ... it is on the toilet side of things ... but then ... what the heck ... who isn't in English Comedy?
Edited by moshkito - November 01 2014 at 13:27
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Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com
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KingCrInuYasha
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Posted: November 01 2014 at 14:19 |
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One of their most underrated albums. The band may have been fumbling about in the dark with the title track, but at least they make it interesting. Plus, as HolyMoly and TODDLER said, they had Ron Gessin to help with it and he did a spectacular job.
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He looks at this world and wants it all... so he strikes, like Thunderball!
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Tom Ozric
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Posted: November 01 2014 at 17:10 |
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Love the Mother Fore section, especially when they draw it out a bit in live versions - those stoned oohs and aaahs a just wonderful......
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Atom Heart Mother: Pink Floyd
