Pink Floyd’s ambitious fifth album, Atom Heart Mother, was the group’s first U.K. chart-topper but not much of a hit with some critics – or with the band itself. Guitarist David Gilmour, for example, once called the October 1970 LP “a load of rubbish,” and the group’s other members have spoken similarly.
To these ears, though, Atom Heart Mother and Pink Floyd’s other early efforts, such as Ummagumma and Meddle, have always been even more interesting than the excellent, more widely accessible music that followed on LPs like Dark Side of the Moon and Animals. You have a fresh opportunity to decide whether you agree with that assessment, thanks to a two-disc special edition of Atom Heart Mother that first appeared in Japan in 2021 and has just been issued in the U.S.
The first disc consists of a 2011 remaster of the original record, whose adventurous, six-part, 24-minute instrumental title cut can be seen as a predecessor to Meddle’s “Echoes.” It features lots of tempo changes and meanders – some would say aimlessly, others would say fascinatingly – before building to a dramatic climax that features a brass ensemble and a choir. That’s followed by three relatively brief and more conventional, but well-crafted numbers: Roger Waters’s folky, lyrically rich “If”; Rick Wright’s trumpet-spiced “Summer ’68”; and Gilmour’s dreamy, leisurely paced “Fat Old Sun.” All three of these songs sound almost like solo efforts by their composers and the last of them practically is, as Gilmour not only provides the vocals but plays all the instruments except the organ.
The program concludes with “Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast,” a 13-minute, mostly instrumental opus credited to all four members of the group. Though decidedly a product of the LSD era, it delivers more than a few musical moments that still hit their mark, plus the sounds of road manager Alan Styles preparing and eating his morning meal and then declaring “My head’s a blank,” as the track fades out.
The remastered audio is fine but not a huge improvement on the original record. Disc two of the new edition is a notable plus, however: it’s a Blu-ray that features a dynamic August 1971 live performance of the title track (sans brass ensemble and choir) at Hakone Aphrodite, an outdoor Japanese music festival. Previously available in the U.S. only via Pink Floyd’s pricey Early Years box set, the 16-minute video is good enough to make you wish “Atom Heart Mother” weren’t the only one of the six numbers from the show that has survived on film.
Also featured in the new package are a forgettable three-minute bonus video with images from the festival, a 60-page photo book, and replicas of memorabilia from the show, including a poster, an admission ticket, a pamphlet, and a map of the venue. Fans will probably enjoy looking at these items once or twice, but the treasures here are the original album and the “Atom Heart Mother” concert video.
Also Noteworthy
Sarah McKenzie, Without You. Listening to this album from jazz singer and pianist Sarah McKenzie, you might well guess that she’s a Brazilian native who records in Rio de Janeiro. In fact, she hails from Australia and now lives in Los Angeles, where she made most of the CD. She has always loved the music of Brazil, however, and she conceived this project after a 2017 visit there, during which she performed with local musicians and soaked up the culture.
Her goal with the record was to “create something new while still paying homage to the tradition.” That’s exactly what she does on the 14-track Without You, on which she applies her sublime vocals to a moody 14-track program that includes four originals as well as “The Girl from Ipanema,” “Once I Loved,” and other tracks written or co-written by the great Antonio Carlos Jobim. Jobim’s original cellist, Jaques Morelenbaum, figures prominently in the backup band, which also showcases guitar, drums, bass, percussion, flute, and sax.
Big Country, Live at Rockpalast 1986 & 1991. When it comes to commercial success, it was all downhill for Big Country following the first track on its first album, “In a Big Country,” which in 1983 provided its sole Top 20 Billboard hit. But that’s far from the only noteworthy music to issue from this Scottish band, particularly in the years before the 2001 suicide death of its passionate original lead singer and guitarist, Stuart Adamson.
The group’s anthemic music recalls U2, though with the addition of Celtic influences, and its strengths are well-displayed on this three-CD, two-DVD set, which features audio and video versions of a pair of concerts from Germany’s Rockpalast TV show. The recordings are more than three decades old, so you shouldn’t expect the DVDs to offer surround-sound audio or widescreen video. The sound and picture are both fine, however, and the performances range only from likable to electrifying.
Uncle Lucius, Like It’s the Last One Left. As you should know by now if you pay attention to the rock world, farewell tours don’t necessarily mean goodbye. Austin, Texas’s Uncle Lucius, which released its first album in 2006, performed such a tour about five years ago. But now it’s back, and when you hear its new album, you’ll be glad that it is.
Fronted by the terrific lead singer Kevin Galloway, whose quavering vocals recall those of the Beau Brummels’ Sal Valentino, the sextet features instruments that include organ, mandolin, accordion, and vibes. Like It’s the Last One Left delivers a sizzling set of 10 original rockers that draw on funk, rock, Tex-Mex, honky tonk, and gospel. It’s the self-assured work of a mature band that knows how to emphasize its considerable strengths.
Various artists, Doo Wop Christmas Party. Want a break from traditional Christmas songs by Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Nat King Cole, and the like? The CD package for this album inexplicably shows pictures of those and other singers known for their popular holiday hits, but as the title indicates, that’s not what the 30-track program offers. The focus is on doo-wop (and R&B, rock, and pop) that originally appeared between 1949 (the Ames Brothers’ take on “Winter Wonderland”) and 1963 (the Midnighters’ “Christmas Time for Everybody but Me,” the Stompers’ “Stompin’ Around the Xmas Tree,” the Classic Four’s “Early Christmas,” and the Platters’ “Auld Lang Syne”).
Little if any of this material has been widely anthologized and nearly all of it would be hard to find elsewhere. There are a few clunkers, like the 4 Seasons’ “Jungle Bells” and Jan & Dean’s “Frosty the Snowman,” but many of the selections in this anthology – including some from artists you’ve almost certainly never heard of – are strong indeed.
Jeff Burger’s website, byjeffburger.com, contains five decades’ worth of music reviews, interviews, and commentary. His books include Dylan on Dylan: Interviews and Encounters, Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon, Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen: Interviews and Encounters, and Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches, and Encounters.
