Ummagumma

From Pink Floyd

Title: Ummagumma
Artist: Pink Floyd
Released: October 25, 1969
Total Length: 86:11
Label: Harvest, EMI (UK), Harvest/Capitol, Capitol (US)

Contents 1 Track Listing 1.1 Disc One - Live 1.2 Disc Two - Studio 2 Review 3 Credits 4 Info

[edit] Track Listing

[edit] Disc One - Live

1. Astronomy Domine 8:29
2. Careful With That Axe, Eugene 8:50
3. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun 9:12
4. A Saucerful Of Secrets 12:48

[edit] Disc Two - Studio

1. Sysyphus (Part 1) 1:03 (4:29)
2. Sysyphus (Part 2) 3:30 (1:49)
3. Sysyphus (Part 3) 1:49 (3:07)
4. Sysyphus (Part 4) 6:59 (3:38)
5. Grantchester Meadows 7:26
6. Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict 4:59
7. The Narrow Way (Part 1) 3:27
8. The Narrow Way (Part 2) 2:53
9. The Narrow Way (Part 3) 5:57
10. The Grand Vizier's Garden Party (Part 1: Entrance) 1:00
11. The Grand Vizier's Garden Party (Part 2: Entertainment) 7:06
12. The Grand Vizier's Garden Party (Part 3: Exit) 0:38

On the original vinyl release, "The Narrow Way" and "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party" were single tracks. On the remastered re-release, Part 1 of "Sysyphus" was split into two tracks and labelled "Part 1" and "Part 2". Part 2 on vinyl became "Part 3" on CD, while "Part 4" of the re-release consists of Parts 3 and 4 ("Part 4" beginning with the large orchestral thud). Original track times are listed in brackets above. The band had also recorded a live version of "Interstellar Overdrive" (from The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn), intended for placement on the live album. The track was dropped at the last minute, most likely to maintain the sound fidelity of the record, but numerous bootlegs were given to friends of the band including John Peel.

[edit] Review

• Song Rating: 3.1 / 5
• Overall Rating: 3 / 5
• Best Song: Careful With That Axe, Eugene

[edit] Credits

• Roger Waters - bass guitar, guitar and vocals on "Grantchester Meadows", all tape effects on "Several Species..."
• David Gilmour - vocals, guitar, all instruments and vocals on "The Narrow Way" (guitars, vocals, keyboards, drums and bass guitar)
• Richard Wright - keyboards, vocals, all instruments on "Sysyphus" (keyboards, drums, guitar and voices)
• Nick Mason - drums, percussion, all instruments on "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party" (except flute)*

with

• Lindy Mason (then Mason's wife) - Flute (uncredited)

[edit] Info

• The title Ummagumma supposedly comes from a British slang word for sexual intercourse, though the band has stated the word was made up and means nothing at all.
• The live disc was recorded at Mothers Club, Birmingham, on April 27, 1969 and the following week at Manchester College of Commerce, on May 2. The other included four solo segments, one half-side of vinyl each by David Gilmour, Richard Wright, Nick Mason and Roger Waters.
• The album would reach #5 on the UK album charts and #74 on the US album charts, marking the first time the band reached the top 100 in the US. The album was certified Gold in the US in February, 1974 and Platinum in March, 1994.
• In 1987, the album was re-released on a two CD set. A digitally re-mastered version was released in 1994 in the UK and 1995 in the US. Neither CD release includes the picture of Waters' first wife, which had appeared on the inner-gatefold sleeve of the original vinyl issue.
• The cover of the original LP varies between the British (and Canadian) and American releases. The British version has the album Gigi leaning against the wall immediately above the 'Pink Floyd' letters. On the original American album version, however, this was airbrushed to a plain white sleeve, apparently because of copyright concerns (though the Gigi cover appears in US CD version's booklet). Inside the cover is a picture of David Gilmour in front of the Elfin Oak. The rear cover (or cover of the Live Album) shows the band's equipment laid out on a runway at Biggin Hill Airfield.
• The album is the last to feature photos of the band members on the outer cover, though both Meddle and A Momentary Lapse of Reason would feature members of the band inside the gatefolds. They are seated in the order, from front-to-back, of Gilmour (in his bare feet), Waters, Mason and Wright. In each successive "reflection" in the upper-left corner, they move each band member forward one space, with the front-most member going to the back. On the US album (with the airbrushed Gigi cover), in the smallest "reflection", with Wright in the foreground, instead of another "reflection" the cover of A Saucerful of Secrets appears. On the UK version, the "reflection" has Gilmour in the front once again.
• Until the release of The Division Bell, Ummagumma was the only Pink Floyd studio album to feature a female instrumentalist. Lindy, Nick Mason's wife at the time, played flute on parts 1 and 3 of "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party". Part 3 is amongst the shortest Pink Floyd studio recordings ever released; only "Stop" 0:30, from The Wall, and "A New Machine (Part 2)" 0:38, from A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, are of equal or shorter length.