Adam's Hairy Mother

Overall Album Score: 7.2 out of 10

Hi! Now that Pink Floyd did pretty much everything they can do in crazy nutso avant-garde experimentalism in that completely amazing double album Ummagumma they take about eight day's worth of sedatives and deliver this not-so-crazy progressive rock album. That's not to say the album doesn't have its interesting aspects and 'artistic expression!' ... But less so than an average Moody Blues album. (I have it in for that band, don't I!)

The title track is a 23-minute long suite that is interesting if you're willing to sit down and pay attention to it. At the same time, it's also not exactly an amazing experience. I'd expect most listeners won't pay close attention to it when they put it on. (Well I didn't until I wrote that incredibly lengthy track review!)

The other songs are thankfully not quite as long, although I can't say they're usually any more compelling than the 23-minute track. "If" just seems lacking ...... it's a boring old pop tune that seems too comfortably suited for AM radio. (Not really, but I think you know what I mean.) However, "Summer '68" might just be the best thing on here ... it doesn't begin so promising, but at least it has a nice 'instrumental explosion' in the middle and it takes me along for the ride until the end. "Fat Old Sun" is a real bore .......... but with some good points, namely it isn't stupidly boring. "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" is a 13-minute disaster. It's a sound collage that means nothing to me ... very boring and tedious if you actually plan on sitting through the whole thing.

This for-fans-only release is interesting in the sense that I can detect a little bit of Dark Side of the Moon in it ......... so throw the term 'transitional' at it, I guess. (To be fair I have heard absolutely nothing from these guys between this album and Dark Side of the Moon, so ... well ... Let's just see where these guys take me next.)

Overall Album Score: 7.2 out of 10 (This ain't Pink Floyd, it's genociiiiiiiideeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! Yeah, it didn't make sense in Diamond Dogs, either.)

Average Song Score: 7.1 (Not very compelling songs here ... that's a big disappointment considering how great Ummagumma was.)

Album Tilt: 7.0 (Though it's consistent as an album. A bore at times, but they're weird enough to at least make the overall experience interesting.)

Artist Rating: 7.5 (You get the idea that was the purpose of this album, but it sure was misguided!)

Track Reviews

Atom Heart Mother 15/20

It takes them awhile for the beginning of the song to build up! It features some horns playing some modern classical music. Just as they are about to get nuts, a surprisingly tonal and enjoyable melodic line pipes up. But the tonal theme doesn't last too long (you knew it wouldn't) and the song delves into an array of sound effects (pretty scary ones, too) and more of those crazy horns! They get back into that tonal theme and give it a proper conclusion. A new theme begins at the three minute mark with an electric organ, a bass guitar and a rather beautiful violin! This builds up pretty subtly but surely into a section that sounds a bit like a Dark Side of the Moon session! That stops again with just a quiet organ and some woman singing operatic notes. ....... Boredom begins to take hold. This section seems to take up an awful lot of time, and my attention drifts. The sound slowly gets creepier (especially with the addition of the male singers) but there's not the best improvement there. FINALLY at the nine minute mark, they add in some bass and drums ...... but the singers remain the same. Musically, there isn't a big shift. However, this section stops by the 10 minute mark, and there's a blues groove with the organ. Some electric guitar noodling is gracefully added in the mix to thankfully remind me that I'm listening to a rock album. Even then the whole experience seems a little lifeless, but ... hey, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the noodling!!!!! Some noodling is better than no noodling!!!!!!! Some synth (glass harp?) waves come in and interfere with the noodling as it fades slowly away, and the blues groove slowly gets a bit disintegrated. Some singers are incorporated to play what sounds like scat singing as it would be done in the fifth dimension. (ALIENS!!!!) This section isn't bad. It's pretty funny. There's a very nice section around the 14:30 mark when the mood begins to pick up and get more dramatic. (Oh, drums??? Wow!!!) And they gracefully get back into that tonal horn section that first occured at the start. That stops, and there's a creepy synth loop that plays .................. and some ambient sound effects start to play. Not the best work these guys did (it seems awfully sparse for them), and I can't say it's a happy experience for me (as someone who at least thinks he likes this kind of stuff). It's very very weird................... The section does get more interesting around the 17:20 mark as it gets busier and there's more things for my ear to pay attention to. A train comes along and apparently stops all that nonsense except for a little piddly part. The tonal horn section seems to try to take over the song again, but it can't seem to get there. (This part is pretty fun if you like surreal music! ...... You should try to hear this part with headphones if you can!!!!) Fortunately, that tonal horn section wins in the end (around the 19-minute mark). It does its thing, but then it stops and the sweet violin part begins to play. The part that sounds like it could've been a rejected tune for Dark Side of the Moon begins to play in all its calmness until a nicely done electric guitar duet begins to play and the song gets considerably more dramatic. The vocal aaaaaahs come in to give it that funny spaghetti western feel ........ I love this ending! It's not bombastic but it's still dramatic. They at least know how to get out of this song nicely! ... Now that was the longest track review ever!

If 7.5/10

A pop song??? ... It's OK, but ... ya know ... BORING. It consists of acoustic guitar picking and singing with little else for the first minute. But then, an electric guitar and organ come in for the instrumental interlude ...... a piano starts playing eventually and then a light drum beat. This is a tame song ... too tame. Plagued a bit by repetition, but it's not that shabby.

Summer '68 8.5/10

It picks up considerably here ... This track begins with a pretty boring piano loop and another tame light pop melody, but then an organ comes in and starts playing around with the moods. A reverse cymbal chimes in and a kind of disjointed 'jangly' pop song pipes up. This part is very enjoyable, and it's even accompanied with a very welcome horn solos (and more than one horn at the end)! Yayyyyyyyyyyyy!!!

Fat Old Sun 7/10

...HEY!! The Sun has feelings!!!!! Don't say things like that or the Sun might leave and we'll all die!!!! Except for me, because I'm awesome like that. Anyway, this is positively boring. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.............................................................................. This one tries to be a cross between folk music and their early days, but their attempts at the 'cosmic' stuff is half hearted. The melody is basically toneless ... It gets much better halfway through when the electric guitar does a nice solo and the drums chime in. But ............. mhhmhmhmmhmhmhmmhhhhhmmhmm ..... I'm not impressed.

Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast 8/15

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm Breakfast! I'm pretty sure it's against the law to do anything 'psychedelic' in 1970. This is when all that soft-rock and country-rock started happening. It's for the 1960s ONLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a sound effects collage ...................................................... If I were to translate this song directly into words, it would look something like this, and be just as meaningful: 4noie04n ar]aa[oeal aa48**4$*%ngnUW8 ubt4$8 .>.>...>>>..t itt4333 odo03www gurbao gn9439na g0a(483 _)m tu4(03 thnt48 94Jtjn4 w049(4839 Jt94j30 jt8ar pw nguyr(43(04--2gab*4hHt4859)ntg9)938888#4384na sa gttr8 a9a:UBufbw weu8O#84 t88t 8tHr328()()()()()gnn4 84hane e8ee8e8e8 2 fneua gu urgneia ru auauuuuu goamgirna rugbu aurn ieerngutgutgugtutgugu aieugb uegbia gu. You probably won't think this song is meaningless if you like listening to sound effects (and they are kind enough to grace us with a few musical passages at least). This is very hard to sit through ... No, I don't even feel like describing it moment for moment. The instrumental at the last three minutes or so is pretty good and ends up elevating this song's score.

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