Atom Heart Mother turns 55

PINK FLOYD – Atom Heart Mother, released 2 October 1970 in the UK. Hardly anyone’s notion of the quintessential Pink Floyd record—and I am no exception. The title suite, a twenty-three–minute tapestry of orchestral bliss, remains a triumph of ambition and atmosphere, and I do love it a great deal: luxuriant, strange, and utterly absorbing. Yet what follows on the second side largely descends into listless filler—inoffensive, faintly agreeable, but lacking any urgency. The closing piece, the thirteen-minute curio 'Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast', is little more than an indulgent sound collage, whimsical in conception but barren in substance: not a song so much as a half-hearted conceit that soon outstays its welcome. 

The grandeur of its opening suite and Hipgnosis’s now-iconic cover design make Atom Heart Mother a must own for serious music fans and anyone who appreciates English progressive rock, but in the greater sweep of Floyd’s catalogue it must be placed firmly among their lesser works, though there are worse. —Arthur Newhook, 2 October 2025.

{alternate text for the above image} The cover of Pink Floyd’s 1970 album Atom Heart Mother presents an image of striking simplicity: a Friesian cow, its brown-and-white hide stark against the verdant expanse of an open field, turns its head to gaze back at the viewer with quiet indifference. The composition, devoid of title, lettering, or overt symbolism, rejects the baroque surrealism of contemporaneous rock imagery, embracing instead a blunt pastoral directness that is almost confrontational in its banality. The horizon stretches under a pale, cloudless sky, with only the faintest silhouettes of distant trees punctuating the emptiness, creating a sense of space that is at once serene and faintly absurd. In elevating the ordinary to the monumental, the image embodies both the anti-iconography of post-psychedelic art and the band’s wry refusal to be circumscribed by expectation.

Copyright 2025, Arthur Newhook. On X-TWITTER: @Sunking278 and @DollsFallen. REDDIT - https://www.reddit.com/user/SiberianKhatru278/. BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. FULL LIST OF LINKS - linktr.ee/arthurnewhook. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED on Cash App ($ANewhook), PayPal (paypal.me/Sunking278), and at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Album review: The Orb and David Gilmour - Metallic Spheres in Colour

I finally listened to David Gilmour's collaboration with The Orb, 'Metallic Spheres in Colour,' the recently released remixed and amended version of their 2010 album, ‘Metallic Spheres.’ Not being too deeply into electronic music or especially knowledgeable about it, I never did bother ever checking out the original 2010 release. No matter, I do enjoy this. The blend of Gilmour's timeless guitar work - indeed, he is in absolute fine form - and the electronic beats is seamless. While not catering to typical Pink Floyd fans who only care about the old radio hits - no ‘rawk n roll’ on this record, folks - it echoes 1970s German 'Krautrock,' which is another positive in its favour. Suitable for meditation or background listening, I will likely buy a physical copy sooner or later, and it is worth exploring on the streaming platforms for the more musically adventurous among thee.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social, and @arthurnewhook on POST.

Ten notable albums each from the first quarters of 1974, 1984, and 1994

MCA Records

Looking back fifty years, to 1974. In no particular order, ten good-to-great albums that were released between January and March of that year: JONI MITCHELL - ‘Court and Spark’; STEELY DAN - ‘Pretzel Logic’; CARLY SIMON - ‘Hotcakes’; CAMEL - ‘Mirage’; FRANK ZAPPA - ‘Apostrophe’; KING CRIMSON - ‘Starless and Bible Black’; WEATHER REPORT - ‘Mysterious Traveller’; HARMONIA - ‘Musik von Harmonia’; ROY HARPER - ‘Valentine’; and TANGERINE DREAM - ‘Phaedra.’ Remember, this list covers only the first three months of 1974, and I believe only ‘Court and Spark’ and ‘Pretzel Logic’ would be likely to make my top ten albums of the entire year. A task I may or may not tackle some other time.

Berlin singer Terri Nunn. Photo: Geffen Records

Looking back forty years, to 1984. In no particular order, ten good-to-great albums that were released between January and March of that year: PRETENDERS - ‘Learning to Crawl’; THE SMITHS - s/t; QUEEN - ‘The Works’; ALAN PARSONS PROJECT - ‘Ammonia Avenue’; SPINAL TAP - ‘This is Spinal Tap’ soundtrack; DAVID GILMOUR - ‘About Face’; BERLIN - ‘Love Life’; KING CRIMSON - ‘Three of a Perfect Pair’; JOE JACKSON - ‘Body and Soul’; and MARILLION - ‘Fugazi.’ Despite being a child all throughout the 1980s, I am not keen on the music and culture of the decade; yet, I had to fill a spot and it was not going to be with all the hair metal bands that were becoming prevalent (Tap aside, naturally). Remember, this list covers only the first three months of 1984, and whether any of these records would be likely to make my top ten albums of the entire year is an open question.

Geffen Records

Looking back thirty years, to 1994. In no particular order, ten good-to-great albums that were released between January and March of that year: ALICE IN CHAINS - ‘Jar of Flies’; TORI AMOS - ‘Under the Pink’; NINE INCH NAILS - ‘The Downward Spiral’; SOUNDGARDEN - ‘Superunknown’; PINK FLOYD - ‘The Division Bell’; MEAT PUPPETS - ‘Too High to Die’; MARK LANEGAN - ‘Whiskey for the Holy Ghost’; ALISON MOYET - ‘Essex’; FAILURE - ‘Magnified’; and MARILLION - ‘Brave.’ At the age of sixteen, I found myself amidst a momentous epoch for rock music. Verily, it was the last period where rock-based music was dominant in the marketplace. Remember, this list covers only the first three months of 1994, and of these releases only ‘The Division Bell’ and ‘Superunknown’ - and quite possibly ‘Jar of Flies’ - would be absolutely guaranteed to make my top ten albums of the entire year. 

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social, and @arthurnewhook on POST.

Album review: Peter Gabriel - I/O

The cover of Peter Gabriel's 2023 album, I/O. Photo: Nadav Kander

Peter Gabriel’s I/O - A labour of time, hath it been; in the making, on and off, from 1995. The songs themselves bear great merit, and his golden voice is unblemished, yet I do not enjoy most of the instrumentation. Too sparse in most spots, too many synths, scarcely any guitar, and the drum sound is overall mechanical and monotonous. Perchance, a few more listens may be needed, and it may win more favour, but it will not supplant the vintage works of Genesis or any solo endeavors from the late 1970s and 1980s. I do commend the gentleman for standing so resolutely behind it, whereas most of his 1970s contemporaries doth release new material and then barely bother to promote the work or perform much, if any, of it on stage. We all know the cliche of attending a concert by a classic rock band or artist, and the one or two newfound songs they perform being an opportunity to take a bathroom break or to procure another beer. Peter Gabriel, on the other hand, hath boldly made this latest album the centrepiece of his recent tour, and all the reviews I’ve seen suggest that crowds did love it. So, again, a few more listens may be required if I’m ever to embrace this album, but mine initial grade: B.

Copyright 2023, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social, and @arthurnewhook on POST and THREADS.