Orchestral Maneuvers

Soon the group recorded another soundtrack, this time for the famous Michelangelo Antonioni's film "Zabriskie Point". Unfortunately the director only used three of the tracks that they made and included instead tracks by Jerry Garcia, The Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones, Kaleidoscope, The Youngbloods, John Fahey, Roscoe Holcombe and Patty Page.

Zabriskie Point

SONG	WRITTEN BY	VOCALS	TIME	RATING
Heart Beat, Pig Meat	Waters,Wright,Gilmour,Mason	---	3:11
Crumbling Land	Waters,Wright,Gilmour,Mason	Gilmour	4:13
Come In Number 51, Your Time Is Up	Waters,Wright,Gilmour,Mason	Waters	4:58

Pink Floyd were also involved in a cartoon project entitled "Rollo" but it never happened.

The band went on tour in US in May and premiered Atom Heart Mother on 27th June. On 18th July they played a free concert in Hyde Park. Miles: "20,000 people gathered in the park to hear the Floyd. One memorable aspect of the concert occurred after one of Rick Wright's organ solos when a child could be hear crying. The audience looked round, trying to find the infant but in fact it was a tape recording, part of the music."

In September US Atom Heart Mother tour began and in October was the album finally released. Nick: "The name for the album came from a newspaper headline about a pregnant woman who had been kept alive with an atomic heart pacemaker."

Atom Heart Mother

SONG	WRITTEN BY	VOCALS	TIME	RATING
Atom Heart Mother	Mason,Gilmour,Waters,Wright,Geesin	John Aldiss Choir	23:45
If	Waters	Waters	4:31
Summer'68	Wright	Wright	5:29
Fat Old Sun	Gilmour	Gilmour	5:24
Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast	Waters Mason Gilmour,Wright	Alan Stiles	13:28

It was band's first album to devote a whole side to a single theme - the song Atom Heart Mother. It was a magnificent piece of music, featuring John Aldiss Choir and was divided into six parts: Father's Shout, Breast Milky, Mother Fore, Funky Dung, Mind Your Throat Please and Remergence. Co-author of the song was Ron Geesin.

Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast was also divided into three parts: Rise and Shine, Sunny Side Up and Morning Glory.
Dave: "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast never achieved what it was meant to. It was meant to be how it should've been. It was a bit of a throw together. In fact the most throw together thing we've ever done."

The audience comprehended the album as the group's new direction in the music but Dave denied this and said the piece was just an experiment.

Nick: "I'm not greatly enamoured of a choir and orchestra. We've used it live several times. It does limit you because you have to worry about them all the time. We'll probably find different ways of orchestrating so that there's more freedom."