A choir provides vocals for the suite, but there are no lyrics or members of the band singing. The track was difficult to record because the bass and drum part had to be done in one take, resulting in an inconsistent tempo throughout. It is a six-part suite composed by every member of the band as well as Scottish musician Ron Geesin, known for his unique compositions. The A-side of the album is the 23-minute title track “Atom Heart Mother,” Pink Floyd’s longest uncut track. This odd album had an even stranger cover, featuring a cow grazing in a pasture with no words to be found.Ītom Heart Mother generally received mixed critical reviews, some calling it undirected, and while it certainly doesn’t measure up to some of their later works, like Dark Side of the Moon, it is worth a listen.
The band experimented with brass and choir orchestration, often playing the backbeat to the orchestra, which was an uncommon musical style at the time. The album was the first of Pink Floyd’s work to be mixed specifically for four channel quadraphonic sound, comparable to today’s 4.0 surround sound. It was the band’s first album to reach the number one spot on the charts in the UK, and it also charted in the top ten in France, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. Rory Murray, Staff Writer Photo Credit: wikipediaĪtom Heart Mother was Pink Floyd’s fifth studio album, released in the UK by Harvest and EMI Records and in the US by Capitol Records.