ATOM HEART MOTHER

Having been recording music for movie soundtracks for the last year, Pink Floyd, after finishing work for the soundtrack to the film "Zabriskie Point", set off to recording a new album; their first conventional studio album since 1968's "A Saucerful of Secrets" - an example of space rock, psychedelia, and proto-prog. This new album, titled "Atom Heart Mother" after a newspaper headline the band saw, can be considered the first true prog rock album by the band, now devoid of the influence of ex-vocalist Syd Barrett. A very experimental album, its iconic cover of a cow in the middle of a field by Hipgnosis is the first Floyd album to not feature the band's name on the front or back (a feature present on every Floyd album up to their 1983 album "The Final Cut") but rather inside the gatefold.

The entire first side is a twenty-three minute long instrumental track - the "Atom Heart Mother Suite" (4/5). Certainly ambitious considering it's by far the band's longest song to date, and features a full orchestra (the band hired full orchestras to be present at live shows for the song) to add to the very strong sound of the track. Composed of various instrumental sessions that the band had experimented with up to that point and designed to sound like the soundtrack to a western, it is split into six parts of extended jam. It is key to note that the band absolutely resents this song, deeming it "absolute rubbish" in retrospect. Although I cannot bring myself to discard this track as terrible, it is certainly redundant in some parts. Fortunately the melody with the brass sounds epic with the haunting choir, and spares the song from being even more pointless drivel than the band already claim it has. Even more interestingly, film director Stanley Kubrick requested the band's permission to use the song on his now-critically acclaimed film "A Clockwork Orange", but was denied by the band. Certainly a great piece of Floyd trivia, but this song is blown out of the water by the group's other epics, and is more of an extended growing pain in the band's quest for stardom.

The second side is a collection of light acoustic tracks with another experimental piece at the end. Leading off this side is a light Roger Waters-penned song called "If" (2/5) which, despite being a soothing tune, simply does not stand out to me and is rather a forgettable piece of folk. We do see here the future lyrical genius of the Floyd bassist, where he would eventually tackle dark imagery and psychology, effectively taking the band over for a period. Keyboardist Richard Wright pens the following track, "Summer '68" (3/5) that follows the tone of the previous song - this time featuring horns and a larger emphasis on the piano. With a more comfortable sound and a good melody, this is a slight improvement over Waters' track, but it does have a rather annoying middle part, and is still forgettable. A sequel would appear on the band's final album - dedicated to the now-late Wright; an obscure homage to the band's roots. The last of the three light songs is "Fat Old Sun" (5/5), an absolute gem by guitarist David Gilmour. With light-hearted lyrics pertaining to childhood happiness and play, and a very melodramatic tone, this song puts the listener in another dimension, especially the song's hauntingly beautiful ending guitar solo that fades the song out. This song has recently been implemented into Gilmour's live shows as a solo artist - once again a homage to the band's early material which is easily forgotten under their masterpiece albums that would come later and propel them into legendary status. The final track of the album is the thirteen-minute "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" (4/5); a very abstract song that is essentially Floyd roadie Alan Styles eating breakfast with some overdubbed music. One of the oddest songs out there, and a true example of how interesting music was at the start of the seventies, this song amuses me greatly, and it holds a spot on my prog playlist for the sole purpose of confusing people when it plays to my more pop-inclined friends. That being said, this piece is split into three parts, with random dialogue by Styles interspersing the song. At live shows, the band would even cook bacon on stage in order to replicate the sound on the album. I would give this song a five, but it is a perfect example of the band's lack of direction at the time - a criticism by the band later on.

Pink Floyd's music would continue to mature after this album was released. To me, this is a great example of a band that is still trying to find its sound. There are a few bright spots on this album - "Fat Old Sun" is worth listening to this album alone, but parts of the first song are epic, and the closing track is comically random. It is however, one of the less impressive pieces in the Floyd catalogue, and narrowly misses a 2-star rating thanks to the aforementioned Gilmour track. The band unfortunately does trash this album ravenously, claiming it's one of their worst, but many fans of the band see this album as a gem, which is reasonable. Definitely an interesting album if you are a fan of extended instrumental music, psychedelia, and lighter acoustic songs, or if you simply want to explore Pink Floyd's earlier stuff.

OVERALL: 3.6/5 (C-)

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