David Gilmour’s vocal is heavenly on “Fat Old Sun”, as is his guitar playing and the other instruments. I used to like this track more and still overall do, it’s just not so consistent. The poppier bits work better, as that seems to be what the song overall wants.

The vocals and keys seem like they’re trying to imitate the beautiful quietness of “If”. The reference to the Atom Heart Mother Suite is a bit much. “Summer ‘68” is a little messy, but it’s got a free spirit and some highlights. While there’s little decent competition, “If” is the best Pink Floyd song in between A Piper at the Gates of Dawn and The Dark Side of the Moon, except for Jugband. The lyrics pack a mean punch, “If I go insane, please don’t put your wires in my brain.” That particular lyric really caught me off guard the first time I heard this song. Unlike a track like “Jugband Blues”, it doesn’t escalate that much, which is perhaps a little unsettling as you’d expect it to more. There are great little classical guitar riffs and a deceptively simple nature.

While his vocals are usually lacking, he makes use of that rough exterior for a track about someone who seems insensitive and coarse. The track transitions well into “If”, a somber guitar ballad sung by Roger Waters. Every false ending just makes you want it to end more. This piece might’ve worked at five minutes at the most, but that’d be pushing it. There’s some good bits at the end, like the cello and drums combo. What does this have to do with anything? That segment also is far too long. There’s even some sound effects, some of which sound like a building being demolished. It also wants to be more than it’s not, featuring an out-of-place choir that is jarring when put next to Floyd-esque sounds. There is the gaping issue that this thing just goes on forever. You can imagine those parts were written for something else. Throughout, the band gets little moments to shine, like David Gilmour’s slow solos.

The main riff of the track is not bad, making for a nice catchy few seconds.

The opening of “Atom Heart Mother Suite” sounds like a theme to a superhero movie. A Saucerful of Secrets uses the episodic nature of Syd Barrett’s albums, More seems based in Barrett’s proclivity for the powerfully simple (which Barrett mainly explored in his solo career), Ummagumma is the big experimental epics, and in 1970 is this record that details some slightly folkier stuff and more composed epics (which ties to the many times when Syd picked up an acoustic guitar). Atom Heart Mother marks another change in direction for Pink Floyd.

Atom heart mother suite by pink floyd