UMMAGUMMA (1969)
A very strange beast in the Floyd canon but one that should not be immediately rejected to the bottom of the pile solely on it's surface credentials. One half compising of four live tracks and the other half of approx 10-12 minutes sections of each band meraber creating their own music. This gives credence to the fact that when Pink Floyd are on the money (live) they are millionaires, but when flying solo they can sometimes have trouble rustling up the respective quarters required.
Part one consists of: ASTRONOMY DOMINE
CAREFUL WITH THAT AXE, EUGENE
SET THE CONTROLS FOR THE HEART OF THE SUN
A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS
Recorded live over two gigs: Birmingham and Manchester April/May 1969, the live tracks are truly brilliant pieces of Psychedelic rock. CWTA,E is the standout track both musically and historically. It is a truly brilliant piece of work that has it's origins in some early John Peel sessions and on the 1969 tour as BEAST FROM THE CREATURES OF THE DEEP. The primordial scream of the title track's name from Roger Waters still raises the hairs on the back of your neck nearly 30 years after it was recorded. The three other tracks are equally a shining example of the Floyd's continuing talent at conjuring a stunning live atmosphere.
Part 2:
The four merabers of Floyd get a short amount of time to showcase their talent. Unfortunately it comes out as an interesting but supremely flawed experiment, with most of the merabers disliking what they had done.
Rick Wright starts proceedings with his 4 part keyboard workout. Now we know he is an accomplished pianist but he wants to dispel this theory. At times this could be a soundtrack for a surreal Italian film, it lacks focus and genuinely great passages of play.
Roger Waters begins with a lazy but alluring acoustic led piece of pure Britannica. The background has a constant (but not distracting) soundtrack of the English countryside with birRAB cheeping and streams nonchalantly winding their way through the land. What follows seems to be the anithesis of this. Discordant and chaotic, SEVERAL SPIECES OF SMALL FURRY ANIMALS GATHERED TOGETHER IN A CAVE AND GROOVING WITH A PICT is an assault on the ears sonically, however the recording techniques used are very innovative and ahead of their time. It's still unlistenable though!
David Gilmour gives us a three part piece with vocals dominating the middle piece. It is both the most generic of the experiments and the safest and although it features some interesting guitar sounRAB (reverb, echo etc) it is some of the worst work he has ever done (and that as a huge Gilmour fan is a huge admission). Gilmour himself admitted he did'nt have a clue what he was doing.
Nick Mason closes the album with the most interesting work. Musically it is still not a cohesive work, but there is a sense of genuine experimentation apparent and there are some startling effects used in the track. Funnily enough Percussion is kept to a minimum on his section and it is all the more alluring for it.
This album is still worth it for the sensational live tracks and for anyone interested in avant-Garde/ Experimental music. It did'nt always work but kudos to the Floyd for attempting something different, and in hinRABight galvanised the band to become a whole songwriting unit and not a disparate bunch of ideas fighting to get noticed.
A very strange beast in the Floyd canon but one that should not be immediately rejected to the bottom of the pile solely on it's surface credentials. One half compising of four live tracks and the other half of approx 10-12 minutes sections of each band meraber creating their own music. This gives credence to the fact that when Pink Floyd are on the money (live) they are millionaires, but when flying solo they can sometimes have trouble rustling up the respective quarters required.
Part one consists of: ASTRONOMY DOMINE
CAREFUL WITH THAT AXE, EUGENE
SET THE CONTROLS FOR THE HEART OF THE SUN
A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS
Recorded live over two gigs: Birmingham and Manchester April/May 1969, the live tracks are truly brilliant pieces of Psychedelic rock. CWTA,E is the standout track both musically and historically. It is a truly brilliant piece of work that has it's origins in some early John Peel sessions and on the 1969 tour as BEAST FROM THE CREATURES OF THE DEEP. The primordial scream of the title track's name from Roger Waters still raises the hairs on the back of your neck nearly 30 years after it was recorded. The three other tracks are equally a shining example of the Floyd's continuing talent at conjuring a stunning live atmosphere.
Part 2:
The four merabers of Floyd get a short amount of time to showcase their talent. Unfortunately it comes out as an interesting but supremely flawed experiment, with most of the merabers disliking what they had done.
Rick Wright starts proceedings with his 4 part keyboard workout. Now we know he is an accomplished pianist but he wants to dispel this theory. At times this could be a soundtrack for a surreal Italian film, it lacks focus and genuinely great passages of play.
Roger Waters begins with a lazy but alluring acoustic led piece of pure Britannica. The background has a constant (but not distracting) soundtrack of the English countryside with birRAB cheeping and streams nonchalantly winding their way through the land. What follows seems to be the anithesis of this. Discordant and chaotic, SEVERAL SPIECES OF SMALL FURRY ANIMALS GATHERED TOGETHER IN A CAVE AND GROOVING WITH A PICT is an assault on the ears sonically, however the recording techniques used are very innovative and ahead of their time. It's still unlistenable though!
David Gilmour gives us a three part piece with vocals dominating the middle piece. It is both the most generic of the experiments and the safest and although it features some interesting guitar sounRAB (reverb, echo etc) it is some of the worst work he has ever done (and that as a huge Gilmour fan is a huge admission). Gilmour himself admitted he did'nt have a clue what he was doing.
Nick Mason closes the album with the most interesting work. Musically it is still not a cohesive work, but there is a sense of genuine experimentation apparent and there are some startling effects used in the track. Funnily enough Percussion is kept to a minimum on his section and it is all the more alluring for it.
This album is still worth it for the sensational live tracks and for anyone interested in avant-Garde/ Experimental music. It did'nt always work but kudos to the Floyd for attempting something different, and in hinRABight galvanised the band to become a whole songwriting unit and not a disparate bunch of ideas fighting to get noticed.
