1 Overlooked Gem Song From Every Pink Floyd Album
5. Summer ‘68 - Atom Heart Mother
Subject to many mixed or outright negative reviews, both at the time and in retrospect, Atom Heart Mother leaves a lot of fans and critics cold and the band would be first to agree it’s far from their finest effort.
Indeed, guitarist Dave Gilmour has describe the album as,
”a load of rubbish. We were at a real down point. I think we were scraping the barrel a bit at that period.”
However, most of the blame lies with the record’s bombastic first side. You imagine many people have given this album a try, only to give up part way through the opening cod-classical suite. Side two has much more to offer, not least the catchy, off beat pop of Summer ‘68.
Keyboardist Rick Wright’s ambivalent tale of hooking up with a groupie, the song begins with a lilting melody and gently plinking keyboards before suddenly ramping up into something much more dense and intense, featuring dramatic brass and backing vocals that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Beach Boys record.