Was this Pink Floyd classic inspired by ‘The Magnificent Seven’?
When Syd Barrett left psychedelic rock giants Pink Floyd in April 1968, there was some doubt over whether the group could continue. Replaced by David Gilmour, with Roger Waters coming to the forefront, it seemed unknown whether the band would be able to capture the unique voice that they had become known for in the early years. However, with the release of Atomic Heart Mother in 1970, Pink Floyd asserted that they were comfortable within this new formation and as capable of creating stunning tunes as they always had been.
Although the group had released a handful of albums after the departure of Barrett, Atomic Heart Mother was the record that established this new era of Pink Floyd. Their first album to reach the top of the charts in the UK, the record acted as a precursor to their seminal The Dark Side of the Moon, which would arrive three years later.
Among the material on Atomic Heart Mother was the cinematic excellence of its titular track. An epic instrumental track with a duration of over 20 minutes, the track shows that Floyd had certainly not lost the visionary edge of their early work. Composed of six individual parts, the track compares to the theme music for the 1960 western The Magnificent Seven.
Reportedly, when Waters first heard guitarist David Gilmour playing the track, he was reminded of the beloved western film. The film score, composed by Elmer Bernstein, does bear as close a resemblance to ‘Atomic Heart Mother’ as to warrant any kind of legal battle over royalties, but the track nevertheless has a cinematic quality that resembles the iconic Western score. If the score inspired the band, they have never explicitly admitted it.
Pink Floyd were not the only rock band to draw parallels with The Magnificent Seven. In 1981, The Clash released a single which shared its title with the popular western. Far from being a cinematic soundscape, however, the track saw the punk rockers take their first step into the world of hip-hop.
Pink Floyd were no strangers to film soundtracks themselves, releasing their score of More a year prior to Atomic Heart Mother. While the soundtrack to More, much like the film itself, received mixed reviews upon release, it has since come to be something of a cult favourite among fans.
Speaking to the soundtrack-esque sound of the titular track on Atomic Heart Mother, legendary director Stanley Kubrick was so taken with the song that he asked to use it in his iconic film A Clockwork Orange. In an arguably foolish move, the prog-rock pioneers refused Kubrick permission to use their song, although the album cover can still be seen in the record shop scene of the film. The director eventually got his own back on Pink Floyd, when he refused Roger Waters’ request to use audio from 2001: A Space Odyssey for his 1992 solo album Amused to Death.
