The Ummagumma poll |
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uduwudu
Forum Senior Member Joined: July 17 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2601 |
Topic: The Ummagumma poll Posted: May 22 2016 at 07:22 |
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I still think Grantchester Meadows is the best realized song on this series of demos. The Narrow Way would have benefited with a bit more confidence from DG.
The most cohesive work is the drum solo... heh. No, Sysyphus is the most cohesive piece from beginning to end. I probably voted for that ages ago but can't remember, or care. Ummagumma is unfinished and shows it. If Waters had wanted to show leadership he would have "let" Pink Floyd cast their magic spells on the tracks. And then they could have finished off The Man and The Journey and had three albums instead of 1 bonus elpee of half baked reasonably good ideas. Lucky they had a good live album to counterbalance this "leadership." Surprised the unedited and omitted were not included in the latest remaster. Poor Nick Mason, he at least mananged to get away (Twist Roger's arm) with getting the missus to record flute solos to book end his piece (Ian Anderson jams with Ginger Baker?) |
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Michael P. Dawson
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 22 2016 Location: California Status: Offline Points: 197 |
Posted: May 18 2016 at 12:23 | |||
I don't know about that. I first heard "Grantchester Meadows" on the KQED TV special in 1971, and thought it was wonderful and sought out the recording (not knowing the song title). But now after decades of familiarity with the studio version, when I go back to the KQED version it sounds deadly slow.
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Buy this thing!
https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/MichaelPDawson |
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Intruder
Forum Senior Member Joined: May 13 2005 Status: Offline Points: 2103 |
Posted: May 18 2016 at 11:55 | |||
I've warmed to pieces of the studio album over the years, but I still think later live versions of Waters' and Gilmour's tunes were far superior.
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I like to feel the suspense when you're certain you know I am there.....
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Dean
Special Collaborator Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout Joined: May 13 2007 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 37575 |
Posted: May 18 2016 at 09:58 | |||
I think it was recorded 6 months earlier than the sessions that resulted in the studio half of Ummagumma and (even) pre-dates the More studio sessions, however it was initially recorded for inclusion on the album. I suspect it was revived later (Jan 1970) because the studio half of Ummagumma didn't yield anything that played well live and then dropped again when it was replaced by the early stage versions of Echoes.
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What?
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jude111
Forum Senior Member Joined: October 20 2009 Location: Not Here Status: Offline Points: 1754 |
Posted: May 18 2016 at 09:20 | |||
Wasn't the track "Embryo" also recorded during the Ummagumma sessions? While it became an epic when played live, I love the shorter studio version as well. It's amazing the band would leave such a great track off the album.
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Dellinger
Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: June 18 2009 Location: Mexico Status: Offline Points: 12626 |
Posted: May 17 2016 at 21:46 | |||
Yeah, as an experiment it was OK... but I do wish they had written and recorded the demos this way, and then brought in the rest of the band to finish the songs/record them properly as a band. And then the studio album as it ended up could have been included a few decades later as bonus tracks. |
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Dean
Special Collaborator Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout Joined: May 13 2007 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 37575 |
Posted: May 17 2016 at 06:48 | |||
When one band member was a bit of a control-freak making the others produce something without help from the rest of the band seemed to be more about "making a point" than actually creating something worth listening too. It was a shot-to-nothing experiment, Waters knew the album would sell on the strength of the live tracks alone so there was nothing to lose and all to gain in revealing the Floyd's soft-underbelly to the world. With cynical hindsight this (and side two of AHM) established Waters as the de facto lyricist and presumptive leader of the band after Barrett's departure. There is little doubt that all four sections would have been vastly improved by allowing the rest of the band to contribute to them. The live renditions of Grantchester Meadows show what could have been: the pastoral style of the song suits Gilmour's voice far more than it does Waters' and his lighter and more experienced touch on the acoustic guitar lifts it from sounding like a school-concert recital piece to a more polished performance, and Wright's piano and organ solos elevate the composition to another level again... As I write this I am reminded of how Greg Lake's Lucky Man was transformed first by Palmer's input and then by Emerson's souring Moog solo ending into a full-fledged ELP piece... While Grantchester Meadows isn't exactly crying out for a blistering electric guitar solo or a tranquillity-shattering segue into a psychedelic space-rock jam conclusion, all of the other studio tracks would have benefited from being transformed into fully-fledged Floyd pieces just as the "Live" tracks had been given the Floyd-workover on stage from their studio origins. Anyway... to the Poll: [I've never liked Small Species...]
32 years ago I would have said The Narrow Way
16 years ago I would have said Grand Vizer's Garden Party
8 years ago I would have said Sysyphus I have to admit that this was the perennial 'overlooked' track for me. Re-evaluating Wright's contribution to Floyd (Us & Them, Remember A Day, It Would Be So Nice & Summer '68 were always firm favourites of mine) brought Sysphus to my attention and reveal his skill for composition in telling the Trials of Sisyphus in dramatic instrumental form. It does cry-out for a blistering guitar solo though... ...so anyway, I voted for Wright but tomorrow would probably change my mind. Edited by Dean - May 17 2016 at 09:48 |
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What?
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LittleBig
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 25 2016 Location: wonderland Status: Offline Points: 143 |
Posted: May 17 2016 at 02:02 | |||
you're not weird, I love Obscured by Clouds, too.
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Upbeat Tango Monday
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 10 2015 Location: Buenos Aires Status: Offline Points: 1189 |
Posted: May 16 2016 at 19:27 | |||
Yeah. I don't like it.
I prefer Barrett's solo albums to early Floyd. IMO, Pink Floyd got good after Meddle. Obscured by Clouds is my favorite record. I'm weird like that |
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Two random guys agreed to shake hands. Just Because. They felt like it, you know. It was an agreement of sorts...a random agreement.
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ALotOfBottle
Prog Reviewer Joined: February 17 2016 Location: Lublin, Poland Status: Offline Points: 1990 |
Posted: May 08 2016 at 06:14 | |||
P.S. I was also trying to be funny, perhaps the lack of emoticon made me sound serious |
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LittleBig
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 25 2016 Location: wonderland Status: Offline Points: 143 |
Posted: May 08 2016 at 05:22 | |||
I was trying to be funny, that's all Upbeat Tango Monday does not like Ummagumma, I saw it some other thread.
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ALotOfBottle
Prog Reviewer Joined: February 17 2016 Location: Lublin, Poland Status: Offline Points: 1990 |
Posted: May 08 2016 at 05:15 | |||
"None" may refer to Syd Barrett's contribution to the work. |
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LittleBig
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 25 2016 Location: wonderland Status: Offline Points: 143 |
Posted: May 08 2016 at 04:47 | |||
None? I don't know this Pink Floyd member Is it his first name or last name?
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Upbeat Tango Monday
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 10 2015 Location: Buenos Aires Status: Offline Points: 1189 |
Posted: May 08 2016 at 04:46 | |||
None
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Two random guys agreed to shake hands. Just Because. They felt like it, you know. It was an agreement of sorts...a random agreement.
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tdfloyd
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 06 2008 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 967 |
Posted: May 08 2016 at 02:38 | |||
Nick, Rick, Roger, David
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ALotOfBottle
Prog Reviewer Joined: February 17 2016 Location: Lublin, Poland Status: Offline Points: 1990 |
Posted: May 08 2016 at 01:26 | |||
Whichever anyone likes the most, you've got to admit "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party" is a terrific title!
Well, all of the titles on Ummagumma are sick. "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" is also phenomenal. I really like Ummagumma, despite all the negative thoughts it often gets. People are just afraid to get out of the comfort zone. It should not be treated as a classic Pink Floyd album, but rather... Musique Concrete? I don't know. But it's a good album! |
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jude111
Forum Senior Member Joined: October 20 2009 Location: Not Here Status: Offline Points: 1754 |
Posted: May 07 2016 at 22:08 | |||
First off, I just want to say that I loved this album back in the day. (I mean, back when I discovered it, in the 80s.) I think it had a big impact at the time, in Germany particularly. (If this were a Krautrock album, I think it would be rated higher than it is. But this is *pre* Krautrock.) Great album. I went with Gilmour's The Narrow Way, but all of it's so cool.
Edited by jude111 - May 07 2016 at 22:11 |
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LittleBig
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 25 2016 Location: wonderland Status: Offline Points: 143 |
Posted: May 07 2016 at 04:10 | |||
Wright
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octopus-4
Special Collaborator RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams Joined: October 31 2006 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 13463 |
Posted: May 07 2016 at 04:06 | |||
The best example of alliteration (does this word exist in English?) after Syd Barret is gone.
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Curiosity killed a cat, Schroedinger only half.
My poor home recorded stuff at https://yellingxoanon.bandcamp.com |
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King Manuel
Forum Senior Member Joined: October 16 2010 Location: South Africa Status: Offline Points: 952 |
Posted: May 07 2016 at 01:38 | |||
Hear the lark and harken to the barking of the dog fox
Gone to ground. See the splashing of the kingfisher flashing to the water. And a river of green is sliding unseen beneath the trees Laughing as it passes through the endless summer Making for the sea. |
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