Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

Discussions about Pink Floyd and Solo Official Album CDs and DVDs.

Rate This Album

5 - Best
23
24%
4
28
30%
3
18
19%
2
18
19%
1 - Worst
7
7%
 
Total votes: 94

Jimi Dean Barrett
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Re: Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

Post by Jimi Dean Barrett »

It will always be one of the best live albums of Prog. It isn't a screaming stadium and it shows just how quiet Prog gigs were.
If you can make a decision between "commercial" and "Avant Garde" then you could have made three sides of this double album perfect and have Roger Waters songs on the same side as Dave Gilmour.
Rick's contribution keeps the quality, but I really wish Nick realised the band was more important and made way for live version of "Interstellar Overdrive", but that's Pink Floyd in the 60's then!
5 anyway.
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Re: Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

Post by Wolfpack »

According to Wikipedia, all instruments of 'The Narrow Way' were played by Gilmour.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Narrow_Way

However, could the drums be played by Mason?
I think the drums sound like his style.

Wasn't the concept that each member just got leadership on one quarter of the studio album?
Not ruling out contributions by other members?
omeaeol
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Re: Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

Post by omeaeol »

Wolfpack wrote:According to Wikipedia, all instruments of 'The Narrow Way' were played by Gilmour.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Narrow_Way

However, could the drums be played by Mason?
I think the drums sound like his style.

Wasn't the concept that each member just got leadership on one quarter of the studio album?
Not ruling out contributions by other members?
On Ummagumma, every instrument is played by the composer (hence the drums on The Narrow Way by Gilmour) but the flute on The Grand Viziers'... Pt. 1 & 3 (which is played by Mason's [then] wife).
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Re: Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

Post by mastaflatch »

omeaeol wrote:
Wolfpack wrote:According to Wikipedia, all instruments of 'The Narrow Way' were played by Gilmour.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Narrow_Way

However, could the drums be played by Mason?
I think the drums sound like his style.

Wasn't the concept that each member just got leadership on one quarter of the studio album?
Not ruling out contributions by other members?
On Ummagumma, every instrument is played by the composer (hence the drums on The Narrow Way by Gilmour) but the flute on The Grand Viziers'... Pt. 1 & 3 (which is played by Mason's [then] wife).
The drums on The Narrow Way aren't as effortless as what Mason could do anyway but it's clearly trying to emulate his idiosyncrasies. See also Syd's Dominoes for further demonstration of Gilmour's attempts at drumming :)
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Re: Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

Post by MoreOrLess »

Jimi Dean Barrett wrote:It will always be one of the best live albums of Prog. It isn't a screaming stadium and it shows just how quiet Prog gigs were.
If you can make a decision between "commercial" and "Avant Garde" then you could have made three sides of this double album perfect and have Roger Waters songs on the same side as Dave Gilmour.
Rick's contribution keeps the quality, but I really wish Nick realised the band was more important and made way for live version of "Interstellar Overdrive", but that's Pink Floyd in the 60's then!
5 anyway.
The live album would not for me really fit into the more narrow version of "prog" that seems to have developed, its more proto krautrock than it is akin to Yes, Genesis, etc.

As far as the tracks involved go I personally don't think that Interstellar Overdrive was as effective as the rest with the bands more Wright dominated sound in that era. I know the potential version we have isn't as tweeked as the official ones but I think all of those tracks work wonderfully(albeit its hard to say whether Astronomy Domine is "better" than the studio, both offer something different) where as I think Interstellar Overdrive became a lot more effective again when the bands sound "toughened up" a bit by 1970.

I spose the big alternative would have been actually recording the Man/Journey either live or in the studio but honestly I do think that the individual tracks we have on the 1 disk likve album might be more effective, there is a great unity of sound there and they build on each other well. The other alternative would have been to have a more conventional studio album, maybe even not to release more and instead put the best of that on Ummagumma or to release it and not use the pre existing tracks. Its good to have everything we do but in terms of the best studio album that could have been released I think you could certainly come up with something of excellent quality...

Cirus Minor, Cymbeline, Green is the Colour, Main and Dynamic themes from More, The Embryo, Biding my Time, Granchester Meadows, the Narrow Way pt 1.

With all that and the live disk I woulod say Ummagumma would have a good case for being the bands best album.

Honestly I think the big positive of the studio Ummagumma disk is that it was largely a failure that the band learnt from quickly and stuck to working together for most of the 70's whilst many other progish bands were wasting there time on memebers solo pieces in the studio and live as well as avoiding any more overt classical pretensions.
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Re: Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

Post by Jimi Dean Barrett »

Happy Birthday! 47 years today!
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Re: Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

Post by Annoying Twit »

I'm working through the PF albums reading a book on all Pink Floyd tracks and listening to the albums. I thought I was about to start on AHM, but had forgotten about Ummagumma.

I've read through this thread. I may have skim-read a few of the larger posts. But, I think my opinion matches that of many on here. The live album is good, and I enjoy the performances. The studio album is a bit more challenging. I more sort of admire its ambition and innovation, more than I enjoy the music itself. As I type, Sysyphus Pt. 4. is playing and it's academically stimulating. But, I'm glad they returned to being more song based.

I've never taken any acid, and I certainly am not going to now. Perhaps that explains why I don't get this album in the same way that others do.
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Re: Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

Post by dj865 »

It's been a long long time since I've listened to it, think I'll give it a play for old times sake!

(Had to chuckle at the time delay between annoying twits post, and the one before it - about 4 years! :roll:
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Re: Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

Post by theaussiefloydian »

The thing is, I'm not convinced this album is as bad as all that. It definitely can't be accused of being boring, that's for sure.
I don't have a lot to say about the live stuff (I like it though), so I'll just talk about the studio recordings.

Sysyphus is interesting. I won't pretend like it's high art, but Wright does some fascinating things with it. I like the theme introduced in Part 1 that comes back at the end of Part 4, and the ambience in the middle of it is quite nice as well. Part 3 (and the latter half of Part 2 for that matter) is utter nonsense I find though.

Grantchester Meadows is really nice, if probably a minute longer than it really needs to be. I also find it kind of an amusing bait-and-switch, as you listen to it thinking that Waters isn't going to be as out there with his section as Wright was, and then...
Several Species of Small Furry Animals (no I am not typing out the whole name) is a mess and a half. Waters making animal noises for five minutes (and yelling in an unconvincing Scottish accent over the second half) is... hoo boy. That being said though, it is engineered very well. So i'll give it that. I guess.

The Narrow Way is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I really really like Part 3, and I do like Parts 1 and 2, but they're not a cohesive piece I find. If they hadn't been named as such, I wouldn't think twice about it in that respect. But they are, so I do.
Part 1 has some interesting guitar things going on, but the sound effects put on top of it are a bit much I reckon.
Part 2 is really heavy and quite dark, and I dig it for that.
And as I said, I very much like Part 3. Gilmour's voice isn't exactly at his best here, but I honestly don't mind.

The Grand Vizier's Garden Party's worst sin is its name I think. This, I find, gets the most thorough thrashing of the studio Ummagumma tracks, but I don't think it deserves it at all. I find it fascinating in fact. The drum samples and loops are quite captivating, and the ambient section in the middle is kind of lovely, if not a little creepy. And the flute sections are also very pretty.

All in all, I think this album is a lot better than its given credit for. It's out there, for sure, but I appreciate the experimental approach and I'll give it a spin every so often.
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Re: Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

Post by K2+ »

4. It's always been one of my favorites from their catalogue. I think the live album is perfect, the studio stuff is hit and miss, but it is cool to hear what each of them came up with. I always loved the picture of alll the equipment. I used to stare at it for hours as a kid while I listened to the music.
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Re: Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

Post by MillzMillz85 »

I have copy of this album, special but 2 part I think it was. I cant upload a pic because its saying the files too large and I cant seem to find it anywhere alone either
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twcc
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Re: Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

Post by twcc »

There are 585 variants here -

https://www.discogs.com/search/?limit=2 ... all&page=1

Have you got yet another ??
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Re: Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

Post by battra »

Welp.

I found a copy of this one in the wild today.

I was certain it would be the one and only Pink Floyd album I never acquired on vinyl...but the lure of an in the wild siting in St. Louis...is..

Intoxicating.

It's also better than I remember.
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theaussiefloydian
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Re: Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

Post by theaussiefloydian »

battra wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 10:46 pm It's also better than I remember.
This is without fail what goes through my head every time I listen to it, because I get it into my head it's not much good, but then I listen to it and go "no, it's kinda neat (though very messy)"
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Re: Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

Post by battra »

theaussiefloydian wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 11:38 pm
battra wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 10:46 pm It's also better than I remember.
This is without fail what goes through my head every time I listen to it, because I get it into my head it's not much good, but then I listen to it and go "no, it's kinda neat (though very messy)"
I took an OG pressing home for less than $20.

You won't hear a single complaint outta my arse.