1970/1971: From my country to the world!

Don't put your wires in my brain

Roger Waters and David Gilmour during the sessions of Atom Heart Mother, 1970.

In the turn of the decade, Pink Floyd started to record their fifth album. After the failed sessions for the Zabriskie Point movie, which ended up only with a new version of Careful With That Axe, Eugene, while the band headed back to London with a few unreleased jams recorded during the sessions. Back in London, the group recorded a number of instrumentals that would be assembled into a large piece first performed in 17 January 1970, labeled "Theme from an Imaginary Western" according to David Gilmour.

By the meantime, the band was involved in other parallel projects too, producing Tailboard's debut album while Roger Waters partnered with Ron Geesin, bringing him to develop the track while also recording a soundtrack album for the documentary The Body. The rest of the band wasn't involved, instead focusing in their next album, producing a lot of instrumentals in-between tours.

Even though the idea initially was to each member contribute with a fair share to the album, as the sessions progressed, it seemed that the idea was being discarded, with the inclusion of Zabriskie Point demos, the country-influenced Crumbling Land (then-titled Country Song) and the rock-themed Red Queen (then-titled Unknown Song), both written by Roger Waters and mostly sung by David Gilmour.

Roger also included a folk piece originally recorded for The Body called Chain of Life. Nick Mason recorded the instrumental Heart Beat, Pig Meat, while Richard Wright included the instrumental Rise and Shine along with his track Summer '68. Fat Old Sun became Gilmour's second songwriting effort aside from his instrumental compositions such as Sunny Side Up.

However, the group wasn't satisfied with the epic on its large form. The experimental parts seemed to appeal to the space rock imagery associated with Pink Floyd, which the band wasn't particularly very fond of. The epic was dismantled in the album between to parts revolving the main theme, while the epic on its own remained unreleased until its unofficial appearance on bootlegs and its official release on Atom Heart Mother's 40th anniversary in 2010. Still, the group performed the epic, now named Atom Heart Mother, on its entirety on their shows.

"I believe that we were in a process that we didn't like the result of the suite of Atom Heart Mother as a cohesive project. It was a mishmash of ideas that sounded better when they were apart, so we preferred to dismantle the track all the way to the remaining ones that made it into the album."

-Roger Waters 

Quite unsatisfied with the final product, Blackhill Records announced Pink Floyd's fifth record entitled Atom Heart Mother. Red Queen was released as the promotional single, surprisingly reaching number 4 in the United Kingdom, number 13 in Billboard Hot Rock Singles, and number 35 in Billboard Hot 100, becoming one of the band's most played songs in the radio during the 1970s.

"Pretty weird to think that Atom Heart Mother was our breakthrough album in the United Kingdom. I'll be honest that I don't like that album, and I simply don't want to play stuff that I don't enjoy apart from maybe Red Queen and Fat Old Sun."

-David Gilmour 

Pink Floyd – Atom Heart Mother

Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother (1970)

Genre: Progressive rock, experimental, folk rock

Total: 46:10

Side A - 22:36

1. "Heart Beat, Pig Meat" (Nick Mason) - 3:12

2. "Atom Heart Mother" (Roger Waters, Richard Wright, David Gilmour, Mason, Ron Geesin) - 5:23

3. "Chain of Life" (Waters) - 3:59

4. "Sunny Side Up" (Gilmour) - 3:19

5. "Crumbling Land" (Waters, Wright, Gilmour) - 4:16

6. "Atom Heart Mother (Remergence)" (Waters, Wright, Gilmour, Mason, Geesin) - 5:48

Side B - 23:34

7. "Rise and Shine" (Wright) - 2:31

8. "If" (Waters) - 4:31

9. "Summer '68" (Wright) - 5:29

10. "Fat Old Sun" (Gilmour) - 5:22

11. "Red Queen" (Waters, Gilmour) - 4:37

12. "Morning Glory" (Waters, Wright, Gilmour, Mason) - 4:41

Atom Heart Mother is the fifth studio album by the British band Pink Floyd. The album was produced by the band, and the last credited to Norman Smith as a producer. It was released on 2 October 1970 in the United Kingdom and Europe by Blackhill Records, and 10 October in the United States and the rest of the world by Columbia. The album was recorded as Pink Floyd was trying to avoid the space rock association with less experimentation and more pastoral themes.

The sessions of the album began, in fact, in early 1970, where the band started assembling instrumentals done in rehearsals with the ones recorded previously in the failed sessions of the movie Zabriskie Point. Originally, the idea was to create an epic, conceived by the band and songwriting partner Ron Geesin. After all, the band decided to split the epic between two parts of the title track.

Ironically, after the sessions, the band remained unsatisfied with the final result, but Atom Heart Mother ended up becoming Pink Floyd's breakthrough in the United Kingdom topping the charts after dethroning the fellow Soft Machine's Magick Brother. In the United States, the album reached number 55, a new record for the band in the other side of the ocean.

The band released three singles for Atom Heart Mother: the first one, Red Queen, was released as a promotional single, becoming the most successful between the three. The second one is the country-influenced Crumbling Land, more successful in the United States reaching number 25, and the third one, Summer '68, popular in France and West Germany, reaching number 10 in the UK charts.

Face to face with the man who sold the world

David Bowie in 1970.

Following the successful release of An Occasional Dream, which included Bowie's yet-biggest single Space Oddity, David Bowie went to form his backing band called Hype, formed by Tony Visconti on bass guitar and drummer John Cambridge. Meeting guitarist Mick Ronson, Hype was complete, with Cambridge being replaced by Mick Woodmansey by the end of March, suggested by Ronson. 

In the meantime, the group presented themselves as David Bowie & Hype, performing in superhero costumes designed by Bowie's now wife Angela Burnett. Once, Visconti's clothes were stolen, where he had to return home as the Hypeman. The group rented an Edwardian mansion in Beckenham. Ronson and Visconti built a small makeshift studio there, where Bowie generally recorded most of the early 1970s demos.

The recording sessions for Bowie's next album started in April 1970 at the Advision Studios in London, then moving to the Trident Studios. During the same time, most of personal and managerial life of Bowie were in a hurry, leaving the arrangements to Ronson and Visconti, while Bowie focused more on lyrics. Bowie terminated the contract with Ken Pitt and hired Tony Defries without the consultation of Blackhill Enterprises, and while Ken remained on Blackhill, Defries' admission was more complicated.

Bowie wanted to make an album as a spin-off of The Supermen track from An Occasional Dream, hence strengthening the ties between previous albums, yet wanting something more cohesive like Cygnet Committee and 'not so loose' like the previous album. At the time, Bowie's relations with Blackhill's board were getting more and more strained, besides the issues with Ken Pitt and Tony Defries, Bowie wanted less control of the company in his career, wanting more artistic freedom to work, similarly to Syd's situation a few months prior.

"When I saw that Bowie was in the same point as myself, I immediately went to that big house that he was living and we talked so much about that. And he was right, actually, he wanted to change his own manager, and what's so revolting about this? If he wanted to cut ties with Blackhill, that was his decision, and I supported him until the end."

- Syd Barrett

Reaching an agreement with Blackhill, Metrobolist would be Bowie's last album under Blackhill Records, becoming the first major artist and founder from the label to depart. In late 1970, Bowie signed with RCA Records, as suggested by Defries. Bowie's departure would mark another point of the downfall of Blackhill.

As of Syd, his stay in Blackhill was far more complicated than Bowie, as he was still seen as the 'underground symbol', even though Bowie and Bolan scored a few more hits than him. In an agreement with the high-ranking of the label, Syd swapped managers from Peter Jenner to Andrew King, but still, Jenner would complain with Syd's absence in 1970, as he was getting engaged with Gayla Pinion.

Metrobolist was announced by Blackhill Records as the newest Bowie's release, under David Bowie & Hype, nearly a year after An Occasional Dream. No singles were released as Bowie's contract expired, but some songs were re-recorded under RCA and released as B-sides. The album received a little promotion from Blackhill and a bit more from Bowie's new label, RCA.

David Bowie & Hype – Metrobolist

David Bowie & Hype - Metrobolist (1970)

Genre: Hard rock, blues rock

Total: 40:24

All tracks are written by David Bowie.

Side A - 21:27

1. "The Width of a Circle" - 8:05

2. "All the Madmen" - 5:38

3. "Black Country Rock" - 3:32

4. "After All" - 3:52

Side B - 18:57

5. "Running Gun Blues" - 3:11

6. "Saviour Machine" - 4:25

7. "She Shook Me Cold" - 4:13

8. "The Man Who Sold the World" - 3:55

9. "Holy Holy" - 3:13

Metrobolist is the third studio album from British singer-songwriter David Bowie, produced by Tony Visconti. The album was released on 4 November 1970 by Blackhill Records, ultimately becoming Bowie's last album under the label before moving into RCA Records. The album's style is considered a sudden shift from David toward hard and blues rock music. It was the only record of David Bowie backed by his band, Hype.

As said before, music critics noticed Bowie's sudden shift from progressive, psychedelic and folk influences to a more straight-sounding hard and blues rock, quite similar to The Supermen track. Progressive elements were incorporated on the eight-minute epic The Width of a Circle, and the more hard elements are widely based on Cream.

As a result of Bowie's dismissal from Blackhill Records, no singles were released, and the album received a little promotion, in contrast with An Occasional Dream. The album was better critically received in the United States than in the UK, although selling less than its predecessor. Metrobolist reached number 6 in UK Album Charts and number 122 in the Billboard 200.

Despite initially being a commercial failure, the 1972 reissue after the breakthrough with Ziggy Stardust was revaluated by the critics, and ultimately became a fan-favorite and a cult classic with tracks such as The Man Who Sold the World and All the Madmen. The album is cited as an influence to goth rock and later glam rock.

Keeping the heat with memories

Os Mutantes somewhere in the early 1970s.

Os Mutantes would fulfill their dreams on being international rockstars with an international tour around Europe. At the time, the group was supporting The Moody Blues, which seemed to shape the sound of the group in later works. Still, the American Dream of the band seemed out of touch for a while, even with the interest around the band back in the Old World. The group was promoting Tecnicolor and their most recent release back in Brazil, A Divina Comédia ou Ando Meio Desligado.

"[...] I mean, do you think that the audience cares about the lyrics? We were having fun a lot with The Moody Blues at the time, but that proved a little that our music was certainly cheerful to the audience, I've even seen some people dancing in some shows there."

- Rita Lee 

Despite the transition between psychedelic rock to a progressive sound at the time, Polygram was interested into invest in the potential success of the group outside their home country, and Tecnicolor would be the presentation of another side of Brazil, besides the breezy bossa nova/lounge, to a more chaotic and playful rock music developed outside the American and mostly British hotspots.

The tropicália movement was going to reach international audiences... quite belated. Back in Brazil, the authoritarian military regime persecuting artists in music forced some of them to go to exile, such as Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. The tropical themes of circus, carnival and party would be replaced by more somber themes of saudade and resistance against the regime of the time. A term coined by specialists defines this as the 'post-Tropicália era'. Os Mutantes wouldn't be affected again by the persecution... for a while.

"It was an appearance on a TV show [Samedi et Compagnie] in France when Albert [Raisner] asked about how life in Brazil was when Rita suddenly reaffirmed what Elis [Regina] said, that Brazil was 'a country ruled by troglodytes', and we [Sérgio Dias and Arnaldo Baptista] agreed with her, quite nervous about that, haha!"

- Sérgio Dias

The event passed quite unnoticed in Brazil at the time thanks to the efforts of the regime to prevent the same reactions as Elis did before. For the band themselves, they suffered some reprisals after returning to Brazil. The contract with Polygram was almost terminated, Rita herself was temporarily jailed, being freed under the same conditions imposed for Elis Regina, and Os Mutantes, now officially adding the bass player Liminha and drummer Dinho Leme to the group, went to a self-imposed exile, first in France, later in the United States.

"I remember that our last words before going to France was something like: 'from my country, to the world!'. We wanted to return as soon as possible, like we did a few years later."

- Arnaldo Baptista 

Os Mutantes – Tecnicolor

Os Mutantes - Tecnicolor (1971)

Genre: Tropicália, psychedelic rock, experimental rock

Total: 38:25

All tracks are written by Arnaldo Baptista, Rita Lee and Sérgio Dias, except where noted.

Side A - 19:33

1. "Panis et Circenses" (Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil) - 3:36

2. "Bat Macumba" (Veloso, Gil) - 3:16

3. "Virginia" - 3:23

4. "She's My Shoo Shoo" (Jorge Ben) - 2:52

5. "I Feel a Little Spaced Out" - 2:51

6. "Baby" (Veloso) - 3:36

Side B - 18:52

7. "Tecnicolor" - 3:54

8. "El Justiciero" - 3:52

9. "I'm Sorry Baby" (Arnaldo Baptista, Rita Lee) - 2:42

10. "Adeus, Maria Fulô" (Sivuca, Humberto Teixeira) - 2:39

11. "Le Premier Bonheur du Jour" (Jean Renard, Frank Gerald) - 2:46

12. "Saravah" - 2:59

Tecnicolor is the fourth studio album from Brazilian band Os Mutantes, and their first international release under Polygram. The album was released in 27 February 1971, being produced by Carl Holmes. The album was quite successful in most European countries such as France, West Germany and the Netherlands, bringing some new fresh music from Brazil, while it passed quite unnoticed in the United Kingdom, despite promotion in the Brazilian communities of the country.

The title track, Tecnicolor, and Virginia were released as singles, with the latter being a minor hit in France. The album reached number 21 in the French Album Charts, which was celebrated by the band. In later years, the album would receive a large cult following, including John's son Sean Lennon and Nirvana's frontman Kurt Cobain. Originally, the album wasn't released in Brazil, being reissued in 1979, a while after the disbandment of the group.

Polygram saw the release as a good sign that the band could build their international careers while exiled from Brazil. A new contract was signed, and the clause that required only one album per year was revoked, leaving the group with far more artistic freedom and ideas, yet under the schedule of delivering an album per year.

Author's comments:

Hey there! Long time no see. There were a few problems about moving from college and stuff, so it took longer than expected to me, sorry about that, we'll resume normally from now on.

Also there are a few things here and there. This will be probably David Bowie's last alternate release and we will focus a bit less on him. He will, however, appear more often later during Syd's plot, but unfortunately I don't see no things to be changed on his discography. Sorry, folks!

And now, we have the first release of Os Mutantes, which is actually the little modified version of OTL Tecnicolor, but instead, it was released as it was originally intended to an international audience. Hope you like it!

Sources:

• Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother
• Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother
• Roger Waters & Ron Geesin - Music from The Body
• Various Artists - Zabriskie Point soundtrack
• David Bowie - Metrobolist
• David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World
• David Bowie - Holy Holy / Black Country Rock
• Os Mutantes - Tecnicolor
• Os Mutantes - Tecnicolor (2000)

1969/1970: A brief recapitulation...

Author's note: From this post, A Crazy Gift of Time will be posted once a week/two weeks. I have a couple more posts already written, and this will give me time to concentrate in college and to write more stuff. Anyway, I hope you enjoy your stay in this crazy gift of time, thank you for reading this timeline! :)

To where you once belonged

The Beatles, ca. 1969.

As 1969 progressed, the tensions between the band were high at the point that in every session the band wasn't entirely present. Consistently, there were Ringo and George, sometimes Paul, sometimes John, and sometimes the reverse. For Brian Epstein, the situation in the management was almost the same too, as a rift between him and Allan Klein became very apparent.

"For a time, it was just me who was very wary with Klein. Then, Brian [Epstein] said to me some stuff that he was discontent with his work there, he wanted to replace Klein, but wanted the band to secure his action. I immediately stood up for him. Then, Ringo joined us, then John and George."

 -Paul McCartney, 1988

At the time, Epstein's visits to the studios became less and less frequent, as he had to deal with Apple Records. And with this, the situation in the studios became more and more chaotic, with the presence of their families, mostly Yoko and Linda, and sometimes their kids too. For the first time, the band had other producer than George Martin to the Get Back project, Phil Spector, to finish the overdubs.

Apart from production, John Lennon briefly left the Beatles between 19 to 26 September 1969, a fact that was known a year later when Klein was fired from Apple. John would still return because of Epstein, who talked to him during meantime. As for the others, with the end of the sessions, Paul would begin to record his debut solo album, entitled McCartney, in secrecy, as did the other Beatles. Ringo still would participate in sessions with Spector.

"John wanted to scrap the film, but Paul and Brian vehemently rejected the idea. 'Doing all of that work for nothing?', they asked. And they were quite right, we are human beings, and that would be the sign that in the studios, the things were a lot different than publicly."

-Ringo Starr

In February 1970, dissatisfied with the turn that the label was going, John and George, the remaining members, were convinced by Brian Epstein to dismiss Klein. "He thought a lot about that, and we knew that he wasn't wrong. The Apple venture was something that we weren't prepared for, and Klein was a weight on his back.", George Harrison. Officially, Klein was dismissed in March 1970, two months before the release of Get Back and the premiere from the movie.

After the release of the album, Lee Eastman was appointed officially to replace Klein in the management. As for the Beatles, the band decided to enter in a hiatus for a year, deciding to record the album in a two-year period. However, the EMI label demanded a last album after Get Back before the management company signed a new contract with them. And at last, Lennon and McCartney decided to dissolve their partnership. Finally, The Beatles were renovated, a new band diving into the 1970s along with other bands altogether.

Get Back was finally announced, alongside the documentary with the same name in April 1970. At the time, rumours said that The Beatles were about to break-up since the dismiss of Klein from Apple, and as the movie was released, it would only confirm those claims to their public. As some tracks were released as singles mostly in the previous year, I've Got a Feeling and The Long and Winding Road were released as a double A-side single, topping the UK Singles Chart and reaching number 3 in the Billboard Hot 100.

The Beatles – Get Back

The Beatles - Get Back (1970)

Genre: Rock, pop, blues rock, film soundtrack

Total: 84:22

Disc One - 41:56

Side A - 21:27

1. "The Palace of the King of the Birds" (George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Richard Starkley) - 5:04

2. "Get Back" (Lennon-McCartney) - 3:09

3. "Dig a Pony" (Lennon-McCartney) - 3:54

4. "Two of Us" (Lennon-McCartney) - 3:33

5. "I Me Mine" (Harrison) - 2:26

6. "Old Brown Shoe" (Harrison) - 3:21

Side B - 20:29

7. "Come Together" (Lennon-McCartney) - 4:20

8. "Don't Let Me Down" (Lennon-McCartney) - 3:35

9. "Sour Milk Sea" (Harrison) - 3:50

10. "(You Know) It Ain't Easy" (Lennon-McCartney) - 2:59¹

11. "Octopus's Garden" (Starkley) - 2:51

12. "One After 909" (Lennon-McCartney) - 2:54

Disc Two - 42:26

Side C - 21:01

13. "Medley I: Sun King/Mean Mr. Mustard/Polythene Pam/She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" (Lennon-McCartney) - 6:41

14. "For You Blue" (Harrison) - 2:32

15. "Watching Rainbows" (Lennon-McCartney) - 4:08

16. "I've Got a Feeling" (Lennon-McCartney) - 3:37

17. "Let It Be" (Lennon-McCartney) - 4:03

Side D - 21:25

18. "You Never Give Me Your Money" (Lennon-McCartney) - 4:02

19. "Across the Universe" (Lennon-McCartney) - 3:48

20. "Isn't It a Pity?" (Harrison) - 4:45²

21. "The Long and Winding Road" (Lennon-McCartney) - 3:38

22. "Medley II: Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End" (Lennon-McCartney) - 5:12

Get Back is the thirteenth album by the British rock band The Beatles. It was produced by George Martin, Glyn Johns and Phil Spector and released in 8 May 1970 by Apple Records and distributed by EMI. Part-studio album, part-live album, and part-film soundtrack, the double album contains the material recorded during the sessions of the documentary with the same name, Get Back, plus more songs that didn't appear in film.

The album was recorded in a difficult time for The Beatles, as the band needed to resolve the management issues in Apple Records with manager Brian Epstein and Allan Klein. Paul McCartney gave the idea for a documentary showing how the albums were done, and also a back-to-basics routine for the band. Throughout the year of 1969, the tensions between the members of the group remained high, prompting to John Lennon's brief departure from the band in late September.

With the release, the album was met with universal acclaim by music critics and by fans, topping the charts in both sides of the Atlantic, Billboard 200 for almost 30 weeks and the UK Album Charts for 21 weeks. Get Back is considered another album that blew up expectations by the band, with journalists claiming that "even after eight years, The Beatles never cease to impress us". The album is considered among the Beatles' best, alongside Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, A Doll's House, and Band on the Run.

Beatles' Get Back is considered among musicologists a landmark on music's history, and on the band's history itself. The album cover mirrored the band's debut album, Please Please Me, and also became  one of the most imitated in popular music. In 2020, it was ranked fifth in Rolling Stone's list of the greatest albums of all time. The album has also been ranked as one of the Beatles' best-selling, including a multi-platinum certification by the RIAA.

Still, Get Back wasn't free from criticism of the Beatles themselves. Paul McCartney considered Phil Spector's embelishments unnecessary in most of the songs, while John Lennon felt that the album lacked authenticity. The record also is the last record with the iconic partnership between John Lennon and Paul McCartney, which after that, both members would be credited individually for their songs.

Shagrat the Vagrant

Steve Peregrin Took, somewhere in the 70s.

As 1969 was passing, Steve Took — former member from Rubber Band and now the former drummer from Syd's touring band as he was backed by Tailboard — started to connect with more members from the now-crumbling British Underground, forming the 'Pink Fairies Rock'n'Roll Club'. Some of the members included the Deviants (such as Mick Farren), former members from The Pretty Things, and sometimes even Syd himself, who was mostly absent because of touring.

Throughout the year, Took collaborated with two songs on drummer Twink's debut solo album Think Pink, "Three Little Piggies" and "The Sparrow is a Sign", and also collaborated with former The Deviants Mick Farren's solo record Mona – The Carnivorous Circus. And that is where he could find his future band.

"So, after breaking up with Rubber Band, after leaving Syd's band, I was quite lost in my way. I wanted to be in a group so bad, I had written a couple songs to do something, but I was missing my opportunity to shine. And that's why I am thankful to Mick helping me by meeting with Shagrat."

 -Steve Took, 1976

During the sessions for Mona, Took met bass player John Gustafson and keyboardist Pete Robinson. Gustafson was a member of Episode Six as Roger Glover left to join Deep Purple, together with Mick Underwood, who didn't participate in the sessions. However, asked if he wanted to join a group John was forming, Steve gladly accepted, suggesting Shagrat as the name for the group, accepted by them. However, this time, Steve filled up the role for guitarist, and eventually, a frontman for his new group alongside Gustafson.

All the people having dinner inside

Os Mutantes, ca. 1970.

The group Os Mutantes was a band heavily linked to the Tropicália movement back in Brazil, and the country's greatest revelation for rock music at the time. The band pioneered the use of electric guitar in traditional Brazilian music, seen as 'blasphemous' to the more conservative and puritan elements of music. (And when I say 'conservative elements', they even did a march against the electric guitar, I mean, what were they thinking?) Anyway, back to the story...

Os Mutantes were formed in 1966 by the high-class friends Rita Lee and brothers Arnaldo Baptista and Sérgio Dias. They were a part from a larger musical group called Six Sided Rockets, which was reduced to the trio in a year. And since 1967, the group released three albums: Os Mutantes (1968), Mutantes (1969) and A Divina Comédia ou Ando Meio Desligado (1970, recorded in 1969).

Between 1969 and 1970, Os Mutantes would go touring in the psychedelic melting pot of France, and invited by Carl Holmes, the band started to record an album, at the Des Dames Studios, to attract an international audience to the band. At the time, the band was signed with Polydor Records. The album would be released as Technicolor, and released for international markey only, reaching Brazil under a reissue in the 1980s.

Still, winds of change affected the Brazilian music scenario as the military dictatorship was getting harder and harsher against the opposition, resulting in the exile from famous musicians at the time, such as Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, the last two, the main figures of Tropicália alongside Os Mutantes. One of the effects of the persecution was the bittersweet ending of the Tropicália movement, as their main figures distanced themselves from the 'tropical, psychedelic-esque' sounds, moving towards the typical Brazilian Pop Music (MPB, for short).

However, for Os Mutantes, they would remain for a while with a foot on Tropicália territory, but as time progressed, the group would be more influenced by the growing progressive rock scene and by hippie ideals that came (quite late) to Brazil, eventually moving to a hippie settlement throughout the 1970s. For many artists, including them, that period was considered the post-Tropicália era, fuelled by a bitter sentiment against the military regime and by previous influences, quite like a transitionary stage.

"Since we were one of those major figures in Brazilian music at the time, the military government was keeping an eye on us constantly. It was the most common thing at the time to a musician to have a song prohibited by the censorship offices. That happened to us, and to everybody, to Taiguara, to Milton [Nascimento, Caetano [Veloso]... It was awful."

-Rita Lee, 1992

Year of the rooster

Carl Palmer, also somewhere in the 1970s.

At last, there is Atomic Rooster. A new, democratic, incarnation from the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, the band was initially composed by Arthur Brown (vocals), Andy Dalby (lead guitar), Nick Graham (bass guitar and vocals), Vincent Crane (keyboards), Carl Palmer (drums), and one of the most promising acts with their newest material infusing heavy psychedelia, progressive, and experimental rock music.

The group would start to perform around London, headlining at the London Lyceum in August 1969, with the opening act by Deep Purple. Atomic Rooster signed with Blackhill Records, replacing the former incarnation of the group. Andy Dalby officially joined the group as he was found by Arthur Brown when he was looking for a touring band. The band would start to record their debut album in December 1969.

In January 1970, the non-album single Friday the 13th, written by Vincent Crane, was released, with Gypsy Escape as the backing single. The single reached number 14 in the UK Singles Charts and didn't chart in the United States, and despite being considered an average song by the critics, the song passed unnoticed by the public. "That's when we knew that we needed the help from Blackhill.", Nick Graham.

The album was announced as Galactic Zoo Dossier by Blackhill, featuring a lot of promotion by the label as the new incarnation of the 'successful' Crazy World of Arthur Brown. From the hit single "Fire", not the album "Strangelands". One of the acts was to put the group as a headliner at the upcoming Blackhill's Hyde Park Festival in July 1970.

"Not gonna lie, I was quite nervous with the album, after what happened with Strangelands. And that was the first album without some considerable leadership, even if I was the frontman for the group, haha."

 -Arthur Brown, 1981

Atomic Rooster – Galactic Zoo Dossier

Atomic Rooster - Galactic Zoo Dossier (1970)

Genre: Progressive rock, space rock, hard rock

Total: 43:58

Side A - 21:31

1. "Internal Messenger" (Arthur Brown) - 5:08

2. "Space Plucks" (Brown, Crane) - 3:21

3. "Galactic Zoo" (Brown) - 2:32

4. "Broken Wings" (John Mayall) - 5:47

5. "Devil's Answer" (Crane) - 4:43

Side B - 22:27

6. "Banstead" (Crane, Nick Graham, Carl Palmer) - 3:30

7. "Medley (Galactic Zoo/Space Plucks/Galactic Zoo)" (Brown, Crane) - 3:18

8. "Decline and Fall" (Crane, Graham, Palmer) - 5:45

9. "Simple Plan" (Brown) - 3:03

10. "Sunrise" (Brown, Crane) - 6:51

Galactic Zoo Dossier is the debut album by the British band Atomic Rooster, and the first album of most members after the failure of Strangelands. The album was released in 23 February 1970 in the United Kingdom and 5 March 1970 in the United States and the rest of the world. Galactic Zoo Dossier is one of the first conceptual albums of the first wave of Progressive rock, and considered a primal example of space rock.

The album was recorded after the American tour as the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and after the release and the critical reception of Strangelands, the group reformed into Atomic Rooster. The band started to tour around London and the United Kingdom before gathering and recording Galactic Zoo Dossier plus a few more tracks which were released a few years later in reissues.

Atomic Rooster's Galactic Zoo Dossier would be released to a great appraisal by the critics and well-received by the public in general. The album would peak in number 3 in Britain while it would reach number 86 in Billboard 200. Devil's Answer would be released as a promotional single, reaching number 8 in the UK Single Charts and number 10 in Billboard Hot Rock Charts, backed by Space Plucks. Galactic Zoo Dossier would be considered a 'redemption album' after the disastrous Strangelands.

It is the only album to feature drummer Carl Palmer and bassist Nick Graham. Palmer would later leave Atomic Rooster to form the supergroup Emerson, Lake and Palmer with Keith Emerson and Greg Lake, while Nick Graham moved to Skin Alley, replacing Thomas Crimble. The remaining members would form the main core of Atomic Rooster for the rest of the first era. The album would receive a lot of appraise by its contemporaries.

"Galactic Zoo Dossier was the shit at the time, probably Blackhill's greatest venture at the time. Vincent [Crane] and [Arthur] Brown did a great job with that album. That would be one of the things that I would stop everything I was doing and listen to while high."

 -Syd Barrett, 2013

"That stuff was... mind-blowing when I first listened. It's hard to tell how Galactic Zoo Dossier was influential for me in several aspects. Probably there wouldn't be a Ziggy Stardust without that record."

 -David Bowie, 1999

Author's comment:

And here we are in the 1970s! At least with a foot on it, welp. And we have the introduction of a new band, Os Mutantes! A Brazilian band, very successful at the time, and they have quite an interesting scenario to work with. As for Arthur Brown, finally here it is a new reintroduction to Atomic Rooster and their debut album, Galactic Zoo Dossier, based on the OTL album with the same title, from Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come.

Sources

The Beatles - Get Back:

• The Beatles - Abbey Road
• The Beatles - Let It Be
• The Beatles - Past Masters
• George Harrison - All Things Must Pass

1. '(You Know) It Ain't Easy' is 'The Ballad of John and Yoko'.
2. 'It Isn't a Pity' is the second version in the All Things Must Pass album.

Atomic Rooster - Galactic Zoo Dossier:

• Atomic Rooster - Atomic Roooster
• Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come - Galactic Zoo Dossier