In 1970 Pink Floyd experimented on stage with a long suite called The Amazing Pudding. When it was decided to record it, the young Scottish arranger and conductor Ron Geesin was called in for help. Arrangements were made for a twenty-piece choir, a classical brass section and a cellist. The recordings were difficult, which led to the working title Argument In E Minor For Band And Orchestra. Following
… a newspaper article about a pregnant woman with a plutonium-fed pacemaker, the name Atom Heart Mother was eventually coined for the whimsical suite that covered the entire first side of the eponymous LP. The concept of band with orchestra was already in vogue in 1970 (Deep Purple, Moody Blues), but that didn't make Atom Heart Mother's avant-garde bombast any less groundbreaking. The band members themselves prefer not to be reminded of it (David Gilmour in 2001: 'God, it's shit') and that's a shame because the remaining material, including strong songs like Fat Old Sun and Summer 68 and the drawn-out Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast ( a breakfast ritual set to music, complete with crackling bacon and whistling kettle) have stood the test of time well. Just like the iconic cover of Storm Thorgerson on which the blazing Frisian cow Lulubelle III shows us her buttocks cheekily. (MR) complete with crackling bacon and whistling kettle) have stood the test of time well. Just like the iconic cover of Storm Thorgerson on which the blazing Frisian cow Lulubelle III shows us her buttocks cheekily. (MR) complete with crackling bacon and whistling kettle) have stood the test of time well. Just like the iconic cover of Storm Thorgerson on which the blazing Frisian cow Lulubelle III shows us her buttocks cheekily. (MR)more
