Atom Heart Mother (suite)
| "Atom Heart Mother" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Pink Floyd from the album Atom Heart Mother | |
| Published | World Copyrights |
| Released | 2 October 1970 (UK) 10 October 1970 (US) |
| Recorded | March-June 1970 Abbey Road, London |
| Genre | Symphonic rock |
| Length | 23:43 |
| Label | Harvest |
| Writer(s) |
David Gilmour Richard Wright Ron Geesin Roger Waters Nick Mason |
| Producer(s) | Pink Floyd, Norman Smith (executive producer) |
"Atom Heart Mother" is a six-part suite by the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, composed by all members of the band and Ron Geesin. It appeared on the Atom Heart Mother album in 1970, taking up the whole first side of the original vinyl record. It is Pink Floyd's longest uncut piece (the later "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", though longer, was split between two sides of Wish You Were Here). Pink Floyd performed it live between 1970 and 1972, occasionally with a brass section and choir in 1970-71.
Recording began with the drum and bass parts, recorded in one take for the entire suite, resulting in an inconsistent tempo throughout the song. Roger Waters and Nick Mason had to play for twenty-three minutes straight.
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.
The song was the last Pink Floyd composition which was credited as being co-written by someone outside the band prior to 1979 (not counting 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. Kubrick did, however, include the album cover in the film. It can be seen on a shelf in the music shop scene. Years later, Kubrick refused Roger Waters permission to use audio samples from his film 2001: A Space Odyssey on Waters' solo album Amused to Death.
The number was performed live without the involvement of any members of Pink Floyd for the first time in 36 years on 14 and 15 June 2008 by The Canticum Choir, with the Royal College of Music on brass, Caroline Dale on cello, Ron Geesin on piano, Andrea Beghi on drums, Nadir Morelli on bass, Federico Maremmi on guitar and Emanuele Borgi on the Hammond organ. David Gilmour joined the gig on the second night at Cadogan Hall playing his black Stratocaster for most of the track and lap steel guitar for the slide parts. It had been previously performed by a number of ensembles including the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris (CNSMDP) in March 2003 and the Seamus Band on 14 October 2005.
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