One Sunday afternoon in 1971 I was bored out of my mind and started fiddling with a radio receiver my father built from a kit. Randomly scrolling up and down the dial, I came across this amazing and baffling piece of music. It was all instrumental and combined electric guitar, drums, bass, and keyboards with orchestral strings, horns, choir, and sound effects like motorcycles and who knows what. The song was already in progress when I came upon it. I listened until the end, ecstatically captivated by its creativity, diverse sound world, and melodic/compositional qualities. But the DJ never said the name of the song or the band's name. I was furious! They must have announced it before the song and didn't think to reiterate it ... Wanker. The following year, my 8th grade music teacher played us Pink Floyd's album Ummagumma as an example of "drug music." (Oddly, she referred to it as that, not in condemnation, but just sort of as a fact, as if "drug music" were a genre.) That was my first conscious introduction to Pink Floyd. I remember being confused by the experimental stuff on Ummagumma but I was intrigued. When my older brother went to college and came home to play me Dark Side in 1974, that's when Pink Floyd really hooked me. I started buying up their back catalog. Imagine my surprise and delight when I put on Atom Heart Mother for the first time (some years after I first heard Dark Side) and was reunited with that mystery song that I had heard back in '71. It's still a favorite of mine. One of the shining peaks of PF's career, IMHO. Thanks for the video!
my two daughters, my late wife and myself all love this album. weve been playing it regularly since the 1990s. it also made great playing at wendys funeral. timeless transending masterpiece.
This era of PF has always fascinated me...a lot of people write off what Waters and co. were doing at this time. But songs like Fat Old Sun and Grantchester Meadows showcase the true spirit of the band and are criminally overlooked by the casual fan.
Best way to put it,while others scream for money or the wall,I wanna hear Cymbaline lol...thats the floyd I love,of course with all the madness as well.... Just like how dude broke down several species of small furries...fascinating!!😁✌️🍻
Lot's of other early PF fans here - good to see! I also loved Fat Old Sun with Dave's high, wispy cloud-like voice, and Grandchester Meadows must have been done when Roger had a rare episode of loving life.
I love this period. Listening to them live during this time is gold. So many great concerts on youtube and their live versions are awesome. There are at least 2 very different versions of Fat Old Sun and both are great. Fascinating to listen to how they evolved over time. The More soundtrack has so many great songs they played lived as well.
@@annamariaisland1960 Early Waters songs and lyrics are a very different experience. I have no problem with his later messages, but I love that we have a lot of earlier stuff where his inspiration was just making something that fit a movie's soundtrack. His songs like Green is the Colour and Cymbaline just sound beautiful with lovely imagery. I don't know how he looks back on those now, but I think he could have written any kind of music with any type of lyrics. He was quite theatrical and would adapt his work to the script.
you do not often see documentaries and history around this album. Great stuff! Some total gems. Summer 68 is one best musical pieces on the album in my humble opinion and likely the most ambitious
I own a documentary DVD about the album, with lots of interviews with Ron Geesin. (He has also written a book about the making of AHM, called "Flaming Pie".)
@@fabrikk60 Appreciated.I would love to see that, Atom Hearted mother is a brilliant thing. In my haphazard manner of understanding music. one farts around summer 68 try to learn the music
Undoubtedly their most adventurous and experimental work and one of their best albums, a masterpiece. Summer ‘68 is a real gem and probably is their most overlooked song
Agreed! It’s personally my favourite album of theirs. And I’d go as far to say Summer ‘68 is their best pop song. Written by Wright no less. RIP Rick 🖤🖤🖤
Such an insightful, well-researched, and well-edited video, thanks for this great presentation on an often underrated and overlooked era of Floyd's history!
The mention to the Brazilian TV commercial of Banco Nacional was absolutely astonishing to me. Not only because I have no idea how this info reached you rael, but also due to the affective memories it resembles on me. I was 11 and the program sponsored by the bank was nothing less than the main TV news program in Brazil. Congrats for the accuracy.
"I was 11 and the program sponsored by the bank was nothing less than the main TV news program in Brazil" Me too. A huge fan of the albums from 1968 to 1975.
I used to play this on repeat 24 hrs a day. Found myself in the kitchen having breakfast coincidentally making the same kitchen background noises. Love this album.
Thanks so much for this! As a teenager AHM was my favourite album. While it's been eclipsed in my heart a few times since then I still adore it, and it's great to see it given such an in-depth and loving assessment, with lots of surrounding context even a Floyd obsessive like me wasn't aware of.
Outstanding video! It's amazing how people that produce videos like this are able to dig up such rare film footage to accompany the story. Well done, and thank you.
@@progrockdocs Thanks from a fellow member of that minority. Love the 68-71 era more than any other - especially those rare one-off live shows including music from More and Obscured by Clouds. Great video!
It was a weird time for the band’s concerts! This was the time of “The Man and the Journey” tours! Mixing the old songs, (with new names), and their newest songs from UMMAGUMMA and Atom Heart! I would have loved to seen these concerts!
Absolutely brilliant work! I feel a kindred bond with all the cool, mellow, and respectful fans responding to your amazing efforts. After 45 years I think I've seen it all and you create something that takes me back to those early days of awe and discovery! Thank you!!!
Excellent video; I love this exploratory period of Floyd with its mix of cosmic and pastoral, you threaded various projects from this period into a very satisfying chronological narrative!
To have these is miraculous. I became a fan/addict in 1979 and bought everything available then and then listened and read everything I could find from that point. As we know, they were a secretive bunch back in the day, but now we've got lots of stuff to wade through!!! Love it a lot!! Pink Floyd was my religion, philosophy and political training as a youth!
@@progrockdocs 🤣🤣I dont thing Roger Dodger was coming down on the side of facism and opression!! More lets stop the killing and find a better way. Dont thing he's changed much.
I've played this record (record!) my dad bought in '70, the year i was born, the day before yesterday after at least 5 years. I didn't look up Pink Floyd anywhere online. Now this doc pops up..
This is absolutely wonderful. Jam packed with information, knowledge, humour and enthusiasm, and full of things I didn't know before! Every second of this documentary was an absolute joy (and I love AHM) so massive thanks. And didn't Rick Wright's voice sound incredibly like Syd's?
I saw Pink Floyd only once , at the Fillmore East. NYC , Sunday night 9/27/70 they were doing the AHM tour , no opening band, brought their own Quad PA ..did at lot of the early stuff as well. pre DSOTM..
@@putzengiler It's what the comments are for. You are right in telling people of the incredible times that you've had. I first saw them in the mid 1980s. Not quite the same vintage, but good enough to still remember. fondly.
It was 1977, I was introduced to Dark Side by a friend. He then turned me onto ATM, UmmaGumma and Meddle. I fell in love with ATM ... Fat Old Sun is still on my Spotify. Many a "dreamy" listen to Alan's Breakfast ... always a favorite. Great commentary on the pastoral quality of this record.
I was privileged to be at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music in 1970 where they performed Atom Heart Mother for the first time with a choir. I remember it well late at night. I was only 16 and used to take the album to play at school every day. I could never understand why it's so underrated and scoffed at by the band. The album cover really consummates the concept of the album
I love this album as it's the prototype for Meddle and DSOM - it led them towards the massive success they became. I agree that Ron's inclusion on the title track is fantastic and although it was a nightmare to put together, the imperfect coming together of the various strands towards the end is my favourite part of the album. Great video btw - always nice to hear new insights into an old classic!
"The Body" is a great film. I watched it as a Biology undergraduate student in London many decades ago and the music is what made it so memorable. I had the Waters/Geesin soundtrack album on vinyl but it got lost in a house move sadly.
I thought it was so cool towards the end when he talked about the song "If" and said that it would have worked better if it had been split up into different parts. That's what Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets does (which works out brilliantly) they begin playing "If" and then launch into some of the epic parts of Atom Heart Mother and end it with the rest of "If". There was just so much creativity that went into this album, and so much beauty. It's just one of those albums that you listen to, but can sort of also see inside your mind. One of my top five PF albums, and definitely one I have listened to more than most of their other albums.
@@fabrikk60 Yes, I agree. I think that Atom Heart Mother isn't a perfect album, but there are just so many incredibly awesome pieces built into it that you end up loving it as a whole. But for sure, Nick's band extracted the best parts.
Atom Heart Mother is a masterwork. The fact that the second side songs never got radio airplay in the US is a travesty, and, tragically, most of them grew up with 'Dark Side', as their initiation into 'Floyd. I like heavy metal, but the horns, chello, and chorus in this amazing piece of triumphal musicianship, are absolutely unique. Thank you for this documentary.
As a Brazilian, I still vividly recall the Summer of '68 airing before the "Jornal Nacional," leaving an indelible mark on my mind. This gave rise to various urban legends. Alongside this, there was another related program on the same channel, a series of short documentaries, featuring an opening soundtrack from a movie. Many people claimed it was Floyd, but it took me a while to uncover the truth - it was actually "Freedom of Expression" from the movie Vanishing Point.
@@amigodalua nossa, q legal, eu não vejo tv há séculos, mas é interessante saber que o pessoal decidiu conservar um tema tão enraizado na mente das pessoas. Aliás, eu ainda lembro q faz um tempão a globo tb tinha mudado muito o arranjo do freedom of expression pro globo reporter, mas mantendo a mesma composição.
Man, thank you so much. Started following you after seeing some of the Gabriel-era Genesis docs you made which are incredible. However, I feel like I have been waiting my whole life for this one. An absolute treat.
Holy cow, what a greatly done short documentary. Much better artistic quality than anything on Netflix and whatnot. Thanks for this one and also for presenting AHM in a interesting and creative way. Such a great album deserves a top notch presentation. Cheers from Sweden.
Watch Zabriskie Point yourself and make up your own mind. One of the best and most original endings (both visual and musical) of any film I have ever seen.
This is the toughest period of Floyd for me to get into (post psyche but pre Meddle) it always felt like a lot of nonsense to me. With age im coming around. Thanks RaelNYC you're an incredible creative talent, thank you and God bless you 🙏
@@kevhead1525it's not nonsense, you just don't have the ear for it. No artist puts out nonsense. They hear something in it but may be disatisfied with it.
Yes. It also had a lot of material the Floyd had recorded for the film but was not used, plus the songs of the other performers featured in the movie like Jerry Garcia.
Excellent job on an album that's very special to me too. I've read all the books and everything I've ever been able to get my hands on, and I still learned things! Very high-quality work!
Omg, as a huge pink floyd fan who's really enjoyed your documentaries about genesis I was so excited to see this!!!! Well done again! This was just about absolute treat to watch, seriously
Brilliant job! I thoroughly enjoyed this in-depth look at one of my favorite records of all time. "Atom Heart Mother" holds a special place in my heart, and I feel a sort of kinship with it. I, too, grew from an embryo, ultimately to be released in 1970. And though I have undoubtedly been viewed at times by my creators as a failed experiment, I have also managed to withstand the test of time. 😂☮
A brilliant dive into the story of this project. The input of talented creators from outside Floyd elevated what could have been a mess. The "pict" provided some fantastic auralscapes. If Alldis improved the choir parts as said he a real unsung hero. The initial theme by Gilmour was beautiful, but not enough to carry 20+ minutes. In a time with lousy lo-fi equipment everywhere, I don't think this was heard by the public as intended. Only a bit later, when better equipment was available, is that the world rediscovered this important piece. And for me that album was the precursor of my taste for Oldfield's Ommadawn.
I had a cassette back in 1990 that I borrowed off a friend and it had the live tracks from Ummagumma on one but the other side it had the Embryo track also. I really liked that track, so glad you mentioned it here and gave it a back story. A forgotten Floyd gem.
Thanks for sharing, a great vide, this episode has some rare footage and still photos, not to mention the nod to the 'Summer Of '68' brass section that was used for the Brazilian 'Banco Nacional' ad in the early 1970s. Being Brazilian myself and the fact that in my late teens and early 20s the Floyd were my favorite band means this was an especially pleasant surprise.
This album, plus Meddle, were the same, in the sense that very, very late at night we used to trip out on the first side and then, the next morning, side 2 would gently provide a smooth landing for our chemically-induced voyages. I've always felt that Floyd had this in mind when they made these albums. I wouldn't change a thing on either album.
Just received my Atom Heart Mother throw blanket, along with a throw blanket of DSOTM. I always loved the covers of both albums and obviously the music. Great mini documentary of a great Pink Floyd album 👍🐄
I'm glad I'm not the only one who still loves and appreciates this wonderful album and indeed most, if not all, Pink Floyd music from this, their now largely forgotten 'pastoral' era. This documentary is brilliant, knowledgeable, insightful and packed with rare or previously unseen images of the band members from the period. But why the greyed out images at 26:00 minutes? Thanks so much for this great work.
I had to blur out the images because the guy who took the photos (50 years ago as a teenager) complained I had used them without paying him. I wonder what his teenage self would think if he could see into the future?
I bought a British Import of Atom Heart Mother back in the early 1970's and the quality of the recording is excellent. As much as Roger and David today dismiss this as rubbish, in my opinion it is a fine album with many high points. The title track has a haunting quality plus songs on side 2 are overlooked in the Pink Floyd cannon. Roger has performed If live, first time on his first solo tour in the 80's that I attended in Buffalo, NY. David resurrected Fat Old Sun on his On An Island Tour in 2006 with Rick in tow that I saw in Toronto. Summer of 68' is an excellent song by Rick. The last song by Nick is a fun easy laid back listen and even though some may think it is filler, I think it is nice ending to the album.
I love all the songs. I don't there is any one song created solely by Nick. Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast is credited to all 4 members and I don't see how Nick would do that on his own. I certainly don't think of that as filler.
Thank you so much for posting this. So many memories. This was the first serious piece of music I can recall being able to identify with. I was about ten years old at the time of its release and my hearing it for the first time. A time in my life of many new discoveries some good some not so.. The music brought much comfort to me and was something I'd treasure throughout life.... Thanks.
probably my favourite - genius album, adventurous and imaginative! PF at their prime (and yeah I love everything they did up to and including Animals - a different kind of love for Wall and Final Cut, but I do like them, especially the latter).
I recall getting the vinyl version of AHM in my late teen years, then on CD a few years later. I liked the early years of the band, which gets no radio play except on obscure radio stations at night. A true fan would appreciate that music. I wish that the Alan Aldridge work was available. He was a great graphic illustrator, and Gilmore was at his gallery show a dozen years ago.
I've already watched the original upload, but now that it's reuploaded, I'm gonna watch it again. Why not, eh? It *is* my favourite album of all time after all. You did an incredibly good job with this documentary, and that's coming from someone who has tried doing the same two years ago and gave up due to exhaustion due to all the information I was finding.
Excellent presentation of a very interesting and underdocumented period in the band's history. Great work succinctly making connections from Ummagumma to Zabriskie, The Body, and Embryo, and then on to Atom Heart Mother.
I’m stunned it took me so long to stumbled into this one. Loved your Genesis series and had been eagerly hoping AHM would get a similar treatment. I shall watch this one again and again! Loved it!!
Great work, as usual. Thank you. Trivia: In Bernardo Bertolucci's 1981 film, "La Tragedia di un Uomo Ridicolo" ("Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man"), you'll find painted reproductions of the cover photo (cow looking over her shoulder) in a dairy farm. A small one (~1,5x1,5 m) hangs in the meeting room, while a huge one (~4x4 m) is out in the courtyard of the facility. Whether they were an actual accessory of the cooperative dairy in Piadena or specially reproduced for the film, it is unknown. Obviously, Italians were especially fond of British bands labeled under progressive rock. As regards Italian composers: In Ennio Morricone's film and non-film work, there's music not far from Geesin's and Pink Floyd's territory, rather lost in his vast cinematic discography and overshadowed by Spaghetti Westerns. On the same line, I'd also recommend Egisto Macchi's records of library music, overall quite interesting and worth researching. _(Same comment, copied from the original upload.)_
My worn copy of Atom Heart Mother (I still have it) was played on my distinctly lo-fi Collaro record deck connected to the pick-up input of an old Murphy valve radio during my youth. At the exact point where the train thunders past, the stylus stuck and the train seemed to pass endlessly. It was only after a few minutes later I realised it wasn't intentional. And that was without smoking anything!
Had a vinyl copy of 'The Body' loved it - long lost in an old house's attic somewhere after divorce along with 'wonderwall music " by george harrison 😢 - where you from Liverpool area - love all your documentaries thanks for taking the time to produce them
The final track on at the end of side b doesn’t get enough credit. David Gilmour’s guitar melodies over Rick wrights progression. The emotional build up as the track develops is astounding.
AHM was my very first exposure to Pink Floyd. It was a live version on a PBS broadcast of Floyd playing in the KQED TV studios on April 29, 1970. I had never heard anything like it and immediately started my Floyd collection with Ummagumma. The studio sides still leave me cold but the live sides blew me away. I would play Careful With That Axe, Eugene for my friends and crank the volume right before Roger’s bloodcurdling scream. I’m definitely a mid-career Floyd aficionado and seldom listen to anything post-DSOM. I recommend the KQED broadcast if you can find it on RUclips. Great live versions of AHM, Cymbaline, Grantchester, Green is the Color, Careful with that Axe and Set the Controls. Thanks tons for documenting a period of the band’s history that is criminally overlooked.
AHM was My first Forage into Floyd beyond DSOTM & the WALL, love this period of the band. "More" Soundtrack (Fav) and Obscured by Clouds r not mentioned here surprisingly.. Great Doc!
Atom Heart Mother is easily one of my favorite Floyd albums, especially the suite. Never understood why the band disowned it like they did.
Def one of my faves too. At least it’s the PF album I listen to the most.
They should disowned The Wall.
Same here - my favourite Floyd album in fact.
@@greggasiorowski1326 Absolutely not. It's far from my favorite but The Wall is still fantastic
@@soarel325
Complete rubbish.
One Sunday afternoon in 1971 I was bored out of my mind and started fiddling with a radio receiver my father built from a kit. Randomly scrolling up and down the dial, I came across this amazing and baffling piece of music. It was all instrumental and combined electric guitar, drums, bass, and keyboards with orchestral strings, horns, choir, and sound effects like motorcycles and who knows what. The song was already in progress when I came upon it. I listened until the end, ecstatically captivated by its creativity, diverse sound world, and melodic/compositional qualities. But the DJ never said the name of the song or the band's name. I was furious! They must have announced it before the song and didn't think to reiterate it ... Wanker.
The following year, my 8th grade music teacher played us Pink Floyd's album Ummagumma as an example of "drug music." (Oddly, she referred to it as that, not in condemnation, but just sort of as a fact, as if "drug music" were a genre.) That was my first conscious introduction to Pink Floyd. I remember being confused by the experimental stuff on Ummagumma but I was intrigued.
When my older brother went to college and came home to play me Dark Side in 1974, that's when Pink Floyd really hooked me. I started buying up their back catalog. Imagine my surprise and delight when I put on Atom Heart Mother for the first time (some years after I first heard Dark Side) and was reunited with that mystery song that I had heard back in '71. It's still a favorite of mine. One of the shining peaks of PF's career, IMHO.
Thanks for the video!
Cool story
That happened to me with Zeppelin.
what a crazy story about the teacher casually telling the kids at school - oh and that's drug music :))
What a heady mix. home brew receivers playing envelope pushing music. Life doesn't get much better than that!
… what a cool story🧡
my two daughters, my late wife and myself all love this album. weve been playing it regularly since the 1990s. it also made great playing at wendys funeral. timeless transending masterpiece.
Summer '68 is an underrated epic. Fat Old Sun live is cathartic.
Love those tunes. Played the hell lout of those over my headphones.
Atom Heart Mother is one of Pink Floyd's most underrated albums. Thanks for making this!
No-one EVER underrated Atom Heart Mother!! 😮
@@iananderson3799 What, besides the four members of the band?
@@fastcarsoldandnew Who better?
only for idiots, saying it is underrated is an idiotic thing in itself!
@@iananderson3799 you aren't actually Ian Anderson, are you? :)
This era of PF has always fascinated me...a lot of people write off what Waters and co. were doing at this time. But songs like Fat Old Sun and Grantchester Meadows showcase the true spirit of the band and are criminally overlooked by the casual fan.
Absolutely!
Best way to put it,while others scream for money or the wall,I wanna hear Cymbaline lol...thats the floyd I love,of course with all the madness as well....
Just like how dude broke down several species of small furries...fascinating!!😁✌️🍻
Lot's of other early PF fans here - good to see! I also loved Fat Old Sun with Dave's high, wispy cloud-like voice, and Grandchester Meadows must have been done when Roger had a rare episode of loving life.
I love this period. Listening to them live during this time is gold. So many great concerts on youtube and their live versions are awesome. There are at least 2 very different versions of Fat Old Sun and both are great. Fascinating to listen to how they evolved over time. The More soundtrack has so many great songs they played lived as well.
@@annamariaisland1960 Early Waters songs and lyrics are a very different experience. I have no problem with his later messages, but I love that we have a lot of earlier stuff where his inspiration was just making something that fit a movie's soundtrack. His songs like Green is the Colour and Cymbaline just sound beautiful with lovely imagery. I don't know how he looks back on those now, but I think he could have written any kind of music with any type of lyrics. He was quite theatrical and would adapt his work to the script.
you do not often see documentaries and history around this album.
Great stuff! Some total gems.
Summer 68 is one best musical pieces on the album in my humble opinion and likely the most ambitious
Dave:How do u feel. .
Rick: how do u feeeelllll..
Yup,I gotcha lol..
I agree, have always loved the vibe of the tracks on this album.
I own a documentary DVD about the album, with lots of interviews with Ron Geesin. (He has also written a book about the making of AHM, called "Flaming Pie".)
@@fabrikk60 Beauty is tha black lake
Let me sail away....lol..good song..😁✌️🥃
@@fabrikk60 Appreciated.I would love to see that, Atom Hearted mother is a brilliant thing. In my haphazard
manner of understanding music. one farts around summer 68 try to learn the music
Summer '68 is an example of genius pop songwriting to me.
that 'Beach Boy' part... goosebumps every time. See-Saw is another example.
Undoubtedly their most adventurous and experimental work and one of their best albums, a masterpiece. Summer ‘68 is a real gem and probably is their most overlooked song
Agreed! It’s personally my favourite album of theirs. And I’d go as far to say Summer ‘68 is their best pop song. Written by Wright no less. RIP Rick 🖤🖤🖤
I remember buying this album as my first ever self-bought LP in the 70ies. So many good memories. I still love it.
Such an insightful, well-researched, and well-edited video, thanks for this great presentation on an often underrated and overlooked era of Floyd's history!
Thanks man. I agree, even the band themselves write this era off.
The mention to the Brazilian TV commercial of Banco Nacional was absolutely astonishing to me. Not only because I have no idea how this info reached you rael, but also due to the affective memories it resembles on me. I was 11 and the program sponsored by the bank was nothing less than the main TV news program in Brazil. Congrats for the accuracy.
"I was 11 and the program sponsored by the bank was nothing less than the main TV news program in Brazil" Me too. A huge fan of the albums from 1968 to 1975.
Thank you! I learned a LOT. Atom Heart Mother is one of my absolute favorite Floyd albums.
I used to play this on repeat 24 hrs a day. Found myself in the kitchen having breakfast coincidentally making the same kitchen background noises.
Love this album.
Thanks so much for this! As a teenager AHM was my favourite album. While it's been eclipsed in my heart a few times since then I still adore it, and it's great to see it given such an in-depth and loving assessment, with lots of surrounding context even a Floyd obsessive like me wasn't aware of.
You can never have enough Floyd.
Outstanding video! It's amazing how people that produce videos like this are able to dig up such rare film footage to accompany the story. Well done, and thank you.
My favourite time period of my favourite band! You have knocked it out of the park with this. Outstanding! Thanks so much for sharing!
It's my favourite period too, but I think we are a tiny minority. The views for this video will be a fraction of my other ones.
@@progrockdocsPre-DSOTM Pink Floyd is easily my favorite 😍
@@progrockdocs Thanks from a fellow member of that minority. Love the 68-71 era more than any other - especially those rare one-off live shows including music from More and Obscured by Clouds. Great video!
@@progrockdocs Hope you've seen a Nick Mason show!
It was a weird time for the band’s concerts! This was the time of “The Man and the Journey” tours! Mixing the old songs, (with new names), and their newest songs from UMMAGUMMA and Atom Heart! I would have loved to seen these concerts!
The opening with Lulubelle manifesting in the feild goes really hard
Absolutely brilliant work! I feel a kindred bond with all the cool, mellow, and respectful fans responding to your amazing efforts. After 45 years I think I've seen it all and you create something that takes me back to those early days of awe and discovery! Thank you!!!
I don't think any of us will stop learning new things about this wonderful era in music.
Excellent video; I love this exploratory period of Floyd with its mix of cosmic and pastoral, you threaded various projects from this period into a very satisfying chronological narrative!
"cosmic and pastoral" - you sum the era up nicely there!
To have these is miraculous. I became a fan/addict in 1979 and bought everything available then and then listened and read everything I could find from that point. As we know, they were a secretive bunch back in the day, but now we've got lots of stuff to wade through!!! Love it a lot!! Pink Floyd was my religion, philosophy and political training as a youth!
Political training? Not at the 'Hammers' rally I hope! 😉
@@progrockdocs 🤣🤣I dont thing Roger Dodger was coming down on the side of facism and opression!! More lets stop the killing and find a better way. Dont thing he's changed much.
I've played this record (record!) my dad bought in '70, the year i was born, the day before yesterday after at least 5 years. I didn't look up Pink Floyd anywhere online. Now this doc pops up..
Other people have made similar comments.
Have you not figured it out yet?
The stuff in your house is listening to you.
Years ago I would drive through the snowy Vermont countryside and play AHM start to finish. A great soundscape. Love this album.
Most people comment here about listening to it doing acid, but I prefer your story more. Unless, of course, you were tripping whilst driving....?!
@@progrockdocs No way.
This is absolutely wonderful. Jam packed with information, knowledge, humour and enthusiasm, and full of things I didn't know before! Every second of this documentary was an absolute joy (and I love AHM) so massive thanks. And didn't Rick Wright's voice sound incredibly like Syd's?
I saw Pink Floyd only once , at the Fillmore East. NYC , Sunday night 9/27/70 they were doing the AHM tour , no opening band, brought their own Quad PA ..did at lot of the early stuff as well. pre DSOTM..
Thousands here, including myself, are jealous!
@@progrockdocs sorry about that, wanted to share that much..
@@putzengiler It's what the comments are for. You are right in telling people of the incredible times that you've had. I first saw them in the mid 1980s. Not quite the same vintage, but good enough to still remember. fondly.
It was 1977, I was introduced to Dark Side by a friend. He then turned me onto ATM, UmmaGumma and Meddle. I fell in love with ATM ... Fat Old Sun is still on my Spotify. Many a "dreamy" listen to Alan's Breakfast ... always a favorite. Great commentary on the pastoral quality of this record.
I was privileged to be at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music in 1970 where they performed Atom Heart Mother for the first time with a choir. I remember it well late at night. I was only 16 and used to take the album to play at school every day. I could never understand why it's so underrated and scoffed at by the band. The album cover really consummates the concept of the album
I love this album as it's the prototype for Meddle and DSOM - it led them towards the massive success they became. I agree that Ron's inclusion on the title track is fantastic and although it was a nightmare to put together, the imperfect coming together of the various strands towards the end is my favourite part of the album.
Great video btw - always nice to hear new insights into an old classic!
"The Body" is a great film. I watched it as a Biology undergraduate student in London many decades ago and the music is what made it so memorable. I had the Waters/Geesin soundtrack album on vinyl but it got lost in a house move sadly.
As a lifelong Floyd aficionado, I can tell you this was the best Floyd-related documentary I have ever seen. Well done.
Cheers mate. I agree it's quite a treat as an Atom Heart fan to get 30 minutes devoted to it!
You did my favorite Pink Floyd album justice!!! Thank you, man!!!
I thought it was so cool towards the end when he talked about the song "If" and said that it would have worked better if it had been split up into different parts. That's what Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets does (which works out brilliantly) they begin playing "If" and then launch into some of the epic parts of Atom Heart Mother and end it with the rest of "If". There was just so much creativity that went into this album, and so much beauty. It's just one of those albums that you listen to, but can sort of also see inside your mind. One of my top five PF albums, and definitely one I have listened to more than most of their other albums.
I liked how Nick's band somewhat trims the avant garde indulgences off of AHM, while strengthening its main melodic parts. For me, it's improved.
@@fabrikk60 Yes, I agree. I think that Atom Heart Mother isn't a perfect album, but there are just so many incredibly awesome pieces built into it that you end up loving it as a whole. But for sure, Nick's band extracted the best parts.
The most underrated album of all time.
Atom Heart Mother is a masterwork. The fact that the second side songs never got radio airplay in the US is a travesty, and, tragically, most of them grew up with 'Dark Side', as their initiation into 'Floyd. I like heavy metal, but the horns, chello, and chorus in this amazing piece of triumphal musicianship, are absolutely unique. Thank you for this documentary.
As a Brazilian, I still vividly recall the Summer of '68 airing before the "Jornal Nacional," leaving an indelible mark on my mind. This gave rise to various urban legends. Alongside this, there was another related program on the same channel, a series of short documentaries, featuring an opening soundtrack from a movie. Many people claimed it was Floyd, but it took me a while to uncover the truth - it was actually "Freedom of Expression" from the movie Vanishing Point.
As 10 primeiras notas de Summer 68 no piano são usadas até hoje como tema do Jornal Nacional com um arranjo diferente.
@@amigodalua nossa, q legal, eu não vejo tv há séculos, mas é interessante saber que o pessoal decidiu conservar um tema tão enraizado na mente das pessoas. Aliás, eu ainda lembro q faz um tempão a globo tb tinha mudado muito o arranjo do freedom of expression pro globo reporter, mas mantendo a mesma composição.
AHM takes me back to a strange time in my life. Saw their 71 tour in support of that album. Wonderful album!
Man, thank you so much. Started following you after seeing some of the Gabriel-era Genesis docs you made which are incredible. However, I feel like I have been waiting my whole life for this one. An absolute treat.
I've been waiting my whole life to make it! I finally got to show others what this album looks like in my head.
Holy cow, what a greatly done short documentary. Much better artistic quality than anything on Netflix and whatnot. Thanks for this one and also for presenting AHM in a interesting and creative way. Such a great album deserves a top notch presentation. Cheers from Sweden.
Tack för din komplimang
@@progrockdocs I see you know some Swedish 😃👍Anyway thanks for the goldmine, now I know how to spend my summer evenings.
Watch Zabriskie Point yourself and make up your own mind. One of the best and most original endings (both visual and musical) of any film I have ever seen.
This is the toughest period of Floyd for me to get into (post psyche but pre Meddle) it always felt like a lot of nonsense to me. With age im coming around. Thanks RaelNYC you're an incredible creative talent, thank you and God bless you 🙏
Fact is alot of it was nonsense and they admitted it. Filler and contractual obligations. But within this middle period some cool stuff was made.
@@kevhead1525it's not nonsense, you just don't have the ear for it.
No artist puts out nonsense. They hear something in it but may be disatisfied with it.
A tremendous documentary, very informative and entertaining. Always loved Funky Dung and Summer Of 68. Thank you for this, Rael.
I think one of the more interesting things you can see in the videos is the camaraderie of the band, particularly as opposed to later developments.
I have a triple CD of the Zabriskie sessions. Love all the music. Crumbling land, rain in the country etc
Yes. It also had a lot of material the Floyd had recorded for the film but was not used, plus the songs of the other performers featured in the movie like Jerry Garcia.
The piano pieces played by Rick are a real highlight.
Excellent job on an album that's very special to me too. I've read all the books and everything I've ever been able to get my hands on, and I still learned things! Very high-quality work!
Omg, as a huge pink floyd fan who's really enjoyed your documentaries about genesis I was so excited to see this!!!! Well done again! This was just about absolute treat to watch, seriously
More Floyd coming your way bro.
Totally agree 👍
Thank you for uploading really interesting and entertaining.
Your PF docs are wonderfully made. Exceptional. Thanks !!!
Brilliant job! I thoroughly enjoyed this in-depth look at one of my favorite records of all time. "Atom Heart Mother" holds a special place in my heart, and I feel a sort of kinship with it. I, too, grew from an embryo, ultimately to be released in 1970. And though I have undoubtedly been viewed at times by my creators as a failed experiment, I have also managed to withstand the test of time. 😂☮
Surly sir, you are like a fine wine? One that gets better with age? 🍷
The cow was the perfect simile/metaphor for the concept of reciprocation and regeneration. Sweet
Your documentaries are amazing. Keep up the great work!!
This is the first ever PF album I heard as a young teenager. Love it and listen to it until this day.
Man, this is an absolute genious documentary. Congrats on that, really, really awesome 👏
Thank you so much for uploading this documentary. As a great fan of PF I have learned a lot about one of my favourite band. Great stuff!
I love this album and was obsessed with it in my early twenties. Can’t wait to see the other vids as I love Genesis as well. Great job!
Wow… just wow. Beautifully done. Better than a book. If I was a good man, I’d understand the spaces between Floyd albums. You Sir, are a Good’ne.
Another masterpiece! Well, two, actually: AHM and your video!
A brilliant dive into the story of this project. The input of talented creators from outside Floyd elevated what could have been a mess. The "pict" provided some fantastic auralscapes. If Alldis improved the choir parts as said he a real unsung hero. The initial theme by Gilmour was beautiful, but not enough to carry 20+ minutes. In a time with lousy lo-fi equipment everywhere, I don't think this was heard by the public as intended. Only a bit later, when better equipment was available, is that the world rediscovered this important piece. And for me that album was the precursor of my taste for Oldfield's Ommadawn.
I had a cassette back in 1990 that I borrowed off a friend and it had the live tracks from Ummagumma on one but the other side it had the Embryo track also. I really liked that track, so glad you mentioned it here and gave it a back story. A forgotten Floyd gem.
Thanks for sharing, a great vide, this episode has some rare footage and still photos, not to mention the nod to the 'Summer Of '68' brass section that was used for the Brazilian 'Banco Nacional' ad in the early 1970s. Being Brazilian myself and the fact that in my late teens and early 20s the Floyd were my favorite band means this was an especially pleasant surprise.
I'd not come across that ad before - Rick must have been laughing all the way to the bank!
This is a fantastic documentary.
This album, plus Meddle, were the same, in the sense that very, very late at night we used to trip out on the first side and then, the next morning, side 2 would gently provide a smooth landing for our chemically-induced voyages. I've always felt that Floyd had this in mind when they made these albums. I wouldn't change a thing on either album.
What a fantastic documentary! Really well researched. Atom Heart Mother is my favourite Floyd album since first hearing it in 1990.
Oohh Floyd! We must have the same (very good) taste in music, following your Genesis docu's. 👏👏👍👍👏👏
Thanks. I really enjoyed this documentary. You covered a very unreported period for Pink Floyd and still managed to maintain the band's mystique.
It's still home for me. It's an incredible and timeless album. Thank you.
Wow, what a wonderful and awesome review of this underrated Floyd album. TIme for some breakfast now before milking the cows! OOh AAAh!
Fascinating, many thanks for your hard work bringing enlightenment to this period of Floyds work.
Just received my Atom Heart Mother throw blanket, along with a throw blanket of DSOTM. I always loved the covers of both albums and obviously the music. Great mini documentary of a great Pink Floyd album 👍🐄
I'm glad I'm not the only one who still loves and appreciates this wonderful album and indeed most, if not all, Pink Floyd music from this, their now largely forgotten 'pastoral' era. This documentary is brilliant, knowledgeable, insightful and packed with rare or previously unseen images of the band members from the period. But why the greyed out images at 26:00 minutes? Thanks so much for this great work.
I had to blur out the images because the guy who took the photos (50 years ago as a teenager) complained I had used them without paying him. I wonder what his teenage self would think if he could see into the future?
@@progrockdocs Very unfortunate indeed.
I bought a British Import of Atom Heart Mother back in the early 1970's and the quality of the recording is excellent. As much as Roger and David today dismiss this as rubbish, in my opinion it is a fine album with many high points. The title track has a haunting quality plus songs on side 2 are overlooked in the Pink Floyd cannon. Roger has performed If live, first time on his first solo tour in the 80's that I attended in Buffalo, NY. David resurrected Fat Old Sun on his On An Island Tour in 2006 with Rick in tow that I saw in Toronto. Summer of 68' is an excellent song by Rick. The last song by Nick is a fun easy laid back listen and even though some may think it is filler, I think it is nice ending to the album.
I love all the songs. I don't there is any one song created solely by Nick. Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast is credited to all 4 members and I don't see how Nick would do that on his own. I certainly don't think of that as filler.
Thank you so much for posting this. So many memories. This was the first serious piece of music I can recall being able to identify with. I was about ten years old at the time of its release and my hearing it for the first time. A time in my life of many new discoveries some good some not so.. The music brought much comfort to me and was something I'd treasure throughout life.... Thanks.
Atom Heart Mother was my first Pink Floyd album, my introduction to Pink Floyd And I loved it!
probably my favourite - genius album, adventurous and imaginative! PF at their prime (and yeah I love everything they did up to and including Animals - a different kind of love for Wall and Final Cut, but I do like them, especially the latter).
I recall getting the vinyl version of AHM in my late teen years, then on CD a few years later. I liked the early years of the band, which gets no radio play except on obscure radio stations at night.
A true fan would appreciate that music. I wish that the Alan Aldridge work was available. He was a great graphic illustrator, and Gilmore was at his gallery show a dozen years ago.
That Embryo gets me every time I listen to it.
Davids guitar on this is some of the nicest strat sound I've ever heard.
I just love David's voice and guitar. PERIOD.
If that means you don't like the rest of Floyd that's too bad. To each their own.
A charming video! I especially like your personal takes on the songs
Wow, this is an amazingly revealing documentary. Nice work!
I've already watched the original upload, but now that it's reuploaded, I'm gonna watch it again. Why not, eh? It *is* my favourite album of all time after all.
You did an incredibly good job with this documentary, and that's coming from someone who has tried doing the same two years ago and gave up due to exhaustion due to all the information I was finding.
Excellent presentation of a very interesting and underdocumented period in the band's history.
Great work succinctly making connections from Ummagumma to Zabriskie, The Body, and Embryo, and then on to Atom Heart Mother.
I’m stunned it took me so long to stumbled into this one. Loved your Genesis series and had been eagerly hoping AHM would get a similar treatment.
I shall watch this one again and again!
Loved it!!
That is some nice d mixing of those tracks as well. That is really intriguing. Thank you.
Free form radio station KZAP out of Sacramento played Atom Heart Mother the year it came out. I was 12. It changed me.
Crystal transparent album. Thank you for this brilliant documentary. Precious.
Soundtrack to our lives. Ticking away. Makes me feel so ooold...
20:48 In Italy too (in the 80s) they used to use a Pink Floyd song intro for the News ... and another for the weather forecast !!!!
Outstanding, the documentary AHM deserves 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 brilliant, thank you 👍🏻
This was great a ton of photos I have never seen before
Great work, as usual. Thank you.
Trivia: In Bernardo Bertolucci's 1981 film, "La Tragedia di un Uomo Ridicolo" ("Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man"), you'll find painted reproductions of the cover photo (cow looking over her shoulder) in a dairy farm. A small one (~1,5x1,5 m) hangs in the meeting room, while a huge one (~4x4 m) is out in the courtyard of the facility. Whether they were an actual accessory of the cooperative dairy in Piadena or specially reproduced for the film, it is unknown. Obviously, Italians were especially fond of British bands labeled under progressive rock.
As regards Italian composers: In Ennio Morricone's film and non-film work, there's music not far from Geesin's and Pink Floyd's territory, rather lost in his vast cinematic discography and overshadowed by Spaghetti Westerns. On the same line, I'd also recommend Egisto Macchi's records of library music, overall quite interesting and worth researching.
_(Same comment, copied from the original upload.)_
I think you're right about Morricone.
Another informative and high quality video. Like you said, anyone who hasn’t listened to The Body’s soundtrack should certainly do so.
My worn copy of Atom Heart Mother (I still have it) was played on my distinctly lo-fi Collaro record deck connected to the pick-up input of an old Murphy valve radio during my youth. At the exact point where the train thunders past, the stylus stuck and the train seemed to pass endlessly. It was only after a few minutes later I realised it wasn't intentional. And that was without smoking anything!
Great analysis. I love this composition and think that it is greatly underrated.
Had a vinyl copy of 'The Body' loved it - long lost in an old house's attic somewhere after divorce along with 'wonderwall music " by george harrison 😢 - where you from Liverpool area - love all your documentaries thanks for taking the time to produce them
Chris Shaw's I Am The EggPod podcast did a great episode about Wonderwall Music.
Exceptionally put together and one of the best and most informative. Thanks a lot!!
The final track on at the end of side b doesn’t get enough credit.
David Gilmour’s guitar melodies over Rick wrights progression. The emotional build up as the track develops is astounding.
AHM was my very first exposure to Pink Floyd. It was a live version on a PBS broadcast of Floyd playing in the KQED TV studios on April 29, 1970. I had never heard anything like it and immediately started my Floyd collection with Ummagumma. The studio sides still leave me cold but the live sides blew me away. I would play Careful With That Axe, Eugene for my friends and crank the volume right before Roger’s bloodcurdling scream. I’m definitely a mid-career Floyd aficionado and seldom listen to anything post-DSOM. I recommend the KQED broadcast if you can find it on RUclips. Great live versions of AHM, Cymbaline, Grantchester, Green is the Color, Careful with that Axe and Set the Controls. Thanks tons for documenting a period of the band’s history that is criminally overlooked.
AHM was My first Forage into Floyd beyond DSOTM & the WALL, love this period of the band. "More" Soundtrack (Fav) and Obscured by Clouds r not mentioned here surprisingly.. Great Doc!
If I could only keep 2 Floyd albums, they'd be AHM and Relics.
This is a marvelous documentary
Lovely peek into one of my favorites. Thank you!
Thanks for this! Not my fav album by PF, but I love any learning I can do about them. Well done!