Ummagumma - Pink Floyd Album Reviews

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Their most important album? This double album of live tracks and studio experiments done separately by each band member? Let's discuss... #pinkfloyd #albumreviews #historyofrock #Ummagumma

Pink Floyd is without a doubt one of the greatest classic rock bands of all time. They began in the 60s with Roger Waters on bass, Nick Mason on drums, Richard Wright on organ and Syd Barrett on lead guitar and vocals. Syd was the band's leader and chief songwriter in the early days, penning their first singles Arnold Layne and See Emily Play. This would lead to the release of their 1967 album Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Their live shows were equally inventive incorporating unique light shows. However due to Syd's intake of LSD mixed with a breakdown involving schizophrenia, he would gradually be pushed out of the band he fronted, being replaced with David Gilmour on guitar. This would become Pink Floyd's classic lineup with Roger taking more of a songwriter role. A Saucerful of Secrets was the only album to feature all five band members. More came out in 1969. Pink Floyd was still finding their voice, focusing more on albums rather than singles. It was on Ummagumma where concert versions of Astronomy Domine, Careful with that Axe Eugene, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun and Saucerful evolved their sound. The studio disc contained experimental tracks: Sysyphus, Grantchester Meadows, Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict, The Narrow Way and The Grand Vizier's Garden Party. The album sold well proving there was life for Pink Floyd after Syd. In 1970, Atom Heart Mother proved to be a success with the 23 minute instrumental and featuring Dave's song Fat Old Sun. 1971's Meddle would turn out to be an important staple for the band with the rocking opener One of these Days I'm Going to Cut You Into Little Pieces, featuring a rare spoken vocal by Nick, Roger's echoing bass line and Dave's Slide Guitar. The flip side, another 23 minute piece, Echoes, featuring Dave and Rick on vocals, is often regarded as Progressive Rock's finest moment, from the opening ping of Rick's leslie piano. They would also perform both these songs along with earlier classics Live at Pompeii. The Obscured by Clouds soundtrack appeared in 1972 with tracks like Burning Bridges and Free Four. However 1973's Dark Side of the Moon would become one of the most successful albums of all time, staying on the charts for nearly 13 years and still a best seller today. Roger's lyrics dealt with the evils of society driving one to madness, while the music was nearly one entire inter-connected piece (making it difficult to separate for a playlist or a best of / greatest hits compilation). Still standouts like Money, Time and Great Gig in the Sky are favorites among fans. Their 1975 followup Wish You Were Here, featuring the opening and closing piece Shine On You Crazy Diamond (a tribute to Syd Barrett who even showed up at the sessions), is thought to be equally great, if not greater, as Dark Side. But tensions between the band were beginning to rear their head. 1977 saw the release of Animals, likening three animals: Dogs, Sheep and Pigs to various classes of society. Roger became the band's main frontman and sole songwriter with Dave occasionally sharing the mic and writing credits. Tensions grew during the tour when Roger ended up spitting on a fan in Montreal and coming up with the idea for The Wall to separate himself from the audience. 1979 would see the release of The Wall, the album and later the tour and film. Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 became their best selling single and Comfortably Numb remains one of their most popular tunes. But it nearly broke up the band as Roger fired Rick for lack of output, creating a greater rift between him and Dave. 1983's The Final Cut was Roger's final album with Pink Floyd before he officially left, leaving Dave and Nick to reunite with Rick for 1987's Momentary Lapse of Reason. Roger sued to break up the band, but failed to do so instead focusing on his solo career. The Gilmour led Floyd would produce 1994's The Division Bell, a return to form for many fans with Rick now sharing vocal and songwriting duties again. It wasn't until 2005's Live 8 concert when Dave, Nick and Rick reunited with Roger for a short set giving closure for many fans. Syd died in 2006. Rick died in 2008. The album The Endless River was dedicated in his honor. Pink Floyd's legacy has continued to inspire fans and aspiring musicians, myself included.

[daemonspudguy]

I think their next album, Atom Heart Mother, is criminally underrated. I look forward to your review of it.

[kyles]

In my opinion that live version of gilmour and waters doing ganchester medows was an amazing duet between them

[ChrisSmith-xhwb]

I may be in a minority, but I love "grantchester meadows". It perfectly evokes the peace of the English countryside on a warm summers day. One of my favourite Floyd tracks.

[porkchopen]

I think Ummagumma is quite an interesting listen
my favorite track on Ummagumma is “Careful With That Axe, Eugene”, but other favorites would be “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”, “Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict”, and “The Narrow Way”

[supermariofan]

After relistening to Ummagumma, I've grown to appreciate this album a lot more. They were definitely taking a risk here, as this is the most experimental album in their catalog. But I think it ended up working out for them. There's more good material than bad on this album. And even with the bad songs, they at least showed what didn't work for Pink Floyd. My essential track on the studio album is The Narrow Way. One of David's first solo songs, and maybe one of his best. Lots of great psychedelic soundscapes and a memorable finale. I also like Grantchester Meadows, and I enjoy parts of Sysyphus and The Grand Vizier's Garden Party. The songs tell interesting stories, but they're a bit of a slog to listen to in full. As for the live disc, I prefer the Ummagumma versions a little bit over the Pompeii ones. I really love their interpretation of Astronomy Domine, and I think this version of Saucerful of Secrets was the best song the band had released up to this point. And if Careful with that Axe, Eugune isn't heavy metal, then I don't know what is. It seriously kicks ass.

So, I enjoy Ummagumma overall, but it still has a lot of flaws. I love the live disc, and the studio disc is a fun novelty to check out with a couple good songs. However, it's definitely one of the lower tier albums in their discography. Thankfully, we're about to get into the 70's, which I would consider the golden age of Pink Floyd. From Atom Heart Mother all the way up to The Wall. I love all of these albums, and I can't wait to see your reviews of them!

[misterkite]

I remember when I first got this album as a teenager, I took it as a cautionary tale. "This is what happens when you don't have a designated driver" This album needed someone to take control and drive the thing home... instead everyone is too drunk or high to realize they drove into a ditch an hour ago and the wheels came off.

[IndieRockerForever]

My opinion . The first disc has some great live material . The second disc is strange though . I like Rick’s Sysyphus starts and the ending part is good . Grantchester Meadows is my favorite on this album. The Narrow Way is slightly overrated and The Grand Vizer’s garden party is a highlight for me .

[steverlfs]

Personally, Ummagumma is my favorite Pink Floyd album. I love every cut-except for those damn furry animals. But then, I was there in those days, listening to such psychedelic bands as Ultimate Spinach and Silver Apples. You might say that Ummagumma was the last explosive flash of that short-lived genre of music. To this day, I play Sisyphus on Halloween night- for the entire neighborhood!

[LoyalColoradan]

Oh, fun fact, if you play “Several Species” at half speed, at around the 4:31 mark, Roger can be heard in a chipmunk voice saying, “That was pretty avant-garde, wasn’t it?”

[dandydolphin]

Woah, on Pink Floyd's official channel there's a stream premiering about Careful With That Axe Eugene from Ummagumma at the same time this is premiering

[drewmoorestuff]

I really like "The Narrow Way." It's my favorite part of the studio portion. And, in general, I'm glad they made the record. My favorite Pink Floyd song ever is the version of "A Saucerful of Secrets" from this album.

[martyott]

I love this album. Astronomy Domine, Careful with that Axe and Set the controls……. back to back. Blew me away first time I listened to them. One of my favorites as a teenager. Lots of marijuana and shrooms during those years. Some areas are really avant-garde and hard to follow though.

[kellym]

Yeah, i'm one of those hipsters that adores this album. But i'll keep it short.

I think The Narrow Way 1-3 is one of Pink Floyd's/David Gilmour's absolute best work. It's emotional, immersive and impactful. I adore it.

[williamhenderson]

Wow that was harsh! I know this album gets slagged regularly, but it is one of my favorites. I like that the band took chances and experimented with the studio side. Band’s that never push the boundaries I usually get bored with in the long run. Live Side: this is worth the price of admission alone. Saucerful is especially great because it blows away the studio version. It is also important to note that these songs would go on to become concert staples in the decade to come. Even after Darkside was released they were still used as encores. Studio Side: hit and miss for sure. I think Grantchester Meadows is a beautiful pastoral piece that has some lovely evocative lyrics. The Narrow Way is also a standout and the first song to really demonstrate Gilmour’s capabilities as a songwriter. The rest are interesting sound collages that have their moments, but don’t hold together as well. They don’t get as much repeated listening by me but I still like to go back to them from time to time to experience what they have to offer.

[thekivster]

The Narrow Way is pretty cool and kind of heavy

[kiillabytez]

It got some praise from critics.
This was 1969, the height of drug experimentation. Did it dawn on you that those critics were bombarded with mind altering substances at the time they heard this album?

[jakechat]

I really enjoyed this video, you really explained the album well and made some great points. I'm loving this series!

[shadowstealer]

No one ever seems to comment on - or even notice- what a fantastic slab of psychedelic proto-metal menace the riff on "Narrow Way" part 2 is. Am I the only one in the world who thinks this is a great Floyd moment? Maybe, but then I love "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" and would rather listen to that than any of the meandering sludge of self-pity that is "The Wall".

[joelsmith]

It's a fun and interesting album if you've first heard it when you were a teenager. Particularly if you smoked something and now you're laying in the dark listing to this record on headphones. There's no doubt that it's a headphone record; the stereo mix is quite well done. It's not music that works on any sound system or in many situations, but in the right context it does deliver an experience worthy of of the Pink Floyd name

[walbeltcleaners]

Are you kidding me? I think the studio disc of Pink Floyd's Ummagumma is really really good in my opinion, I'm impressed with the creativity that the band put on that album. I gotta say that 1969 is a wonderful golden year in my book.