| Released | October 2, 1970 (UK) October 10, 1970 (US) |
| Recorded | March 2 - 24 and June 13 - July 17, 1970 |
| Genres | Progressive rock • orchestral rock |
| Studio | Abbey Road Studios |
| Length | 23:44 (total) 2:50 (I: Father's Shout) 2:33 (II: Breast Milky) 4:50 (III: Mother Fore) 5:15 (IV: Funky Dung) 2:28 (V: Mind Your Throats Please) 5:48 (VI: Remergence) |
| Label | Harvest |
| Songwriters | Roger Waters • David Gilmour • Richard Wright • Nick Mason • Ron Geesin |
| Producers | Pink Floyd • Norman Smith (executive producer) |
Overview[]
Info[]
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother Suite (Full Song)
- According to Mason, the drum and bass parts for the entire suite were recorded in one take, thus the wavering tempo in the song.
- The main argument regarding the song is at what time each part starts. Here is one of the many breakdowns
- Father's Shout - 0:00.00 - 5:25.66 - 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 into a viola and electric bass and organ solo. This is followed by a reverberating slide guitar solo.
- Breast Milky - 5:25.66 - 10:12.33 - Picking up directly after the last note of the guitar solo, this is a five-minute choir piece, backed by Wright's organ and Mason's drums.
- Mother Fore - 10:12.33 - 15:32.08 - A simple band jam session, somewhat similar to the one on "Echoes" and "Any Color You Like". This also contains the second, and much bluesier guitar solo, which quietens into an interesting chanting piece by the choir. Some of the chanting sounds distantly like "Tea, toast, coffee, yeah" and "Sa sa sa sa sa sausage rrrrrrrroast beef", possibly alluding to the album closer "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast," though this is likely only a fanciful interpretation. The song then slowly builds to another brass and drums section.
- Funky Dung - 15:32.08 - 17:43.29 - The first of the two 'noise' pieces of the song, this is essentially a lot of high-pitched noises. A distorted voice (Alan Parsons, the recording engineer) says "Here is a loud announcement!" about 10 seconds before the next section starts. The basic melody of this particular section was a modification of a slightly earlier work from the band's Zabriskie Point sessions.
- Mind Your Throats, Please - 17:43.29 - 19:49.69 - This is another 'noise' piece, but uses various instruments fading in and out, many of which are recognizable from earlier in the suite. The same brass part that opens the piece is heard over this section, culminating with Parsons' distorted voice shouting, "Silence in the studio!" before exploding into yet another brass and drums section, which then quietens into the next section.
- Remergence - 19:49.69 - 23:44.00 - A reprise of the viola solo, followed by a double layered guitar section reminiscent of the first slide solo. This all leads into a climactic ending with everything playing, and the choir singing, ending with a very long note from the choir and brass.
- 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 Women Heart", and Waters then decided to name the song "Atom Heart Mother".
- 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.