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Pink Floyd — Atom Heart Mother

What the critics heard when these records were new. Original reviews, release anniversaries and chart histories.

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First release · United Kingdom
Album cover: Pink Floyd — Atom Heart Mother
Cover source ↗Hipgnosis · Pink Floyd / Sony Music
1970

Pink Floyd

Atom Heart Mother

progressive rockexperimental rockpsychedelic rock
Hostile review

Pink Floyd's suite the critic called schmaltzy

Released in the UK on 2 October 1970, Atom Heart Mother became Pink Floyd's first number-one album. A contemporary hostile review, alongside chart results with their dates.

The verdict at the time

Dubro dismissed the title suite as "awful schmaltzy and a little vapid" and the second side as "generally worse", concluding Pink Floyd had not found new dimensions and should "try freaking out again".

Alec Dubro · Rolling Stone ·

Read the contemporary review

Chart peaks

UK#1Official Albums Chart1970-10-24 · Original release periodChart source
USA#55Billboard 2001970-12-26 · Original release periodChart source
Europe · Ireland#43Official Irish Albums Chart2016-10-06 · Later chart entryChart source

European positions are listed by country. Later chart entries are labelled separately.

Sources & context

One critic's opinion, summarised from the original Rolling Stone review of December 1970. Band members later disowned the album, but its orchestral scope remains a landmark in progressive rock.

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