Pink Floyd- Ummagumma

After the release of their 1969 studio album More, the soundtrack to the film of the same name, Pink Floyd knew how it felt to release an album without their old leader, Roger 'Syd' Barrett, and they enjoyed it. Without having to conform to the pop specifications that Syd created his songs within, they were able to truly expand their music, extending songs longer and longer, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes. This was especially true of their live shows which audiences knew were much different than the concise album versions of the songs played live. Pink Floyd now wanted to release an official recording of a live show to give everyone the opportunity to hear just how awesome their shows were. Soon that idea evolved into making a double album- disc 1 being a live album and disc 2 being devoted to each of the band members' individual songs. Each member would get a quarter of the second disc to themselves which led to a lot of experimental music on the album.

Once their ideas were in place and recorded, Ummagumma was released in October 1969 in the UK (November for the US close after More was released. The artwork would become iconic with its picture in picture in picture in picture idea. Various sources have different stories about the title. Some say it is a slang word for sex while others say its just some gibberish made up by the band.

The album's first disc comprises the live album. This is essentially their live set at the time, although it excludes "Interstellar Overdrive" because it was too long, clocking in at 13 minutes. The first track is an 8 and a half minute version of "Astronomy Domine" from Piper at the Gates of Dawn. I have always perceived this as a great opener ever since I heard it open the Piper album, and even live it is a great opener. The tune is extended by repeating the first verse and making the instrumental middle section very dynamic, building up from a small organ solo by Rick Wright into the whole band very powerfully. After this, it transfers into the last verse and ends. As with all of the songs on this live record, I really prefer the live version of this song. All of these are beautifully constructed and obviously longer. I also sense more heart in what they are playing. These versions really show the band's progress and transfer into the realm of progressive rock, which is very cool. I usually do not enjoy live albums by most bands because they don't re-imagine their songs or even attempt to make any differences to their songs, but this is a very good example of a fantastic live album.

Following the opening track is "Careful With That Axe, Eugene", the b-side to their "Point Me at the Sky" single. This one is also brilliantly played and shows how far the band had come since the actual single was released. Roger's screams scare me half to death every time I hear them and they send shivers down most people's spines. The musicianship is great as well. The piece is very dynamic transferring from a relatively soft opening to the loud blood curdling vocals of Waters.

Next up is Waters' "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"from Saucer. Live, it creates a whole new atmosphere that wasn't present on the original recording. This one is extended with a quieter middle section that loses the drums. Rick really shines on this version of the track. The whole band gradually joins in for the end. Roger Water's vocals are quiet, but wonderful, sung with much meaning. I would say this is a standout track, but all of the live tracks standout!

The last one on the live album is "A Saucerful of Secrets" from the album of the same name. The funny thing about this one is that they've changed it so much from the studio recorded version that it makes more sense as a whole song now, showing their advancement from psychedelic to progressive. The track still has the sound clips and effects that the original has, but in this one, it sounds more like the band as a collective whole which is an improvement in my eyes. The way that Roger, Rick, Nick, and David work together to create these atmospheres is incredible. The last 5 minutes or so are my favorite as a quiet organ solo gradually builds up with the drums, bass, and guitar all powerfully come in with a pretty chord sequence. The "Celestial Voices" section is also sung with much more emotion than on the original.

Next comes the second disc which contains all of the solo songs by each member. I have to say that I always prefer a band that works as a whole and this disc is a good example of why. The quarter given to each person is spent mostly in experimentation, which wouldn't be too bad if it were executed in a better way. The first track "Sysyphus" is Rick Wright's solo piece which is comprised of experimentation with his piano and synthesizers. Divided into four sections, "Sysyphus" tells the story of the Greek mythological character Sisyphus in music. Part one consists of symphonic drums building up with synthesizers acting as orchestration play over the drums. Part two is a piano showcase that starts out just fine, but soon becomes dissonant and frankly quite annoying. It sounds like he just banged on the piano randomly. Part three is perhaps the weirdest section in the song, featuring strummed piano strings and drums in the background, which gradually becomes more and more chaotic as birds start chirping very loudly over top the instruments. Part four consists of orchestration gradually building up until the tune to part one is reprised. I really am not a fan of this song at all. I could understand it as a shortened live piece, but on record its just recklessly banging on instruments.

The second half of the first side of disc 1 is comprised of Waters' two pieces, "Grantchester Meadows"and "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving With a Pict". The first sounds like a standard Pink Floyd song, reminiscent of "Cirrus Minor" from More. The track features acoustic guitar and vocals all done by Waters. All the while, the sounds of birds chirping can be heard in the background. This is definitely a standout track from the second disc. Towards the end of the song, Waters begins to harmonize his own voice in a beautiful way, sounding like Simon and Garfunkel. Unfortunately, Waters' other track is not as well constructed. "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving With a Pict" is a collection of sounds of animals all made by Roger. It's fun to listen to the first or second time, but it really is just annoying. Later on, Roger imitates the voice of a Scotsman and just rants about nothing.

The next side opens with David Gilmour's quarter "The Narrow Way". This one is much better than Wright's contribution and can be seen as a sort of guitar showcase. The track is divided into three sections. The first has acoustic guitars playing a shuffle sort tune that has some synthesizers that play over top. The second section features Gilmour on electric guitar, bass, organ, and drums. He plays a riff on bass and guitar that is repeated the entire portion of the song. Overtop is more of the spacey effects. Halfway through the section, all the parts are modulated into a drone that segues into part three. Part three finally introduces Gilmour's vocals which are overtop a guitar. Midway through the section, drums come in and the piece gradually gets louder. This is my favorite track on the studio portion of the album because it feels the most complete.

The final piece of the album belongs to drummer Nick Mason. His multi-parted instrumental piece "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party" is, as with the most of the second disc of Ummagumma, extremely experimental. The first part consists of a flute playing followed by a drum roll and an abrupt cymbal crash. The second section is more experimental with multiple percussion sound effects and multiple instrument sounds being created. Nick eventually gets a sort of drum solo at the end of the track but then abruptly ends, cutting into the third and final section. This only comprises of the flute melody from section one and is a very odd way to end the album. I'm not a huge fan of this track because it just lacks any form, which can be cool if shorter and leading into something, but this just doesn't add up to anything worthwhile.

In rating the album, I will give three ratings:
1. Live Album: 10 out of 10, my only gripe being the sound quality which is minor as its only the limitations of live sound recordings of the time.
2. Studio Album: A weak 5 out of  10 because only a few parts are interesting and not too experimental.
3. Both together: 7 out of 10.

The live version of "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" from this album:

Pink Floyd- Soundtrack to the Film More

In 1969, Pink Floyd was recovering from the loss of their leader Syd Barrett. The 4 piece Pink Floyd- comprised of Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Rick Wright- had tried their hand at creating   pop songs and singles as popular as Barrett's. In 1968 they released their first post-Barrett single (and last for several years) entitled "Point Me at the Sky" which was very unpopular in comparison to their Syd Barrett written singles such as "See Emily Play" and "Arnold Layne". The b-side of the single contained a far more popular song entitled "Careful with that Axe, Eugene" which would be played in a much more extended form live. This was the point where things turned for the band. They realized that they would much rather play the extended music that was hardly single material than the hits that the record label wanted. This proved to be key in the future of Pink Floyd.

Pink Floyd was approached in 1969 by film director Barbet Schroeder to create the soundtrack for his film More, an indie drug film. This was the perfect opportunity, the Floyd thought, for them to record what they wanted to record- songs that focused a lot on instrumentation and that didn't have to focus on being a hit.

The soundtrack, entitled Soundtrack from the Film More, was released in the summer of 1969. It has a noticeably proggier sound to it than their previous works, although it does also touch on genres like hard rock on "Ibiza Bar" and "The Nile Song". The album opens with a soft, acoustic number written by Waters (most of the non-instrumental songs are written by him) that acts as a prelude of sorts to the album. It sounds like your outside with the band next to you in the grass playing the song. There are multiple sound clips of birds chirping and the breeze blowing that gives a very cool feel to the song. The vocals have an almost trancy sound to them with a lot of echo on them. This track is followed by a rude awakening of sorts, the hard rocker "The Nile Song". This is the hardest Floyd song in their career up to that point with heavily distorted guitar and raging vocals from Gilmour. I am not a big fan of this track because it sounds like they are trying to imitate other groups, but I applaud their trying to reflect the lyrics in the music. The third track "Crying Song"returns to the softer sound of the first track with more trancy lyrics that sound like a tribal chant almost. Standard Pink Floyd of the time. This is followed by "Up the Khyber", the first of 6 instrumental tracks on the album (7 if you count Gilmour's "A Spanish Piece"). This sounds very similar to parts of the title track from A Saucerful of Secrets, with a constant drum loop and keyboard chaos overtop. It's a refreshing piece from Mason and Wright after the Gilmour and Waters compositions.

Next is the standout acoustic track "Green is the Colour". The song, written by Waters, features a wonderful guitar melody and equally wonderful vocals from David Gilmour. This is one of my favorites from the album because it finds a good middle ground between hard and soft songs with its acoustic guitar and piano, but well sung lyrics by Gilmour which keeps this song in your head for a long time. This is followed by another fantastic track "Cymbaline". The track tells about a nightmare, very vividly sung by Gilmour. The chorus is short but catchy, and the song also finds a good middle ground between hard and soft. There is even some scat performed by Gilmour in the middle section. Rick Wright's playing on this track is soft but melodic which gets across the mood, going from major to minor within one chord. This is followed by the side closer "Party Sequence", another short instrumental. This one sounds very tribal as it is played with tribal percussion and features a penny whistle over top.

The next side begins with a build up of a gong on the track "Main Theme". The third instrumental on the album, the song goes through various changes throughout. After the gong at the beginning, Wright's organ plays for a while alone until Roger and Mason come in with a bass and drum sequence very reminiscent of the opening of "Let There Be More Light" off of Saucer. David Gilmour eventually comes with his guitar played with a slide. This piece is very atmospheric, almost like a soft version of "One of These Days" from Meddle. The following track "Ibiza Bar" is essentially "The Nile Song" part 2. It contains a hard rock sound, which, as I said, I am not a big fan of. I do enjoy, though, the excellent solo from Dave Gilmour in the middle and another at the end. "More Blues", the tenth track, is another instrumental, with (as the title suggests) a blues feel to it. It sounds similar to Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You", but with a less in-your-face guitar sound. I like it, although it seems too short as I think it would have made a great extended piece. The following track "Quicksilver" is completely different than any other track on this record and I can only somewhat compare it to "A Saucerful of Secrets". The instrumental opens with eerie sound effects and then transition into what sounds like an organ with church bells playing over it. Mason also plays a gong in the background. This goes on for a while, showing the experimental approach that Pink Floyd loved to use in their pieces. It makes perfect sense especially in a soundtrack, but I have a feeling most casual listeners won't care for it. I personally like it because I like the experimental stuff to a certain degree. There is a certain place for that sort of stuff and I think the band nailed it on this track.

The last two songs are also instrumentals. "A Spanish Piece" is the second to last track. It features Gilmour playing in a traditional Spanish guitar way with a flamenco guitar riff. Overtop are several spoken word parts done by Gilmour that pretty much act out a scene in a Spanish bar. The closer "Dramatic Theme" reprises the bass/drum sequence found on "Main Theme" but with a jazzier feel. Gilmour's guitar is very prominent and Wright plays the organ quietly in the background. This is another track that I think would have been even better if extended out longer. All in all, though, the number makes a fantastic end to the album.

More is far from flawless, but certainly is not a bad album. It contains many more experimental ideas and acoustic numbers than in prior albums, but that often works to its advantage. I give it a 7 out of 10.

The track "Green Is the Colour":