Listnin: Prog Rock and dreams of our youth: ATOM HEARTY MA

Are yew looking' at me bum?

Adam Dale, he was my best mate circa 1969-70. He was a ginga cool kid living in Welwyn Garden City with his beautiful art teacher mum. Adam with monkey ripple soled shoes said "Here listen to this". Pink Bloody Floyd! Not that Pink Floyd was then what it is today. No big inflatable pig to match inflating egos, big budgets and subsequent big-ego fall-outs. Now back to 1970, Adam knew I had a bad, bad secret aka a John Sebastian (with goofy tie-dye cover) album and a copy of “Bridge Over Trubled Waters”. He had “Trout Mask Replica”, vinyl by Matching Mole and Soft Machine. Get the picture? He was so cool, while I was still a wannabe. 

Belgo Geordie proud owner of a John Sebastian album

On first listening to Atom Heart Mother I was not impressed. No sir! I thought “what a by-product of playing with yourself!” Being a lad after all and expert on such matters. But shucks Adam-you left me with a life sentence of listening to this and loving it. It was experimental, is multi-layered, mood enhancing without illicit substances and in parts-it rocks. It is an album of two sides and the first "Atom Heart Mother" definitely puts the pomp in pomposity. However, that is no negative as it works well. In particular that unlike many "concept" albums of the late sixties/early seventies the guitar driven symphony of Floyd takes you on a meditation of soaring moods and even the added sounds of car engines, gunfire etc. combined with the choral to create a full piece that is satisfying to the ear and brain-not to mention test drive of whether the sound system can still do the business. I miss the days when it was a thrill to hear sound go from side to side, speaker to speaker as the floor vibrated and the needle threatened to jump of the vinyl and leave gouges that seemed to add fuzz to the whole atmosphere of the listening experience. The second side is a series of songs which work in the folk rock idiom. "If" is one of those best sun drenched acoustic songs of the sixties-like Nick Drake on that traditional one English summer's day of the year. Even "Alan's psychedelic breakfast" has you reaching for the marmalade.

This was the first Pink Floyd album I owned and has remained over time a firm favourite. It makes a good bookend with "Meddle" before the forces of the "Dark Side" gathered on the top of the pops concept album horizon. 

And the Hipgnosis cover is a classic in itself.  And below...Belgo Geordie after one thousand listenings of Atom Heart Mother...you know it makes sense...get some proper Floyd down ya...

And below...after one thousand listens it was bloody transformation inta Robert Plant like...