Atom Heart Mother

So we can get back up and do it all over again.

Where do we even start with this thing. I mean, it's got a standard album structure for the time, the recording process was a nightmare, they hated making Ummagumma so much that they did it again and wouldn't let Gilmour leave until he wrote his song for the b-side, the titles are from the same type of tangential metaphors i use even though Pink Floyd isn't my inspiration for doing it. I guess we just pick some of those things apart and don't make any effort to steer the ship at all.

Concerts and soundtrack contributions, snippets of melodies from jamming live, new studio equipment that they weren't allowed to run spliced tape through. Waters and Mason had to record the whole 23 minute suite in one go from memory because they couldn't read music (that'll be important), then head back out to play shows while Ron Geesin tried to make up an orchestra/choir piece above it while leaving space for Gilmour and Wright to solo on it later. The orchestra didn't like Geesin or his music much, so John Alldis (the choir director) had to take over and guide them through it.

Why so much strife over a meandering rock symphony with Western undertones? Well, Pink Floyd are the quintessential studio improvisers.  Like most rock musicians, they can't read music and they just have to sit in a room and argue until everyone has memorized what they are going to play. That doesn't work when you've got an orchestra and choir with headphones not wanting to play "avant garde" nonsense.

What do we name this monstrosity? Newspaper article about the first lady to have an atomic pacemaker installed. ATOM HEART MOTHER. Subtitles relating to the cow artwork.  Side a done, everybody writes a song for side b. David doesn't actually know how to just write songs? Guess we'll slide sandwiches under the door and he'll either figure it out or die. Record the roadie making and talking about breakfast. Album done, we all hate it, why'd we do it that way?

I love it. I think this is a much better album than Ummagumma. Not concept wise, but music wise. I've more than once stated that writing a thing is not the same as playing the thing. This sounds like Pink Floyd the band again. Saucerful was the last time that happened.

We're right in the middle of Pink Floyd being the machine. They are grinding away: album, tour, soundtrack, tour, album... they don't have a goal, it's just more more more. The standard prog album is this: full side work, other stuff on the other side. Why? Because that's the real life structure of a band. Work hard and build this monumental work, but hey there's all this other stuff that happens too. We split into multiple personalities, but come back and try to work together. That's the structural foundation of relationships, paths crossing and brief moments of holding all that chaos open for everyone to freely mingle before closing it down and heading off in different directions having changed a little in the process.

See why i timed them out to listen to this one in the morning of Father's Day? I didn't, it's coincidence.

I like this album a lot. It's music for the sake of music, and everything else is just packaging.

Meddle