(1970)    

I found "Atom Heart Mother"...Pink Floyd's 5th studio album...in the used bin with a $10 price tag and a warning..."Sleeve = Bad.  Record = Good."  I always like checking these kinds of albums out and this time I'm glad I did.  The front cover did have a wicked water stain in the top-right corner and the name "MIKE" was printed from a letter gun in blue and placed near the bottom.  (Someone obviously was tired of having records lifted from their stash.)  Damage is never a good thing to see on an album, but here's the thing.  This was a German pressing and import album covers hold up very well.  Seldom do they have seam splits or crumbly spines.  And fortunately, both these rules held true.

Next, I checked out the vinyl.  I took out the square and the vinyl looked very clean.  Very nice.  The appearance doesn't always mean what you hope for, but I could see there were no scratches, hairlines, or otherwise.  Nor any smudges or haziness.  Anyone looking at the vinyl alone would've easily guessed VG.  Maybe better.  So for $10, I was willing to eat the worm.

(inside gatefold) 

As for the music, "Atom Heart Mother" didn't immediately grab me as I had hoped.  It's a little prog psych.  A little British progish-pop.  And it's not bad by any means.  I thoroughly enjoy the side-one title track.  It takes you places.  And Roger Waters'..."If"...would have fit nicely on "DSOTM" somewhere near "...the lunatic is on the grass"...which was still three albums away.  The last track is a strange one and is meant for ears after dropping an orange microdot, but not necessarily needed to enjoy it.  As for the rest, well, only time will tell.  My expectations might have just got the better of me.  I'll let it simmer a while and come back to it.

This copy, I believe, is a 1974 German reissue, but don't try to soak my feet with my socks on.  I just could not find a  close match to the deadwax details on this square anywhere on Discogs.  I found this one at The Record Ship and one of the best things I've noticed there is that the owner never over-grades his albums.  He likes to err on the lower grade side and who can't help but love a record shop like that?!