Poll: How do you rate Pink Floyd's "Ummagumma" album?

It's a fine Friday morning here and time for the next poll in our series, as promised! I'll usually be taking a week or so between polls, but "The Wall" poll seemed to have run its course, so here we are.

As usual, the rules: 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.

So, how do YOU rate this album?

Album history: "Ummagumma is the fourth album by the English rock band Pink Floyd. It is a double album and was released on 25 October 1969 by Harvest Records in the UK and by Capitol Records internationally. The first disc consists of live recordings from concerts at Mothers Club in Birmingham and the College of Commerce in Manchester that contained part of their normal set list of the time, while the second contains solo compositions by each member of the band recorded at the Abbey Road Studios.[6][7] The artwork was designed by regular Floyd collaborators Hipgnosis and features a number of pictures of the band combined to give a Droste effect."

Tracklist:
1-1 Astronomy Domine 8:32
1-2 Careful With That Axe, Eugene 8:49
1-3 Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun 9:27
1-4 A Saucerful Of Secrets 12:48
2-1 Sysyphus (Parts 1-4) 13:28
2-2 Grantchester Meadows 7:26
2-3 Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict 4:59
2-4 The Narrow Way (Parts 1-3) 12:17
2-5 The Grand Vizier's Garden Party (Parts 1-3) 8:46




Previous polls:
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Currently 441 people have voted, with an average of 4.27.
The Wall. Currently 723 (wow!) people have voted, with an average of 3.98.

 

patchy, at best

 

Not bad. I love Grantchester Meadows and The Narrow Way.

 

It's an excellent album. I wish the live takes were sonically better, but that "Eugene" is the best I've heard. I find the studio album to be truly interesting, and not just an excercise of psychedelic self-indulgence, as many people think.

 

Their worst other than The Final Cut. If it weren't for the live versions of older tunes that occupy half of it, it would be even worse than that.

I suppose there is some artistic merit to the tune Sisyphus in that listening to it repeatedly would make the listener as miserable as the mythical subject, which is a neat trick. But that does not make me want to subject myself to it.

A real let down as it followed my favorite Pink Floyd album.

 

Live stuff is nice. Grooving with a pict and Narrow Way are interesting.

But, yeah...the remainder is patchy.

 

Love it. Just edging out Saucer for second place in the pantheon. Piper is clearly in first place.

 

Once again, I go with "Not bad" - partly because I'm a kind person at heart, partly because Ummagumma really is not that bad once you get the hang of it, so to speak. The live album is passable and the studio album has its moments as well. My favourite sections are probably Gilmour's and Wright's. Of course, it isn't coherent in any way, but - then again - it probably wasn't meant to be.

 

CLEARLY one of their best works and essential for these reasons:

1. The Big One: The live album. This is the only official Pink Floyd live album featuring the entire classic lineup that was released contemporaneously, and it showcases the Floyd in their old-school incarnation as an experimental avant garde art rock band. It's miles away from the carefully calculated and enhanced performances of the post-Dark Side era - this is just four hip British stoners letting it rip, but still maintaining a careful framework in their chaos. At least two of the four cuts are considered the definitive versions of these compositions (Saucerful and Axe).

2. The Waters and Gilmour sections of the solo disc are essential IMHO. "Grantchester Meadows" is easily the most beautiful of the Floyd's pastoral folk tunes. "The Narrow Way" is beautifully played, sonically impressive, and the jungle section is actually quite humorous, and probably intended that way.

3. The Wright and Mason sections aren't really that bad. I've given several listens to "Sysyphus" lately and it holds up better than I remembered. Mason's portion is easily the least impressive offering but I give him points for effort, and for not turning it into a John Bonham type drum solo.

Conclusion: If you're at all interested in how we got from Piper to Dark Side, Ummagumma is an essential stop on the highway. This is, after all, the album that brought the Floyd to the attention of American FM radio stations. It's an unpolished adventurous experiment issued during an era where unpolished adventure was a necessary career move. If you're only casually interested in the Floyd, then it's perhaps less important, so I wouldn't argue with anyone who passes on it. But for a deeper understanding of this important band, it's necessary.

 

In the bottom tier. For the die hard completist only. The album cover's great, though!

 

Not Bad...Very interesting album cover.

It's when Roger was able to prove to the rest of the band that he is truly the only songwriter. Grandchester Meadows stands head and shoulders above the rest of the songs on studio part of this LP, even though I like the Narrow Way.

I believe there was a fight between Roger and David over David asking for help with the lyrics to his contribution, The Narrow Way.

Haven't you heard it's a battle of words? The best version of Careful with at axe, Eugene. 8:51

 

Clearly one of Pink Floyd's finest albums: the band at their experimental best.

The live album, is just a monster: I could never tire of it.

All of the studio tracks have merit, but I guess my fave is The Narrow Way...the shape of things to come.

 

I don't think there was a fight over it, according to the story David asked Roger for help with the lyrics and Roger said, "No can do, my man, this is supposed to be a solo project. You can't crib my notes, that's cheating."

 

I used to put this in the so-so category but as my interest in the band's earlier years has increased over time, I now find it fascinating. I still didn't give it the highest rating but give me another 10 years of listening and who knows?

 

Live album is pretty good

 

IMO, Ummagumma is the real Pink Floyd. Weird, freaky, experimental and melodic. That's how I like my Floyd compared to the mainstream prog of 'Dark Side' which I never cared for. The live Eugene is Floyd's best version IMO. Water's opening scream is particularly intense and more effective than any other version I've heard. The studio disk save for Mason's forgettable contribution is my 2nd favorite Floyd studio effort, second to only Piper. I'm not much of a fan of Set The Controls because like Embryo, it's a weak riff that was just used as a space jam on stage. The live Saucerful works much better and I prefer it to the studio version. A great double lp...and the back cover is so cool.

 

More is your favorite PF album? I love More but have to be in the mood for it.

 

Still haven't listened to it.

 

I was thinking about the poll. In a way, every record is going to be essential listening for Floyd fans!

 

It's a brilliant five-star masterpiece. The second Floyd album I ever bought (at 12 years old (late 1975), right after WYWH)(2LPs for the price of one, and that 'Grooving With A Pict' title had me intrigued - I just had to know what that sounded like.) Played it to death at the time and never got tired of it. Still love it madly to this day.

Can't stand that stupid green slipcase on the 1994 remaster, though.

 

The fact that they had to cram a live EP in it should give enough indication of how confident they (or the label) felt in the rest of the generally weak, middling material. It was a transitional album that has a few highlights but mostly served as a bridge between two distinct periods in the band's trajectory.

A fairly good analogue would be On Their Majesties' Satanic Request. Interesting for being transitional and experimental, but dwarfed by the unparalleled masterpieces surrounding it.

 

Love it. The frequently slagged Wright and Mason solo pieces are two of my favorite parts. Great tape manipulation in Mason's track.

 

i never listen to it.

 

"Clearly one of their best works". The live stuff is absolutely essential. I'm surprised that it doesn't get even more love than it already does. Personally I don't have any issues with sonics-raw and powerful. Love it. A lot of the studio stuff is really good too or at least interesting to me.

 

This album had 2 good songs, and then the rest cornfused me? Too much of Syd's mandrax?Not sure here if it was an experiment or what. If I recall correctly there was a funny bit where they were playing a lully bye to make you relax, and then Rick slams his hands on his keyboard loudly, LOL! Woke me up. All in all it truly was one funky album.