ATOM HEART MOTHER

When I first got Atom Heart Mother, I was really turned off by basically the whole album. Now after many listens it has grown from a very mediocre album to a good, but unbalanced one. Pink Floyd's prime starts with their next album, Meddle, and ends at The Wall.

The first side of the album is the 23-minute epic, Atom Heart Mother. This is actually a very nice song, not quite a masterpiece to me, but very good nonetheless. Nice keyboards and guitar (as usual), beautiful vocals, and the orchestration is fantastic! There isn't really any one moment of this song that jumps out me, it's a very smooth, pleasing ride all the way through. Atom Heart Mother is the type of song best listened to with your eyes closed and ears focusing on the music... and you're in for a crazy ride!

The second side of the album is very subpar for Pink Floyd. It begins with If, a very boring and repetitive song that seems to last a lot longer than four minutes. Summer '68, although out of place, is easily the best song on this side and shows what these guys are capable of. It starts with a lovely piano intro and some vocals... then quickly evolves into a brilliant psychedelic song topped off with superb brass. This is probably my favorite Pink Floyd short song, and that is saying quite a bit. Next is Fat Old Sun, which is somewhat boring, but nearly as bad as If. If you're in the mood, this is actually a very fine and relaxing song, complete with some excellent guitar. Finally, the album concludes with Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast. There is some very soothing, instrumental music here, but between these bits of music is pointless and annoying noise.

This album is really 3.5 stars (4 for the first side, 3 for the second), but since it is so inconsistant, I have to round it down to a 3. I wouldn't recommend anybody getting this except for an experienced Pink Floyd fan. Their next 5 albums and The Division Bell are much more solid and overall better. Still, this is certainly a nice album and a logical stepping stone for the band between Ummagumma (which I dislike) to Meddle (which is an excellent album).