In the song “Fat Old Sun,” which was performed by Pink Floyd, David Gilmour had some problems

Any artist will tell you that performing in front of an audience to sing a song is not always the most comfortable experience on their part. To be working on songs in your bedroom or practice space is one thing; however, if it is something that is pouring from your soul, the majority of individuals would sooner jump off a bridge than have to face an army of people that are waiting to be impressed. Despite the fact that David Gilmour never really focused on becoming the most famous frontman in the world, the first time he genuinely settled into the job beautifully was while he was playing on the song “Fat Old Sun” from Atom Heart Mother.

However, when Gilmour was initially requested to participate, it is quite likely that he would have been willing to simply remain on the sidelines of the stage and not move a muscle in any way other than playing lead guitar for the entire performance. Syd Barrett had begun to give in to his own thoughts, and although Roger Waters had done a good job of taking over the reigns, there were only a limited number of places that his voice could go without sounding too squawky.

First and foremost, it is the issue at hand. Despite the fact that Gilmour had the resources necessary to implement all of his ideas, would it have been appropriate for him to simply force himself into this new band that already had two leaders at the forefront of it? Although it is not an easy choice to make, they managed to make it appear as though it was simple when they were working on Atom Heart Mother.

A significant portion of the album is devoted to Gilmour and Waters discovering their own voices distinct from Barrett, despite the fact that they are not interested in the final product. Hearing Gilmour write this little ditty about sitting in the sunshine and trying to find a moment of peace was one of the more general things that the band ever wrote about. Ummagumma was doomed to be a mess regardless of what they were working with, but reading this little ditty was one of the most universal topics that the band ever wrote about.

Although his harmonies with Richard Wright are the real bread and butter of the group, Gilmour’s solo performance is actually a far better fit for this track than his collaboration with Wright. Although the title track suite contains certain elements that are not connected to one another, the sound of him simply strumming an acoustic guitar is so straightforward that it could have been conceived of by Ray Davies or Paul McCartney when they were at the height of their careers.

“It’s that old thing where most people listen to their voice on a recording for the first time, or people who haven’t done it very often, and they think it sounds horrible,” Gilmour said in an interview with Uncut. “It’s that old thing.” Gilmour was still mortified to take on the lead vocal, but the moment he actually heard himself on vinyl, he started to fall into the role of the frontman a lot better. I used to be like that. When was the change made? All around the ‘Fat Old Sun’.”

Gilmour’s vocals are irreplaceable in Pink Floyd, as demonstrated by Waters’s reworked version of Dark Side of the Moon, which is a testament to the fact that Waters has a vast armory of huge ideas. His placid tone is what helps anchor down tracks like “Time” and “Money” perfectly, despite the fact that he was reluctant to take on the job of frontman.

Even though Pink Floyd were still in the process of recovering from the effects of Atom Heart Mother, the song “Fat Old Sun” served as a reminder that things were still beginning to look up. They had not yet reached the point where they could perfect their expansive epics, but it wouldn’t be long before ‘Echoes’ was released and everything would be put in motion.