Recording of the track commenced at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) in London, and was somewhat cumbersome, as it was the first recording to use a new eight-track one-inch tape and EMI TG12345 transistorised mixing console (8-track, 20-microphone inputs) in the studio. The band felt that the live performances developed the piece into a manageable shape. The title track of Atom Heart Mother resulted from a number of instrumental figures the band had composed during these rehearsals, including the chord progression of the main theme, which guitarist David Gilmour had called "Theme from an Imaginary Western", and the earliest documented live performance was on 17 January 1970 at Hull University. A number of out-takes from the Rome sessions were used to assemble new material during these rehearsals, though some of it, such as "The Violent Sequence", later to become " Us and Them", would not be used for some time. They headed back to London in early 1970 for rehearsals. Pink Floyd started work on the album after completing their contributions to the soundtrack for the film Zabriskie Point in Rome, which had ended somewhat acrimoniously. One of the earliest live performances of the album's title track was at this show. Recording Roger Waters onstage at Leeds University, 28 February 1970. Ron Geesin, who had influenced and collaborated with Waters, contributed to the title track and received a then-rare outside songwriting credit. Ī remastered CD was released in 1994 in the UK and the US, and again in 2011. "A really awful and embarrassing record," said Waters. This was a trend that would continue on subsequent covers throughout the 1970s and beyond.Īlthough it was commercially successful on release, the band – particularly Roger Waters and David Gilmour – have expressed negative opinions of the album. The cover was designed by Hipgnosis, and was the first one not to feature the band's name on the cover, or contain any photographs of the band anywhere. It was recorded at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) in London, and was the band's first album to reach number 1 in the UK, while it reached number 55 in the US, eventually going gold there. It was released by Harvest on 2 October 1970 in the UK, and by Capitol on 10 October 1970 in the US. Album DescriptionAtom Heart Mother is the fifth studio album by the English band Pink Floyd. See More Your browser does not support the audio element. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo More info This lack of focus means Atom Heart Mother will largely be for cultists, but its unevenness means there's also a lot to cherish here. That it lasts an entire side illustrates that Pink Floyd was getting better with the larger picture instead of the details, since the second side just winds up falling off the tracks, no matter how many good moments there are. So, there are interesting moments scattered throughout the record, and the work that initially seems so impenetrable winds up being Atom Heart Mother's strongest moment. "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast," the 12-minute opus that ends the album, does the same thing, floating for several minutes before ending on a drawn-out jam that finally gets the piece moving. Of these, Waters begins developing the voice that made him the group's lead songwriter during their classic era with "If," while Wright has an appealingly mannered, very English psychedelic fantasia on "Summer 68," and Gilmour's "Fat Old Sun" meanders quietly before ending with a guitar workout that leaves no impression. Then, on the second side, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, and Rick Wright have a song apiece, winding up with the group composition "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" wrapping it up. Still, it may be an acquired taste even for fans, especially since it kicks off with a side-long, 23-minute extended orchestral piece that may not seem to head anywhere, but is often intriguing, more in what it suggests than what it achieves. If anything, this is the most impenetrable album Pink Floyd released while on Harvest, which also makes it one of the most interesting of the era. Buy the album Starting at 12.49€Īppearing after the sprawling, unfocused double-album set Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother may boast more focus, even a concept, yet that doesn't mean it's more accessible. Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
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