Bonus Poll: How do you rate Roger Waters & Ron Geesin's "Music from The Body" album?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Johnny Reb, Jan 2, 2018.

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  1. Johnny Reb

    Johnny Reb Résident du forum Thread Starter

    Location:
    MA
    And finally, bonus poll #2 of 2, the experimental album Music from The Body.

    The rules for this series: this poll is designed for people familiar with the album in question and with at least some familiarity with some of their other catalog (for comparison purposes). If the poll doesn't interest you, please kindly move on to a thread that does. Please simply consider how YOU would rate the album in question, in comparison with the rest of the Floyd's discography! And as always, a shout-out to member mrjinks for creating all the groundwork for this series.

    Note: while this is an album with a more limited involvement of Floyd member(s) than most of the others in this series, the same rating options are used here. This is to ensure we can compare the results of this poll and the others without comparing totally different data sets, but it might result in some skewed results for this album. This is why it's a "bonus" poll.

    So, how do YOU rate this album?

    Album history: "Music from The Body is the soundtrack album to Roy Battersby's 1970 documentary film The Body,[2] about human biology, narrated by Vanessa Redgrave and Frank Finlay."


    Tracklist:
    1. Our Song 1:24
    2. Sea Shell And Stone 2:17
    3. Red Stuff Writhe 1:11
    4. A Gentle Breeze Blew Through Life 1:19
    5. Lick Your Partners 0:35
    6. Bridge Passage For Three Plastic Teeth 0:35
    7. Chain Of Life 3:59
    8. The Womb Bit 2:06
    9. Embryo Thought 0:39
    10. March Past Of The Embryos 1:08
    11. More Than Seven Dwarfs in *****-Land 2:03
    12. Dance Of The Red Corpuscles 2:04
    13. Body Transport 3:16
    14. Hand Dance — Full Evening Dress 1:01
    15. Breathe 2:53
    16. Old Folks Ascension 3:47
    17. Bed-Time-Dream-Clime 2:02
    18. Piddle In Perspex 0:57
    19. Embryonic Womb-Walk 1:14
    20. Mrs. Throat Goes Walking 2:05
    21. Sea Shell And Soft Stone 2:05
    22. Give Birth To A Smile 2:49

    [​IMG]


    Previous polls (updated 12/18 unless noted):
    Pink Floyd (updated 11/13):
    The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Currently 674 people have voted, with an average of 4.23.
    A Saucerful of Secrets. Currently 377 people have voted, with an average of 3.80.
    More. Currently 310 people have voted, with an average of 3.38.
    Ummagumma. Currently 447 people have voted, with an average of 3.09.
    Atom Heart Mother. Currently 482 people have voted, with an average of 3.73.
    Meddle. Currently 525 people have voted, with an average of 4.70.
    Obscured by Clouds. Currently 463 people have voted, with an average of 3.86.
    The Dark Side of the Moon. Currently 644 people have voted, with an average of 4.75.
    Wish You Were Here. Currently 785 people have voted, with an average of 4.77.
    Animals. Currently 750 people have voted, with an average of 4.62.
    The Wall. Currently 861 people have voted, with an average of 4.02.
    The Final Cut. Currently 600 people have voted, with an average of 3.09.
    A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Currently 451 people have voted, with an average of 2.97.
    Delicate Sound of Thunder. Currently 263 people have voted, with an average of 2.87.
    The Division Bell. Currently 508 people have voted, with an average of 3.29.
    Pulse. Currently 357 people have voted, with an average of 3.36.
    Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81. Currently 257 people have voted, with an average of 3.67.
    The Endless River. Currently 483 people have voted, with an average of 2.51.

    Syd Barrett:
    The Madcap Laughs. Currently 244 people have voted, with an average of 3.82.
    Barrett. Currently 171 people have voted, with an average of 3.80.
    Opel. Currently 96 people have voted, with an average of 3.42.

    Nick Mason:
    Fictitious Sports. Currently 69 people have voted, with an average of 2.59.

    David Gilmour:
    David Gilmour. Currently 247 people have voted, with an average of 3.85.
    About Face. Currently 121 people have voted, with an average of 3.31.
    On An Island. Currently 142 people have voted, with an average of 3.43.
    Rattle That Lock. Currently 114 people have voted, with an average of 3.36.

    Richard Wright:
    Wet Dream. Currently 75 people have voted, with an average of 3.40.
    Broken China. Currently 39 people have voted, with an average of 3.26.

    Roger Waters:
    The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking. Currently 229 people have voted, with an average of 3.20.
    Radio K.A.O.S.. Currently 148 people have voted, with an average of 2.89.
    Amused to Death. Currently 149 people have voted, with an average of 3.84.
    Is This the Life We Really Want?. Currently 177 people have voted, with an average of 3.74. Updated 1/2/'18.

    Bonus polls:
    Zee: Identity.

    Updated 11/13
    1. Wish You Were Here: 4.77
    2. The Dark Side of the Moon: 4.75
    3. Meddle: 4.70
    4. Animals: 4.62
    5. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn: 4.23
    6. The Wall: 4.02
    7. Obscured by Clouds: 3.864
    8. David Gilmour - David Gilmour: 3.860
    9. Syd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs: 3.81
    10. A Saucerful of Secrets: 3.80
    11. Syd Barrett - Barrett: 3.78
    12. Atom Heart Mother: 3.73
    13. Is There Anybody Out There?: 3.67
    14. David Gilmour - On An Island: 3.43
    15. Syd Barrett - Opel: 3.385
    16. More: 3.381
    17. David Gilmour - Rattle That Lock: 3.360
    18. Pulse: 3.359
    19. Richard Wright - Wet Dream: 3.35
    20. David Gilmour - About Face: 3.31
    21. Ummagumma: 3.091
    22. The Final Cut: 3.088
    23. A Momentary Lapse of Reason: 2.97
    24. Delicate Sound of Thunder: 2.87
    25. Nick Mason - Fictitious Sports: 2.65
    26. The Endless River: 2.51


    ***********
    A summary thread with stats and such will follow this thread in about two weeks. Stay tuned!
     
  2. RonBaker

    RonBaker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Jackson, Ohio USA
    Other than "Give Birth to a Smile" not much worth hearing.
     
    Rfreeman likes this.
  3. andrewskyDE

    andrewskyDE Island Owner

    Location:
    Europe
    I don't have the album yet, even missed an opportunity to get a Japan pressing of this via Ebay a while ago.
     
  4. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    I forgot I owned that. Is it worth anything?
     
  5. PretzelLogic

    PretzelLogic Feeling duped by MoFi? You probably deserve it.

    Location:
    London, England
    Love it, but it's musically close to worthless if you're looking for Floyd/rock stuff. The Ron Geesin pieces are nice cello-led instrumental things, and Roger's couple of acoustic moments are charming but basically the same song with different words. It's far more Geesin than Waters, and certainly not rock music for the most part - even the Floyd song is poorly recorded and mixed.

    The charm for me is in the primary-school avant-garde moments like the opening track made up of body percussion, or the 'Body Transport' where someone pretends to be sleeping and Ron and Roger are trying to move them.

    I'd recommend the documentary if you haven't seen it. It's about the human life cycle and got a budget release a few years ago on DVD. Roger narrates a section of it.

    I picked up a near-immaculate copy in a record store in Santa Cruz and it appears to have been barely played ever. I'd wager that there's not a huge market for it.
     
    aphexj likes this.
  6. Dreams266

    Dreams266 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ
    You know you're in for a real treat when the music "from the body" is the sound of someone ****ting into a toilet within first minute! Lol, not kidding. I'm glad he had the audacity to do something like this and it may have been fun but it's not enjoyable for most part.
     
    Runicen and seed_drill like this.
  7. andrewskyDE

    andrewskyDE Island Owner

    Location:
    Europe
    'Give Birth To A Smile' contains all Floyd members. Think that's worth it already.
     
  8. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    So, it's like an inoculation, then?
     
  9. Chrome_Head

    Chrome_Head Planetary Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA.
    I honestly haven't listened to this in ages, probably more than a decade since I put the CD on.

    Interesting curio and features some of Waters' super-simple early folky style. Went with so-so.

    Doesn't the song "Breathe" here contain embryonic (pardon the pun) lyrics to "Breathe" from DSotM?

    Fun fact for Radiohead fans: this was the first solo album by Waters, an active Floyd bandmember (so not counting Syd), which was a soundtrack to a film called Music From The Body.

    The first solo album by a Radiohead bandmember was the soundtrack to a film about the human body by Jonny Greenwood, called Bodysong (in 2003).

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2018
  10. aphexj

    aphexj Sound mind & body

    I just wanted to point out that The Endless River scored lower than Fictitious Sports :laugh:

    I enjoy this album. It's weird but I like weird :)
     
    kendo likes this.
  11. Johnny Reb

    Johnny Reb Résident du forum Thread Starter

    Location:
    MA
    I've never heard Fictitious Sports, but, as an Endless River fan, I was very disappointed it scored so low!
     
    andrewskyDE and Rfreeman like this.
  12. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    I'd put Endless River around the middle of their output, and it is the Floyd I have listened to the most since it's release.
     
    Johnny Reb likes this.
  13. andrewskyDE

    andrewskyDE Island Owner

    Location:
    Europe
    It's one of the Floyd albums I listen to the most recently!
    There are times when I prefer instrumental works and this is a perfect record.
     
    Johnny Reb likes this.
  14. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident

    Worth about tree fiddy.


    ....Sorry... But I'm not really sorry. :laugh:
     
    seed_drill likes this.
  15. Terrapin Station

    Terrapin Station Master Guns

    Location:
    NYC Man/Joy-Z City
    Masterpiece in my opinion.
     
    plentyofjamjars67 and SM7609 like this.
  16. Johnny Reb

    Johnny Reb Résident du forum Thread Starter

    Location:
    MA
    Summary thread coming a week from today. But do vote on this if you haven't, it would be nice to get some more.
     
  17. elaterium

    elaterium Forum Resident

    I've always enjoyed this album, like it more than most Floyd albums. Chain of Life is particularly moving.
     
    plentyofjamjars67 likes this.
  18. quicksilverbudie

    quicksilverbudie quicksilverbudie

    Location:
    Ontario
    I have had this for (3) decades never played, need to clean it up and give it a spin>:agree:


    sean
     
  19. Johnny Reb

    Johnny Reb Résident du forum Thread Starter

    Location:
    MA
  20. Sytze

    Sytze Senior Member

    That's why it was considered for the Early Years box at some point. I wish they'd included it... and in better sound quality than we have now.
     
    andrewskyDE likes this.
  21. Johnny Reb

    Johnny Reb Résident du forum Thread Starter

    Location:
    MA
    A bump for this one!
     
  22. Chrome_Head

    Chrome_Head Planetary Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA.
    Finally dug this CD out of my boxes of discs in the closet. Looking forward to listening to it again after a long time.
     
    Johnny Reb likes this.
  23. pinkrudy

    pinkrudy Senior Member

    This and pros and cons are my favourite waters albums. I love this album.
     
    plentyofjamjars67 likes this.
  24. plentyofjamjars67

    plentyofjamjars67 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    I learned of Music From The Body in the Pink Floyd An Illustrated Discography book I bought and read over and over back in the early 80s, age 12-13. The song titles really fueled my young imagination. I am a big fan of Ummagumma and Atom Heart Mother and would consider this album a nice bridge between the two. One thing- I'm not at all fond of burps and farts so "Our Song" is one track this listener (that is generally against skipping songs listening to albums) skips. It's the first track so that's easy enough.

    I voted a pretty solid effort- I really like the flow of instrumental tracks mixed with Roger's acoustic songs. I really enjoy the strings, especially the cello and also the stoned-sounding shenanigans going on here and there. "Give Birth To A Smile" has a gospel vibe to it and while I'm glad to see actual PF wrapping things up, I prefer Waters' "Chain Of Life", a beautiful little tune that may remind one of his "Grantchester Meadows" off Ummagumma. I have the 1989 UK CD and am interested in finding an LP.
     
  25. bigmikerocks

    bigmikerocks Forum Resident

    Does anyone know who the backing vocalists were on ‘give birth to a smile’?
     
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