Atom Heart Mother (suite)

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“Atom Heart Mother”
Song by Pink Floyd
Album Atom Heart Mother
Released October 10, 1970
Recorded March, April, June 1970
Abbey Road, London
Genre Progressive rock, psychedelic rock, symphonic rock
Length 23:44
Writer Roger Waters
David Gilmour
Richard Wright
Nick Mason
Ron Geesin
Atom Heart Mother track listing
“Atom Heart Mother”
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"Atom Heart Mother" is a six-part suite by progressive rock band Pink Floyd, composed by the whole band and Ron Geesin. It appeared on their Atom Heart Mother album in 1970, taking up a whole side of the record. It is Pink Floyd's longest un-split epic, clocking in at 23 minutes and 44 seconds, beating "Echoes" by 11 seconds, and the second longest Pink Floyd song ever recorded, after the nine parts of the suite "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". Some live concert versions have gone on for as long as a half hour. It was regularly performed live from 1970-1971, with occasional performances taking place in 1972.

According to Nick Mason, the drum and bass parts for the entire suite were recorded in one take, thus the wavering tempo in the song[1]. The only main argument regarding the song is at what time each part starts.

Contents

[edit] Sections

[edit] Father's Shout (0:00 - 5:25)

Opening with a low keyboard note, a brass section swoops in, creating a dramatic effect. The brass and drums play for a minute or two, before the music calms down. Being reprised several times, this part may be seen as the main theme of the piece. After this, a cello solo begins, accompanied by bass guitar and organ, with drums joining later. This is followed by a reverberating slide guitar solo.

[edit] Breast Milky (5:26 - 10:12)

Picking up directly after the last note of the guitar solo, this is a five-minute choir piece, backed by Wright's organ, Waters' bass and Mason's drums.

[edit] Mother Fore (10:13 - 15:29)

A simple band jam session, somewhat similar to the one on Meddle's "Echoes" and to The Dark Side of the Moon's "Any Colour You Like". This also contains the second, and much bluesier guitar solo, which quietens into an interesting chanting piece by the choir. The song then slowly builds to another brass and drums section, reprising the main theme from Father's Shout.

[edit] Funky Dung (15:30 - 17:47)

This is one of the 'noise' pieces of the song. It is composed mainly of high-pitched noises. A distorted voice says "There is now an important announcement!" about 10 seconds before the next part starts. The basic melody of this particular section was a modification of a slightly earlier work from the band's Zabriskie Point sessions. This section ends with a loud train noise.

[edit] Mind Your Throats, Please (17:48 - 19:13)

This is the second "noise" piece, and begins with a telephone ringing. It also uses various instruments fading in and out, many of which are recognizable from earlier in the suite, and also features a Leslie speaker used on a piano, an effect that is used again in Echoes. The same brass part that opens the song is heard over this section, culminating with a distorted voice shouting, "Silence in the studio!" before exploding into the next section.

[edit] Remergence (19:14 - 23:43)

Yet another reprise of the Father's Shout main theme, which then quietens into an abridged reprise of the cello solo, followed by a double layered guitar section reminiscent of the first slide solo. This all leads into a climactic final reprise of the Father's Shout theme with everything playing, and the choir singing, ending with a very long note from the choir and brass.

[edit] Trivia

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The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The working title for this piece changed a few times during the composing and recording process. When the first main theme was composed, David Gilmour called it "Theme From an Imaginary Western". The first working title for the six-part piece was "Epic". Later it was changed to "The Amazing Pudding." (This was used as the title of an independently produced Pink Floyd fanzine which ran from the mid '80s to the early '90s.) In July 1970 it was called "Atom Heart Mother". The title was decided when Ron Geesin brought Roger Waters an edition of Evening Standard and told him that he would find the song title in the newspaper. Waters saw an article about a pregnant woman with a pacemaker powered by atoms. The headline was "Nuclear drive for woman's heart", [1] and Waters then decided to name the song "Atom Heart Mother". [2]
  • The song was the last Pink Floyd composition which was credited as being co-written by someone outside the band until "The Trial" of The Wall, which Bob Ezrin cowrote with Waters (unless one counts Clare Torry's contribution to "The Great Gig in the Sky", for which she has been retroactively given credit due to a settlement with Pink Floyd).
  • Stanley Kubrick wanted to use this track for his film A Clockwork Orange; however, the band refused permission.[3]
  • When Roger Waters heard David Gilmour playing the guitar parts for this track, he said that he thought it sounded like the theme song from the western film The Magnificent Seven.

[edit] Personnel

also:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Atom Heart Mother - Trivia and Quotes, Pink Floyd Co.
  2. ^ Vernon Fitch (2005). The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia (3rd Edition), p. 24. Collector's guide publishing. 
  3. ^ Echoes FAQ