PINK FLOYD Atom Heart Mother 1970 UK 1st PRESS, CLEAN GF, SUPERB SOUND Nr MINT

THE PINK FLOYD
Atom Heart Mother

UK HARVEST (SHVL 781) FIRST PRESSING (October 1970) OF PINK FLOYD'S "Atom Heart Mother"
LOVELY ORIGINAL COPY WITH BEAUTIFULLY CLEAN SOUND

PRESSED ON HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL (141g) WITH THE FIRST ISSUE HARVEST LABELS WHICH CARRY "THE GRAMOPHONE CO LTD" TOP RIM TEXT BUT NO EMI BOXED LOGO
MARTIX: SHVL 781 A-1G / SHVL 781 B-1G
MOTHERS/STAMPERS: 1/PD and 2/MD
THE RECORD IS HOUSED IN A MATT GATEFOLD SLEEVE "Printed and made by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd." WITH FACTORY SEALED AND FOLDED UNDER LEFT SIDE EDGE
COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL POLY-LINED HARVEST COMPANY ADVERTISING INNER SLEEVE

The original album cover shows a very ordinary cow standing in a very ordinary pasture, with no text nor any other clue as to what might be on the record. (Some later editions have the title and artist name added to the cover.) This concept was the group's reaction to the psychedelic "space rock" imagery associated with Pink Floyd at the time of the album's release; the band wanted to explore all sorts of music without being limited to a particular image or style of performance. They thus requested that their new album have "something plain" on the cover, which ended up being the image of the cow. Storm Thorgerson, inspired by Andy Warhol's famous "cow-wallpaper", has said that he simply drove out into a rural area near Potters Bar and photographed the first cow he saw. The cow's owner identified her name as "Lulubelle III". More cows appear on the back cover (again, with no text or titles), and on the inside gatefold
The title track was to have been called "The Amazing Pudding", though Ron Geesin's original score referred to it as "Epic". Its name was changed after Ron Geesin, who co-wrote the piece and arranged the orchestration on the recording, pointed to a copy of The Evening Standard (dated Thursday 16 July 1970), and suggested to Roger Waters that he would find a title in there. The headline was: "ATOM HEART MOTHER NAMED"
The "Atom Heart Mother" suite takes up all of side one, and is split into six parts, featuring a full brass section and choir which take most of the lead melody lines, while Pink Floyd mainly provide the backing tracks; a reverse of the 1960s pop music practice of using orchestration as the background, and putting the rock band in front. However, there is one section where a bluesy electric guitar solo by David Gilmour takes the lead
Side two opens with three five-minute songs: one by each of the band's three resident songwriters, and closes with a suite with sound effects primarily conceived by Nick Mason, but credited to the whole group (and based mostly on musical ideas by Gilmour). Therefore, this album's concept is similar to their previous Ummagumma album, in that it features the full band in the first half, and focuses on individual members in the second half. Roger Waters contributes a folk ballad called "If" which he would play frequently at live shows in support of his Radio KAOS album, more than a decade later. This is followed by Rick Wright's brass-heavy "Summer '68", a critique of the "rock 'n' roll" lifestyle that would soon become characteristic of Pink Floyd. Next is David Gilmour's "Fat Old Sun", for which a 15 minute extended arrangement spent two years as a key part of the band's live set, and is a staple of Gilmour's various solo tours
The final track, "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast", is divided into three segments, each with its own descriptive title, joined by dialogue and sound effects of then-roadie Alan Stiles preparing, discussing, and eating breakfast. The original LP ends with the sound of a dripping tap which continues into the inner groove, and thus plays on indefinitely

Side 1: Atom Heart Mother
Side 2: If / Summer '68 / Fat Old Sun / Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast

LABELS: NEAR MINT
Clean, unmarked labels with less than a handful of light spindle traces - clearly been played little and very carefully handled evident from the practically unmarked surfaces and superb sound performance
VINYL Visual: NEAR MINT
Both surfaces retain their original deep glossy sheen - some very light and superficial wispy hairlines are visible under bright light - of no audible significance
VINYL Audio: NEAR MINT
Sensational audio delivery throughout with a deep, rich and warm sound.
As usual, the soundscapes Pink Floyd create are stunning with astonishing dynamics - ranging from the most delicate moments to the thundering loud brass and my play-check at loud volume little to fault (just an intermittent tick here and there - nothing really).
Overall, a superb, barely played copy with exceptionally clean sound
SLEEVE: EXCELLENT++
Apart from a little record impression and a small soft crease to the bottom corner the gatefold is crisp and sharp with no edge or spine wear to speak of
INNER SLEEVE: NEAR MINT
The poly-lined Harvest inner sleeve is clean, fresh and unmarked - no seam splits

POST & PACKING:
A PROTECTIVE POLY SLEEVE, NEW INNER SLEEVE WITH ANTI-STATIC LINER, QUALITY BOX (NOT ENVELOPE) MAILER AND AMPLE STIFFENERS ARE ALWAYS USED TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RECORD ARRIVES SAFELY
UK: FREE (1st Class Recorded Delivery)
UK: £9.00 (Royal Mail Special Delivery Next Day by 1pm)
EUROPE: Airmail: £14.00 (International Signed For delivery)
INTERNATIONAL: Airmail: £17.00 (International Signed For delivery)

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