

Yes, the album stretches its six-part title track across an entire LP side, and yes, that suite meanders wildly and seemingly without purpose, as though they’re making it up as they go along but getting distracted almost constantly. They’re not exactly wrong, but they’re not exactly right either. But, as a whole it’s awful schmaltzy and a little vapid.Roger Waters and David Gilmour have spent 40 years playing this 1970 album down, labeling it pompous, overblown, embarrassing-a low point in the band’s creative history. And, there are sounds that draw pictures. As Impressionism, it’s occasionally effective, but on a very imitative level. It turns out to be an Impressionist orchestral sketch of (I think) a morning that includes some rock elements. The best that can be said for it is that it’s craftsman-like and that in spite of its many parts, it’s an entity. They use orchestral elements and a choir. Their last album, Ummagumma, while a bit drawn-out, had all their best elements.Ītom Heart Mother is a step headlong into the last century and a dissipation of their collective talents, which are considerable. Pink Floyd used sounds no one else thought of and could make them lyrical besides. Most other groups, when they thought in terms of electronics, thought only of painful feedback. And their music, if it wasn’t memorable, reached into the limits of their experimentation. Their use of a third, rear, sound source anticipated quadraphonics. Their work in the electronic capabilities of rock was more advanced than most people recognize. At one time, Pink Floyd was far-out, freaky even.
