Like Obscured By Clouds, Atom Heart Mother is in the unenviable position of being sandwiched between two better albums -- in this case, Ummagumma and Meddle, respectively. Consisting of five songs, the last of which spans an interminable 13 odious minutes of your life, Atom Heart Mother is not for the easy-eared. First things first, "If" is an endearing little song -- not very inspiring -- but still very good. "Fat Old Sun" is nice and contains a vintage Gilmour solo -- which is to say, amazing; and "Summer '68" is my favorite piece on the album, despite the fact that you'd lose a bet over its authenticity as Pink Floyd; it simply doesn't sound like them. This brings us to the bookends, "Atom Heart Mother" and "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" -- two mental flights to Mars via a hallucinatory conduit. "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" is really awful stuff. The absolute udder of the psychedelic scene. Colorful trash, as it were. Or maybe it's de rigueur; what do I know? Listen to it at your own peril. Jeff has a much favorable review for those interested. B-
2 comments:
I agree with you on this one. It came out at a time when a lot of bands were involved in bloated experimentalism and is certainly not among the worst of that lot. However, as a Floyd album it's a tough listen (and not in a good way like "Echoes").
Oh no! I'm a huge fan of this album. I love the epic title track, it doesn't have the power like "Echoes" but I think it's definitely moving. The solo on "Fat Old Sun" in my oppinion is one of David's best works and to hear it live is even better. "If" is a really nice melodic song that sets the tone for the next two tracks. The horn section in "Summer '68" is a really nice touch that adds to the songs greatness. My only gripe about this album aside from the pretentious Psychadelic Breakfast would be that the three tracks in the middle are sandwiched in with two songs that sound like they come from a completely different band.
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