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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
Forum Description: Discuss specific prog bands and their members or a specific sub-genre
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=109345 Printed Date: March 06 2025 at 03:29 Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Atom Heart Mother Vs EchoesPosted By: Scorpius
Subject: Atom Heart Mother Vs Echoes
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 13:18
Which of these to Floyd epics do you guys consider the superior track? I will always consider Echoes the superior, although Atom Heart Mother is an amazing suite. Echoes just has one of the best instrumental passages ever.
Replies: Posted By: DeadSouls
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 13:33
Echoes for me. I don't like the whole suite at all.
Posted By: Terrapin Station
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 14:02
Both fantastic, but there isn't a Pink Floyd song I like better than "Echoes". There are some I like as well, but I'd rank "Atom Heart Mother" a bit below it.
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 14:18
Echoes.......Atom Heart has some nice parts but overall isn't as strong imo.
------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin
Posted By: Bungalow Bill
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 14:18
"Overhead the albatross hangs motionless upon the air..."
Echoes for me. Imho one of the most outstanding tracks of the entire PF catalogue.
Posted By: Magnum Vaeltaja
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 14:21
AHM is my preference. Love the symphonic elements to it, and even during the more loose, "jammy" sections, there's still some structure to it that makes me appreciate it more than Echoes. I can definitely understand the appeal to Echoes, but the atmosphere just isn't there for me. Obviously it's not supposed to be an upbeat, "run & gun", firepower kind of track, but it seems kind of like Floyd just went for the lowest common denominator as far as making spacey music, as though they were in some kind of competition to write the slowest, most drawn out song they could.
------------- when i was a kid a doller was worth ten dollers - now a doller couldnt even buy you fifty cents
Posted By: dwill123
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 14:33
Echoes
Posted By: hellogoodbye
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 14:50
ATM is not bad. Echoes is so predictable. .
Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 15:08
Echoes is a thing of rare beauty - predictable or not (I've never really thought about it that way)
Posted By: mechanicalflattery
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 15:12
The first ten minutes of Atom Heart Mother suite basically changed my life. I guess everyone has at least one album that's just uniquely special to them. That's been AHM for me. Basically got me through high school. It's actually difficult to listen to these days because there's too many memories attached. Ditto for David Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World (which, in retrospect, is decent but hardly great).
Posted By: Kespuzzuo
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 15:19
Atom Heart Mother is the more experimental one. Echoes is easier to listen to, and because of that, it's more popular than AHM.
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 15:35
Tough one for me. I suppose I would have to go with "echoes" but it's close. I actually prefer the AHM album over meddle though. Barking dogs are ok but whiney ones aren't. ;)
Posted By: HosiannaMantra
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 15:47
"Echoes" is great. "Atom Heart Mother" is the greatest.
Posted By: Hercules
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 16:28
There are some great bits on AHM, but Echoes is the best thing Floyd ever did.
------------- A TVR is not a car. It's a way of life.
Posted By: Barbu
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 18:53
Echoes
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Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 21:21
Both are wonderful, of course, and I regard them just about as highly. However, Echoes is the beginning of Floyd's classic sound, so that gives it the edge.
Posted By: Thatfabulousalien
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 23:27
Atom Heart Mother for me. It is still one of my favourite Pink Floyd songs to date. Fun fact: it was also the first CD I ever brought
------------- Classical music isn't dead, it's more alive than it's ever been. It's just not on MTV.
https://www.soundcloud.com/user-322914325
Posted By: uduwudu
Date Posted: November 07 2016 at 23:37
Echoes has the better lyrics.
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 01:44
Both are great, but Echoes is my second favourite prog song ever. No contest.
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Posted By: Thatfabulousalien
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 02:23
uduwudu wrote:
Echoes has the better lyrics.
You just won the thread
------------- Classical music isn't dead, it's more alive than it's ever been. It's just not on MTV.
https://www.soundcloud.com/user-322914325
Posted By: maryes
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 02:33
I'm not a Pink Floyd fan ( nor of psychedelic space-prog ), I really have some restrictions in relation to majority of his albums. However, Pink Floyd has at least 3 albums which I consider great: "Meddle", "Dark Side..." and "Wish you are here". These are ( in my opinion ) 5 stars albums !
"Atom Heart Mother" never captivated my taste !
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 02:40
AHM..........Echoes is fabulous but..........
Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 02:53
Echoes
Posted By: Meltdowner
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 03:07
uduwudu wrote:
Echoes has the better lyrics.
Nah, "Silence in the studio!" is better
Posted By: hellogoodbye
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 03:10
1971. Michel Polnareff was probebly inspired by AHM.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX3HzIZl68o
Posted By: Meltdowner
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 03:22
^ Il est l'or monseignor
Posted By: AZF
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 03:37
I prefer "Sah Sah SAH SAH SAH HISSSS BRRRRRRRRRRR ROPBEEP!" to lyrics about an Albatross. I think the main riff is more heroic than the one Lloyd-Webber stole and altered slightly. So a post in support of a vote for Atom Heart Mother. It can't be talked down any lower for me from my third favourite Pink Floyd album. All time favourite album it makes me think when I listen to it, however!
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 04:13
AZF wrote:
I prefer "Sah Sah SAH SAH SAH HISSSS BRRRRRRRRRRR ROPBEEP!" to lyrics about an Albatross. I think the main riff is more heroic than the one Lloyd-Webber stole and altered slightly. So a post in support of a vote for Atom Heart Mother. It can't be talked down any lower for me from my third favourite Pink Floyd album. All time favourite album it makes me think when I listen to it, however!
Those lyrics sound like an early attempt to speak Kobaďan after two coffee .
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Posted By: hellogoodbye
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 04:19
L'or de se lever
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 04:23
dr wu23 wrote:
Echoes.......Atom Heart has some nice parts but overall isn't as strong imo.
This.
------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State.
Posted By: RockHound
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 05:42
Echoes by far. I always considered Atom Heart Mother to be a disorganized mess, and not in a good way like second disc of Ummagumma.
Posted By: Manuel
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 06:10
Both are quite good, and have their own merits. I like AHM for my personal reasons, but Echoes is a fantastic piece,
Posted By: Guldbamsen
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 09:05
These days I'd most likely go for Atom Heart Mother, but I love both. There is something strangely enamouring about Floyd's early 70s work that really speaks to me - a wafting psychedelic ambiance that many since have tried replicating yet never succeeded in. Atom Heart Mother though remains unparalelled when it comes to the two - mostly because it is nigh on impossible to reproduce. Echoes has been covered by many different bands (Crippled Black Phoenix fx just released "their" take on it - which it really isn't as they basically just are playing the tune as close to the real deal as possible.), whereas AHM seems rather overlooked in that department. I blame Live at Pompeii....and the fact that AHM needs a deranged choir, half a symphony orchestra and some way of mixing different sounding music bits with the accompanying clatter in a live setting to work...or indeed a way of overriding all these facets. Like doing the choir bit with steel drums and a squeeky toy.
------------- “The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
- Douglas Adams
Posted By: Meltdowner
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 09:22
^ Well, it's not Pink Floyd nor Pompeii but it's still epic as hell
Posted By: Guldbamsen
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 09:24
Thanks Samuel - I will check it out when I get back behind my computer and more importantly: closer to my earbuds;)
------------- “The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
- Douglas Adams
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 16:14
I like Atom Heart Mother, it's a fun experiment, it has pretty good parts but has a bit of a patchwork feel to it. Echoes is totally organic, absolute music, when I listen to it there's nothing else in the world. Second to none.
Posted By: Mystic Mamba
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 16:53
Gonna have to go with Echoes. I still remember the first time I heard that eerie middle section. And then the following build-up that leads back into the reprise. Simply stunning! AHM is pretty good too, but it didn't have that profound emotional impact on me when I first heard it. Echoes all the way!
Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 17:00
SteveG wrote:
dr wu23 wrote:
Echoes.......Atom Heart has some nice parts but overall isn't as strong imo.
This.
This and that.
------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology...
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 20:00
AZF wrote:
I prefer "Sah Sah SAH SAH SAH HISSSS BRRRRRRRRRRR ROPBEEP!" to lyrics about an Albatross. I think the main riff is more heroic than the one Lloyd-Webber stole and altered slightly. So a post in support of a vote for Atom Heart Mother. It can't be talked down any lower for me from my third favourite Pink Floyd album. All time favourite album it makes me think when I listen to it, however!
Echoes lyrics are not about an Albatross. You need to pay much more attention to lyrics if you really think so.
Posted By: andreol263
Date Posted: November 08 2016 at 20:05
Atom Heart Mother, i simply love that composition together with Alan's Psychodelic Breakfast, the perfect intro and perfect end to the perfect album. I really like Echoes too, but i can't abandon Atom Heart Mother.
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Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: November 14 2016 at 08:38
Hi,
AHM.
Echoes, in some ways, is almost a copy of AHM ... a bit more rock oriented than what AHM was. Of course, Roger will tell you that Echoes is more important, because they get paid for it, and they don't have to share 10 cents with Ron Geesin, who is probably more responsible for AHM than PF was.
------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com
Posted By: KingCrInuYasha
Date Posted: November 14 2016 at 09:36
moshkito wrote:
Hi,
AHM.
Echoes, in some ways, is almost a copy of AHM ... a bit more rock oriented than what AHM was. Of course, Roger will tell you that Echoes is more important, because they get paid for it, and they don't have to share 10 cents with Ron Geesin, who is probably more responsible for AHM than PF was.
IIRC, another quibble Roger (and Nick Mason) had was that the suite had some performance issues, specifically that they had to do the rhythm section in one go, due to EMI not allowing the band to go back and edit parts that didn't cut the mustard. As a result, some tempo issues crop up from time to time.
While "Atom Heart Mother" isn't quite the polished number that "Echoes" is, I think this lack of polish gives the piece a charm of its own.
------------- He looks at this world and wants it all... so he strikes, like Thunderball!
Posted By: Kimdino
Date Posted: November 18 2016 at 19:41
'Six of one' or 'half a dozen' of the other. Each is special in its own way and I would refuse to choose between them. All I can say that, IMO, the greatest possible Floyd album would have 'Echoes' on one side and 'Atom Heart Mother' on the other, and they would both be A sides. But perhaps that would be TOO much of a good thing.
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: November 18 2016 at 21:11
Kimdino wrote:
'Six of one' or 'half a dozen' of the other. Each is special in its own way and I would refuse to choose between them. All I can say that, IMO, the greatest possible Floyd album would have 'Echoes' on one side and 'Atom Heart Mother' on the other. But perhaps that would be TOO much of a good thing.
My choice for a greatest Floyd album, in the sense I understand you, would be "Echoes", "Shine on you Crazy Diamond" and "Dogs". It might not fit an LP format, but it would fit nicely on a CD.
Posted By: Guldbamsen
Date Posted: November 20 2016 at 04:46
Meltdowner wrote:
^ Well, it's not Pink Floyd nor Pompeii but it's still epic as hell
Thanks man I thoroughly enjoyed that. Very very close to the original maybe bar the inexplicable Floyd-essence that nobody but the band themselves could ever produce.
Still that cello bridge introducing the guitar-solo...oh my word. Beautiful.
------------- “The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
- Douglas Adams
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: November 20 2016 at 08:49
Hi,
It will tell you the appreciation that some European folks have for "classical" music done with rock instruments, that rock music critics are afraid to enjoy. I also think there is a place for the mix of electric music and orchestra and choirs ... that is not explored a whole lot, and things like this, touch on it some.
There is no comparison between this and Echoes. Echoes is just a rock song in parts. This is a "symphony" in a couple of parts! And mind you, that Roland Petit even tried to make a ballet of it in Paris (I think it was), which was booed senseless by a rock audience that wanted more hits, not ballet, or a visual performance. Makes you wonder why Ian Anderson had a dead ballerina on the stage for his album and a searing indictment of lyrics in his own album.
This is sensational and I would love to see more of it. And done on other pieces, and please ... not on DSOTM! Or The Wall! Try Chuck Berry first!
------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: November 20 2016 at 08:53
KingCrInuYasha wrote:
...
IIRC, another quibble Roger (and Nick Mason) had was that the suite had some performance issues, specifically that they had to do the rhythm section in one go, due to EMI not allowing the band to go back and edit parts that didn't cut the mustard. As a result, some tempo issues crop up from time to time.
While "Atom Heart Mother" isn't quite the polished number that "Echoes" is, I think this lack of polish gives the piece a charm of its own.
That "lack of polish" ... is something that only a "musician" would note, since most of us can not hear it or pick up on it, and can listen to the piece just fine.
When musicians start to break it down like that, it means they are losing their ability to let the music flow on its own, and to allow it to live. This is the problem with today's DAW's and the like. The freedom to not be tied down and nailed, is gone. Totally gone. On top of it, the commercial side of the world would have you think that doing that is evil and not cool, and you are not supporting your friends and the top ten!
------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com
Posted By: akaBona
Date Posted: November 20 2016 at 15:30
Atom Heart Mother
Posted By: For Nobody's Bush
Date Posted: February 21 2018 at 19:05
Echoes for me, but not great to having sex to. it was like the music disappeared, Lizards is better for that.
Posted By: Kimdino
Date Posted: February 21 2018 at 21:04
That bloody rock/classical divide,aaarrGHHH! To me, there's just music (aside from versificator music but that don't count). I know plenty of 'snobs' on both sides who won't look at the other, merely because it is the other. Their loss ... I just wish there was a way to give Mozart an electric guitar, I am absolutely certain he would have absolutely loved an instrument with that range of expression. But then he isn't even proper classical, he's more baroque.
Posted By: Mortte
Date Posted: February 21 2018 at 22:51
Atom Heart is one of the greatest music pieces to me!
Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Date Posted: February 22 2018 at 02:02
Echoes
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"I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021