PINK FLOYD Atom Heart Mother CD (1970)

1970, and Pink Floyd hadn't quite figured out what they were yet. Neither had anyone else. Atom Heart Mother arrived as a sprawling, suite-driven experiment, side one eaten whole by an untitled 23-minute orchestral epic involving a full choir and brass section, side two a collection of pieces that sound like the band collectively staring out a rain-streaked window. It shouldn't work. It absolutely works.

This is the transitional record, the one sitting awkwardly between the Syd Barrett psychedelia and the stadium-filling dark side that was coming. Roger Waters called it a bloody awful album years later, which tells you everything about how far they'd travel, and nothing about how genuinely strange and compelling it remains. If you're coming to this from Dark Side or Wish You Were Here, prepare to recalibrate. If you already know it, you know.

CD digipak pressing. Recorded in England, 1970. Psychedelic progressive rock.

Fans of: Yes, Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Supertramp