Pink Floyd Retrospective: Album 05- Atom Heart Mother

 

Pink Floyd is a very experimental band.  Sometimes, the experiment blows up...

Album:  Atom Heart Mother

Year Released:    1970

Lineup:

Pink Floyd

• David Gilmour – electric guitar (1, 2, 4, 5), slide guitar (1, 2), pedal steel guitar (4, 5), acoustic guitar (3–5), bass and drums (4), vocals (4)
• Nick Mason – drums (1–3, 5), percussion (1, 3, 5), sound effects (1, 5)
• Roger Waters – bass (1–3, 5), acoustic guitar (2), vocals (2), sound effects (1, 5)
• Richard Wright – piano (1–3, 5), Farfisa organ (1, 4), Hammond organ (1–5), Mellotron (1), vocals (3)

Additional musicians

• EMI Pops Orchestra – brass and orchestral sections (uncredited)^[12]
• Hafliði Hallgrímsson – cello (1) (uncredited)^[70]
• John Alldis Choir – choir (1)
• Alan Styles – voice and sound effects (5) (uncredited)

Production

• Ron Geesin – orchestration and co-composition (1) (uncredited)^[71]
• Peter Bown – engineering
• Alan Parsons – engineering (misspelled as "Allan Parsons" on the original sleeve)^[72]
• Doug Sax, James Guthrie – 1994 remastering at The Mastering Lab, L.A.^[73]
• James Guthrie, Joel Plante – 2011 remastering at das boot recording^[74]

Track Listing:

Side one

No. Title                                                                           Length

1. "Atom Heart Mother"                                          23:44

Total length: 23:44

Side two

No. Title                                                                          Length

2. "If"                                                                          4:31

3. "Summer '68"                                                    5:29

4.     "Fat Old Sun"                                                           5:22

5.     "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast"                                13:00

Total length: 28:22

Album Length:  52:06

Overall Thoughts:

The fifth album by Pink Floyd is broken into two halves.  The first half, the title track 'Atom Heart Mother', is a single song taking up the entire side of the record.  It has an 'everything and the kitchen sink' feeling about it- it's a progressive rock instrumental with orchestral backing.  You do hear the journey that Pink Floyd is making from mere meandering music, but they still haven't found their focus yet.  It's not tedious- musically, the group remains excellent.  But it's a 23 minute instrumental that would be better if it was half the time.

The second half of the album is four songs.  The first three are written by different members of the group.  Waters composed "If", Wright wrote "Summer '68", and Gilmour was behind "Fat Old Sun".  "If" is the first (of many) song Waters writes about mental illness.  "Summer '68" is about a one night stand with a groupie (and makes the protagonist out to be an ass).  "Fat Old Sun" is a song about the countryside, and might have been cleaner if it was just an acoustic guitar song without any other instruments.

The final song is "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast"- and the album falls off a cliff here.  Pink Floyd has always added unusuaul sound effects to their music- but hearing close up of someone eating breakfast and drinking coffee is nauseating and unpleasant.  I hate hate HATE it.  The rest of the album is mediocre- but the final song is such utter shit that it makes it the worst album that the band has created.

Ranking of Pink Floyd Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. A Saucerful of Secrets
2. Ummagumma
3. More
4. Piper at the Gates of Dawn
5. Atom Heart Mother

Top 10 Pink Floyd Songs (changing as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Let There Be More Light", A Saucerful of Secrets
2. "Set The Controls For the Heart of the Sun", A Saucerful of Secrets
3. "Remember A Day", A Saucerful of Secrets
4. "Cirrus Minor", More
5. "Flaming", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
6. "Astronomy Dominé", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
7. "A Saucerful of Secrets", A Saucerful of Secrets
8. "The Narrow Way", Ummagumma
9. "Crying Song", More
10. "If", Atom Heart Mother

Pink Floyd Retrospective: Album 04- Ummagumma

 

 

Ummagumma is both a live album and a showcase for each of the individual members.  In trying to be everything, it misses being anything great...

Album:  Ummagumma

Year Released:    1969

Lineup:

Pink Floyd

• David Gilmour – lead guitar, vocals (live album); voices on "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict";^[46] acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, drums and vocals on "The Narrow Way"
• Nick Mason – drums (live album); percussion, effects on "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party" parts 1 & 2
• Roger Waters – bass guitar, vocals (live album); acoustic guitars and vocals on "Grantchester Meadows", voices on "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict"
• Richard Wright – keyboards, vocals (live album); organ, piano, Mellotron and percussion on "Sysyphus"

Additional personnel

• Lindy Mason – flutes on "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party" Parts 1 & 3 (uncredited)^[18]
• Brian Humphries – engineering (live album)
• Pink Floyd – production (live album)
• Peter Mew – engineering (studio album)
• Norman Smith – production (studio album)
• Hipgnosis – sleeve design and photographs

Track Listing:

Live Album

Side one

No. Title                                                                           Length

1. "Astronomy Domine"                                          8:25

2. "Careful with That Axe, Eugene"                          8:47

Total length: 17:12

Side two

No. Title                                                                          Length

1. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"         9:21

2. "A Saucerful of Secrets"                                   12:51

Total length: 22:12

Album Length:  39:24

Studio Album

Side three

No. Title                                                                           Length

1. "Sisyphus"                                                          13:32

2. "Grantchester Meadows"                                  7:23

3.     "Several Species of Small Furry Animals                 4:47

          Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict"

Total length: 25:42

Side four

No. Title                                                                          Length

1. "The Narrow Way"                                                 12:14

2. "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party"                         8:55

Total length: 21:09

Album Length:  46:51

Total Length:     86:32

Overall Thoughts:

The fourth album by Pink Floyd is "Ummagumma", a double album.  The first album is a live recording of their previous songs, and the second album is a studio recording of new material- but with each member of the band writing a track without the others.

The live album is... fine.  There doesn't seem to be anything added to the music by performing live- the audience is barely heard, and the songs don't seem to be significantly different than the studio versions.  There is one unreleased song ("Careful With That Axe, Eugene") that sounds like the spiritual sequel to "The End" by the Doors- long bits of organ music punctuated by screaming and yelling.  The other songs are just longer versions of the songs already released on other albums.

The studio album is more interesting, but it's not a group project- rather, it's each member tackling their own song (Waters has two 'shorter' songs instead of one long song).  

Richard Wright has the first song of the studio album, "Sisyphus".  It's New Age music-instrumental, fine, far too long and forgettable.

Roger Waters wrote a pair of songs- "Grantchester Meadows" and "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict".  "Granchester Meadows" is a nice, sweet song that Waters ruins by ending with the sound of a fly being swatted.  "Several Species..." is as pretentious and obnoxious as the endless title suggests.  It's not even a song- just a bunch of sounds put together.  

David Gilmour composed "The Narrow Way", a guitar- focussed song.  It plays to his strengths, and the song works- especially the opening shuffle.  It's the best song on the studio tracks.

Nick Mason wrote "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party"- a strange combination of Folk music, New Age music, and vocal effects.  Mason's drumming holds it together.

 

In a way, "Ummagumma" is Pink Floyd, deconstructed.  Roger Waters had a ton of ideas but needed the other members of the band to pull them off musically and reign in his worst impulses.  Richard Wright is an excellent keyboardest who meanders without a good direction.  Mason and Gilmour are fine but incomplete.  Pink Floyd is defnitely a case where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  

Ranking of Pink Floyd Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. A Saucerful of Secrets
2. Ummagumma
3. More
4. Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Top 10 Pink Floyd Songs (changing as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Let There Be More Light", A Saucerful of Secrets
2. "Set The Controls For the Heart of the Sun", A Saucerful of Secrets
3. "Remember A Day", A Saucerful of Secrets
4. "Cirrus Minor", More
5. "Flaming", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
6. "Astronomy Dominé", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
7. "A Saucerful of Secrets", A Saucerful of Secrets
8. "The Narrow Way", Ummagumma
9. "Crying Song", More
10. "The Nile Song", More

Thoughts with Whiskey: 2025-07-11

Tonight's beverage:  Weller Special Reserve.  For the price and availability, probably the best value in my opinion.

Currently reading:  The Innovators.  Walter Isaacson is a great writer, and the history that led to the computer- from the theories of Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace through the invention of the transistor, microchip, and computer- is a powerful story.  I'm learning a lot.

Currently playing:  Nothing.  I have an issue where computer games with first person perspective usually gives me vertigo.  Could use a good new PC game (preferences are for mystery/puzzle/RPG games).  Recommendations are welcomed.

Current recommendation:  Game Changer, from Dropout.  It's a simple formula- take a bunch of comedians, put them in a game where they don't know the rules, and run with it (Taskmaster operates on the same principle, and the episodes are free on youtube).  This year's games have been utterly chaotic and brilliant, and Game Changer alone is worth getting Dropout.

The Pink Floyd retrospective continues next week.  I've known the band's most famous albums, but almost nothing of their earlier stuff.  It's a fascinating group- musically talented, with a lot of ideas- but with their early albums they are still trying to put it all together.  It's not until their eighth album that it finally comes together.  The journey is long but it's worth it.

Pink Floyd Retrospective: Album 03- Soundtrack from the film 'More'

 

For the third album, Pink Floyd makes a soundtrack...

Album:  More (Film Soundtrack)

Year Released:    1969

Lineup:

 Pink Floyd

• David Gilmour – vocals, electric guitar (2, 3, 8–11, 13), acoustic guitar (1, 5), classical guitar (3, 6, 12), percussion (12)
• Nick Mason – drums (2–4, 8–10, 13), bongos (6, 7), percussion (11)
• Roger Waters – bass guitar (1–6, 8–10, 13), tape effects, percussion
• Richard Wright – Farfisa organ (1, 4–6, 8–9, 11, 13), piano (4–6, 9), vibraphone (3, 11), Hammond organ (1), backing vocals

Additional personnel

• Lindy Mason – tin whistle (5, 7)
• Brian Humphries – engineering
• Hipgnosis – sleeve design
• James Guthrie – re-mastering supervision
• Doug Sax – re-mastering

Track Listing:

Side one

No. Title                                                           Length

1. "Cirrus Minor"                                          5:18

2. "The Nile Song"                                  3:26

3. "Crying Song" Waters                          3:33

4. "Up the Khyber" (instrumental)                 2:12

5. "Green Is the Colour"                               2:58

6. "Cymbaline"                                             4:50

7. "Party Sequence" (instrumental)  1:07

Total length: 23:24

Side two

No. Title Length

1. "Main Theme" (instrumental)         5:27

2. "Ibiza Bar"                                 3:19

3. "More Blues" (instrumental)         2:12

4. "Quicksilver" (instrumental)         7:13

5. "A Spanish Piece"                                 1:05

6. "Dramatic Theme" (instrumental) 2:15

Total length: 21:32

Overall Thoughts:

The year after releasing "A Saucerful of Secrets", Pink Floyd created the soundtrack for a movie called More.  The movie itself sounds horrible and unpleasant- a pair of young adults meet, fall for each other, go to Ibiza, and destroy each other with drugs.  Umm, yay?  

But this is about the soundtrack.  Pink Floyd is a good band for soundtracks- the music works in the background.

Pink Floyd continued to be experminetal, adding non-musical sounds into their music.  They lead off the album with the bird chirps right off the bat on the first song, "Cirrus Minor".  "The Nile Song" is the hardest song the group had recorded, venturing into heavy metal.

The music is good.  Nick Mason does great at drums on "Up the Khyber", and Wright's piano and keyboards are excellent.  Half the songs are instrumentals.  

The album isn't bad (Okay, "A Spanish Piece" is awful, but it stands out for being so annoying)... but it's forgettable.  Much like "A Piper At The Gates of Dawn", it's fine to put on in the background, but it's not an album you go out of your way to listen to.  Pink Floyd would be a few more albums away from putting everything together.

Ranking of Pink Floyd Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. A Saucerful of Secrets
2. More
3. Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Top 10 Pink Floyd Songs (changing as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Let There Be More Light", A Saucerful of Secrets
2. "Set The Controls For the Heart of the Sun", A Saucerful of Secrets
3. "Remember A Day", A Saucerful of Secrets
4. "Cirrus Minor", More
5. "Flaming", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
6. "Astronomy Dominé", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
7. "A Saucerful of Secrets", A Saucerful of Secrets
8. "Crying Song", More
9. "The Nile Song", More
10. "Matilda Mother", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn

Pink Floyd Retrospective: Album 02- A Saucerful of Secrets

 

So what happens when the heart of your band emotionally disintegrates?

Album:  A Saucerful of Secrets

Year Released:    1968

Lineup:

Pink Floyd

• David Gilmour – guitars (all except 2 and 7), kazoo (4), vocals
• Nick Mason – drums (all except 2), percussion (1, 5, 6, 7), lead vocals (4), kazoo (7)
• Roger Waters – bass guitar (all tracks), percussion (3, 5), vocals
• Richard Wright – Farfisa organ (all tracks), piano (1, 2, 5, 6), Hammond organ (1, 4, 5), Mellotron (5, 6), vibraphone (3, 5), celesta (3), xylophone (6), tin whistle (7), vocals
• Syd Barrett – vocals (7), slide guitar (2), acoustic guitar (2, 7), electric guitar (3, 7)

Additional personnel

• Norman Smith – producer, drums (2), backing vocals (2, 6), voice (4)
• The Stanley Myers Orchestra (4)
• The Salvation Army (The International Staff Band) – brass section (7)

Track Listing:

Side one

No. Title                                                                   Length

1. "Let There Be More Light"                                 5:38

2. "Remember a Day"                               4:33

3. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"   5:28

4. "Corproal Clegg"                                               4:12

Side two

No. Title                                                                  Length

5. "A Saucerful of Secrets"                                  11:57

6. "See-Saw"                                      4:36

7. "Jugland Blues"                              3:00

Overall Thoughts:

Hypothetical situation:  The band Queen releases their first album.  There's some good songs- it's a promising group.  You look forward to hearing more music from them.

And then.... Freddy Mercury just vanishes.  *Poof*.  Gone.  No more singing from him, no more songs written by him.

The rest of the band still produces music- but does "Bohemian Rhapsody" exist?  What type of music do they make?  Do they become the hitmaker we think of?  What is the band "Queen" like without their msot charismatic member?

That's pretty much what happened to Pink Floyd.  The first album was dominated by Syd Barrett- he wrote most of the songs, he played the lead guitar, he was the primary singer- he was the core of the band that was signed, and he is the heart and soul of "A Piper at the Gates of Dawn".

And then, a combination of drugs and mental illness made Barrett unresponsive and apathetic.  He stopped playing during concerts and caused several shows to be cancelled.

The rest of the band (Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Richard Wright) brought on David Gilmour to take over guitar duties, with the intention to have Barrett focus on songwriting.  For a short while Pink Floyd was a five person band... but as Barrett's condition worsened, the Band chose not to pick him up for a show, and ousted him.

Barrett's contributions to the second album amounts to one song ("Jugland Blues") that he wrote and sung, and some guitar work.  

And just like that, the core of the Pink Floyd's first album disappeared.  Barrett later had a couple of solo albums before retiring in 1974, shying away from public life.  He passed away in 2006.

As for the album itself-  "A Saucerful of Secrets" is still a psychadelic, progressive album.  But it's more focussed, and the band has levelled up.  Adding Gilmour (an outstanding guitarist) to the band IMMEDIATELY improved the quality of the music, right from the start of the first song, "Let There Be More Light".  Richard Wright's keyboard work is also excellent, especially on "Remember A Day".

The lyrics are less weird than "A Piper At the Gates of Dawn", but also not that memorable.  At this point in their careers, Pink Floyd is more focussed on music than lyrics

"A Piper At the Gates of Dawn" is background music- but you actually listen and pay attention to the music of "A Saucerful of Secrets".  The band has a direction, and focus, and it shows in a clearly better record.

The centerpiece of the album is the title track, which is almost 12 minutes in length.  It hits all of the notes of a long, prog-rock epic... strange title, meanding song, additional sounds besides instruments.  As a bonus, there's even some Orchestral music.  It's not awful, just forgettable.

The album ends with "Jugland Blues", the only song Barrett wrote for the album.  It's disjointed and random.  There's signs of good music, but it only highlights the contrast with the early part of the album.  And confirms why Pink Floyd improved by adding Gilmour.

Ranking of Pink Floyd Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. A Saucerful of Secrets
2. Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Top 10 Pink Floyd Songs (changing as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Let There Be More Light", A Saucerful of Secrets
2. "Set The Controls For the Heart of the Sun", A Saucerful of Secrets
3. "Remember A Day", A Saucerful of Secrets
4. "Flaming", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
5. "Astronomy Dominé", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
6. "A Saucerful of Secrets", A Saucerful of Secrets
7. "Matilda Mother", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
8. "See-Saw", A Saucerful of Secrets
9. "Lucifer Sam", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
10. "Take up Thy Stethoscope and Walk", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn

Pink Floyd Retrospective: Album 01- A Piper at the Gates of Dawn

 

Another musical retrospective- this one for the classic prog rock group Pink Floyd.  Should be fascinating, as I know their later works very well but hardly anything of their early albums.    

Album:  The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Year Released:    1967

Lineup:

• Pink Floyd

  • Syd Barrett – lead guitar, vocals
  • Roger Waters – bass guitar, vocals
  • Rick Wright – organ, piano, vocals
  • Nick Mason – drums

  Additional musicians

  • Peter Jenner – intro vocalisations ("Astronomy Dominé")
  • Norman Smith – drum roll ("Interstellar Overdrive")

Track Listing:

Side one

No. Title                                                       Length

1. "Astronomy Dominé"                             4:12

2. "Lucifer Sam"                       3:07

3. "Matilda Mother"                       3:08

4. "Flaming"                               2:46

5. "Pow R. Toc H."                               4:26

6. "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk"   3:05

Side two

No. Title                                                       Length

1. "Interstellar Overdrive"                       9:41

2. "The Gnome"                       2:13

3. "Chapter 24"                       3:42

4. "The Scarecrow"               2:11

5. "Bike"                               3:21

Overall Thoughts:

In 1967 EMI Studios signed a British Band that was earning a reputation as a great underground Psychadelic group- Pink Floyd.  They were led by art student Syd Barrett and architexture students Roger Waters, Richard Wright, and Nick Mason.  Much like another British Classic Rock group from the 1970s (Queen), Pink Floyd was a group of STEM-Oriented musicians with one extremely artistic muse fronting the band.  Barrett's time at the band would be short, but impactful.

Later in the year, they released their first album, "A Piper at the Gates of Dawn".  This is the only album that Barrett dominated- he was the primary songwriter, lead singer and lead guitarist.

It's... a strange album.  It feel less like a group of songs than a collection of sounds.  

Some songs and records grab your attention- from the music or the lyrics, there's something that make you focus on them.  "A Piper at the Gates of Dawn" isn't like that- it's good music, but it's in the background and sets the mood.  It's a good album to put on while focussing on something else- or meditating.

Muscially, they were very experimental and directionless, bringing all sorts of sounds in addition to the basic instruments (guitar/keyboard/bass/drums).  It's mellow and psychadelic.  The songs are short with the exception of the instrumental "Interstellar Overdrive".  It's prog music, but a softer prog than Rush.  

It doesn't sound quite like the Pink Floyd from their biggest hits- this album is driven by Barrett, who isn't involved in their later works.  But there are elements- specifically, adding everyday sounds into the music- that are familiar.

Lyrically... they get weird.  Here's the lyrics from the first verse of "Take up Thy Stethoscope and Walk":

(Doctor, doctor)

I’m in bed (Doctor, doctor)

Aching head (Doctor, doctor)

Gold is lead, (Doctor, doctor)

Choke on bread (Doctor, doctor)

Underfed (Doctor, doctor)

Gold is lead (Doctor, doctor)

Jesus bled (Doctor, doctor)

Pain is red (Doctor, doctor)

Dark doom

Gruel ghoul, greasy spoon

Used spoon, June bloom

Don't expect comprehension of understanding from their lyrics.  Barrett's Floyd doesn't tell a story- it sets an ambiance.  And it often works (not always- "DOOY DOOY", from "Pow R. Toc H." is awful)

Is it a great album?  No.  But it's a pleasant collection of sounds, and it's a good starting point for the band.

Ranking of Pink Floyd Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. A Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Top 10 Pink Floyd Songs (changing as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Flaming", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
2. "Astronomy Dominé", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
3. "Matilda Mother", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
4. "Lucifer Sam", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
5. "Take up Thy Stethoscope and Walk", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
6. "Interstellar Overdrive", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
7. "The Scarecrow", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
8. "Chapter 24", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
9. "The Gnome", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn
10. "Bike", A Piper At the Gates of Dawn