Quad LP/Tape Poll Pink Floyd: Atom Heart Mother [SQ/Q8]

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Rate "Atom Heart Mother"


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    36

EMB

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Here we go with PF's 1970 tour de force, ATOM HEART MOTHER. [Harvest Q4SHVL 781, UK]

Side 1:

ATOM HEART MOTHER:
(a) Father's Shout (b) Breast Milky (c)Mother Fore (d)Funky Dung (e)Mind Your Throats Please (f)Remergence

Side 2:

1. If
2. Summer '68
3. Fat Old Sun
4. Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast (a) Rise And Shine (b)Sunny Side Up (c)Morning Glory
 

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This is one I'm interested in hearing other's thoughts on.

It's the only Pink Floyd SQ I don't (yet) own.

I always felt the Stereo mix of this album was a bit cramped. I would imagine that the Quad version would really open things up, especially on the title suite, and on "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast."

Who was behind the 4 channel mix? I know "Dark Side of the Moon" was done by Alan Parsons with out the input of the band.
 
The quad mix of AHM was done by Alan Parsons in 1973 (I'm pretty sure; I believe he remixed this into quad after DSOTM).

It really is an awesome mix, even for SQ. In my opinion it is one of the better SQ discs as it sounds really great even on my modest system. Even when just playing the SQ disc in stereo, the mix is much better than the stereo (which does sound kinda cramped). The quad really opens it up.

I have always wondered about one thing though. Is the US Q8 of this title comparable to the DSOTM US Q8 (matrix decoded?) or is it truly discrete?
 
radioheadrox said:
I have always wondered about one thing though. Is the US Q8 of this title comparable to the DSOTM US Q8 (matrix decoded?) or is it truly discrete?

I would like to know that too!
 
I'm unsure of this, but as I remember it, someone sent a US Q8 of Atom Heart Mother to Tab to do a fostex transfer. Once he cued it up and took a listen, he found it to be a decoded SQ on Q8, just like Dark Side of the Moon. It was a while later that he got a UK Q8 to make the conversion he eventually made with the fostex setup. That's how I recall it, but I could be remembering things wrong.
 
radioheadrox said:
I have always wondered about one thing though. Is the US Q8 of this title comparable to the DSOTM US Q8 (matrix decoded?) or is it truly discrete?


I can verify without a doubt that the U.K. Q8 is far superior to my U.S. Q8 (which has similar channel separational character as the U.S Q8 of DSOTM). It certainly sounds like a matrix decoding, though for a while I could never be certain. That is, until I managed to hear a dts conversion directly from the U.K Q8.

The difference is obvious. I have A/B'd the two, and here are a few telltale signs:

On the title cut, there is not a trace of drums in the rear channels on the U.K. version, while on the U.S. Q8, there is drum bleed in the rears.

Another song I checked was "Fat Old Sun". On the U.K. version, the opening church bells are only in the fronts and the acoustic guitar is only in the rears. On the American Q8 there is bleed in all channels.

One thing I don't know is whether or not there ever was a discrete version of the U.S. Q8. But from all accounts so far, only the U.K. version is discrete.
 
Did both the quad versions of "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Atom Heart Mother" come out at the same time in 1973?

That might explain why the US Q8's both had the same defects. (What the hell was Capitol thinking?)

Did Parsons have the input of the Band for the Quad Version of "Atom Heart Mother," or was the mix done the same way as the "Dark Side of the Moon"? I'm curious because I know that Pink Floyd wanted nothing to do with the Quad version of Dark Side, but I've never heard about their response to the Quad "Atom Heart Mother."
 
Comparing apples to apples...
how differs the SQ (UK) and QS/RM (JAP) of AHM?
I do recall, regarding the same comparison between SQ/QS of DSOTM that the SQ was considered best; is the same for AHM or the Japanese QS decodes better than the SQ version?
 
The quad mix itself is as interesting as it gets. Most of the non-floyd performances of the title track are in the rears and there's the obligatory rotating guitar solo. The "Revolution Nr. 9"-tribute is a trip!
The B- side is very nice too with David Gilmour's guitar and Rick's piano nicely around you on "If". "Summer of 68" is quite a messy mix with Rick's vocals much too quiet and the sound picture is muddy. "Fat Old Sun", yeah it has that acoustic guitar and lots of reverb on the rears. I almost fell asleep. But "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" is the most disappointing one. Perhaps because the breakfast itself was recorded on 2ch. The accompanying music was always bland Floyd to me...

The recording of the album is quite sub-standart even for 1970. Especially the drums sound like in a matchbox
 
It is a good mix, but the album really didn't lend itself to highly creative mixing the way, say, DSOTM did. That one--a sonic tour-de-force with all sortsa little things going on all over the place--must have been conceived with quad in mind, or was just one of those special situations where multichannel sound really opens up the sound and detail on a recording that was very impressive in stereo. AHM has its moments, but it's a much more droll, elusive affair, and the mix is, IMO, fairly conventional despite the quirky nature of the album. Rated it a '7', but that's possibly mainly because DSOTM displayed so much more creative power and style.

Which makes me wonder: why AHM? Why not MEDDLE, the sonic precursor to DSOTM, and an album that begged for 4-channel treatment? Ah, the mysteries of life and quad....

ED :)
 
I am listening to a UK Q8 tape conversion as I'm typing this and just wanted to say how amazing I think this mix is. Yes, the entire B side of the record may not be as impressive, but the mix of Atom Heart Mother itself is absolutely stunning.
 
I'm hoping that they continue the Immersion box sets with this one. A re-issue of the AP quad would be awesome!
 
I'm hoping that they continue the Immersion box sets with this one. A re-issue of the AP quad would be awesome!
I'd be surprised. More than 1 floyd has gone on record saying they don't like the music. Strange since, um, they wrote it and recorded it and all. I think they regard it now as being bombastic and pompous. s But who knows maybe before they die they'll care more about giving the fans what the fans want. They seem to be coming around.

Pink Floyd has always been incredibly solopsistic in regard to what they''ll release. Animals suffers from this phenomenon as well--this probably partlyexplains why they skipped it in the boxed sets--that and because the three records from the immersion sets were the highest selling.
 
I enjoy the discrete quad mix on the UK Q8. The title track and Summer '68 are especially great. If all you've ever heard is the SQ vinyl or the US q8, you're missing out.

A_L
 
If you live in England could you break into the harvest studio and steal the Quad mix of MEDDLE. transefer it, at a high bit rate ,them turn in into a DVD-A with a nice menu, then drop it in the mail to me.

Thanks In advance

PS also do this for AHM
 
I'm hoping that they continue the Immersion box sets with this one. A re-issue of the AP quad would be awesome!

Does it have to Immersion box??? They are lovely but costs too much, I managed to avoid DSOTM & WYWH because of the SACD versions and Wall because of no surround...
 
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