At one time, Pink Floyd was far-out, freaky even. Their work in the electronic capabilities of rock was more advanced than most people recognize. Their use of a third, rear, sound source anticipated quadraphonics. And their music, if it wasn't memorable, reached into the limits of their experimentation. Most other groups, when they thought in terms of electronics, thought only of painful feedback. Pink Floyd used sounds no one else thought of and could make them lyrical besides. Their last album, Ummagumma, while a bit bit drawn-out, had all their best elements.

Atom Heart Mother is a step headlong into the last century and a dissipation of their collective talents, which are considerable.

Side one is a suite, almost a symphony. It has a lot in it. They use orchestral elements and a choir. The best that can be said for it is that it's craftsmanlike and that in spite of its many parts, it's an entity. But that's all.

The only redeeming feature on this side is the last cut, "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" and then only partially so. The part is not the music, but the integrated Arising and Breakfast sounds.

I was listening through earphones, and so three-dimensional and realistic were the sounds that I took off the phones to see who was breaking in. I couldn't believe it to be part of the record. Once I got over that, though, it was the same insubstantial melange as the rest of the record.

If Pink Floyd is looking for some new dimensions, they haven't found them here.

Try freaking out again, Pink Floyd.

- Alec Dubro, Rolling Stone, 12/2/70.

Bonus Reviews!

Pink Floyd continues their inventive ways with this latest set. The title number, which occupies a full side, is a six-movement gem with an assist from the John Aldiss Choir. Electronic devices stand side by side with fine work on standard rock instruments. The selections on the second side also are noteworthy, especially "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast."

- Billboard, 1970.

This is a trip. Most of Floyd is a trip. All of Floyd is a trip. Trip trip tippy top trip.

(Definition: Floyd is that group which makes fullest and most imaginative use of the electronic medium as it is coupled with the rock impulse. The result is a sophisticated and progressive use of the medium, concocting a blend of musical forms that reaches itself into a new synthesis for which new definitions are inevitably thought up. Pink Floyd has not yet arrived at that stage of critical acclaim to warrant the general populace thinking up new ways of thinking about their kind of music. Nevertheless they are in that league that we usually reserve for those we think of as being authentically great. Wait till the become really popular. Then we can start dumping on them saying they weren't nearly as great as we thought they were.)

Definitions are wonderful. They can sterilize anything, keep us clean. The reason people think up things to call experience is because it's so much easier to handle words. Great music is word integrated into the entire musical fabric. The Pink Floyd are great because they are seamless.

- Jonathan Eisen, Circus, 2/71.

Believe it or not, the, er, suite on the first side is easier to take than the, gawd, songs on the second. Yeah, they do leave the singing to an anonymous semi-classical chorus, and yeah, they probably did get the horns for the fanfares at the same hiring hall. But at least the suite provides a few of the hypnotic melodies that made Ummagumma such an admirable record to fall asleep to. D+

- Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981.

Pink Floyd started to stretch out its long numbers here, with the orchestrated title track taking up an entire side of the album. Still not as focused as they would be, the group nevertheless was beginning to show the musical ambition that would lead to their later successes. * * *

- William Ruhlmann, Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, 1996.

Reader's Comments

No comments so far, be the first to comment .