The Ummagumma poll - Progressive Rock Music Forum

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Barbu

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Posted: May 06 2016 at 11:48

Rog but all pretty weak.

King Manuel View Drop Down

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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.

octopus-4

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Posted: May 07 2016 at 04:06

The best example of alliteration (does this word exist in English?) after Syd Barret is gone.

Curiosity killed a cat, Schroedinger only half.
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LittleBig

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Posted: May 07 2016 at 04:10

Wright

jude111

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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

ALotOfBottle View Drop Down

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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! Wink

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! Smile

tdfloyd

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Posted: May 08 2016 at 02:38

Nick, Rick, Roger, David

Upbeat Tango Monday View Drop Down

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Posted: May 08 2016 at 04:46

None

Two random guys agreed to shake hands. Just Because. They felt like it, you know. It was an agreement of sorts...a random agreement.

LittleBig

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Posted: May 08 2016 at 04:47

Originally posted by Upbeat Tango Monday

Upbeat Tango Monday wrote:

None

None? I don't know this Pink Floyd member LOL

Is it his first name or last name?

ALotOfBottle View Drop Down

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Posted: May 08 2016 at 05:15

LittleBig wrote:

Upbeat Tango Monday wrote:

None

None? I don't know this Pink Floyd member LOL

Is it his first name or last name?

"None" may refer to Syd Barrett's contribution to the work.

LittleBig

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Posted: May 08 2016 at 05:22

ALotOfBottle wrote:

LittleBig wrote:

Upbeat Tango Monday wrote:

None

None? I don't know this Pink Floyd member LOL

Is it his first name or last name?

"None" may refer to Syd Barrett's contribution to the work.

I was trying to be funny, that's all

Upbeat Tango Monday does not like Ummagumma, I saw it some other thread. Big smile

ALotOfBottle View Drop Down

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Posted: May 08 2016 at 06:14

LittleBig wrote:

ALotOfBottle wrote:

LittleBig wrote:

Upbeat Tango Monday wrote:

None

None? I don't know this Pink Floyd member LOL

Is it his first name or last name?

"None" may refer to Syd Barrett's contribution to the work.

I was trying to be funny, that's all

Upbeat Tango Monday does not like Ummagumma, I saw it some other thread. Big smile

P.S.
I was also trying to be funny, perhaps the lack of emoticon made me sound serious Tongue

Upbeat Tango Monday View Drop Down

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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

Two random guys agreed to shake hands. Just Because. They felt like it, you know. It was an agreement of sorts...a random agreement.

LittleBig

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Posted: May 17 2016 at 02:02

Upbeat Tango Monday wrote:

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

you're not weird, I love Obscured by Clouds, too. Big smile

Dean

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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...]

45+ years ago I would have said Grantchester Meadows

I used to love singing Grantchester Meadows as I stumbled home from the pub late at night (other songs in my drunken repertoire included Julia Dream and Cirrus Minor... and The Nile Song & Bike ). I can't claim credit for this, it was prompted by an old school friend (Mike Pierce) who once told me how he used to sing it on the way home from the pub, so later when I staggered home alone along country roads lit only by moonlight I would serenade the nocturnal creatures with my slurred off-key singing from the Pink Floyd songbook. [beats the hell out of drunkedly singing My Way].

32 years ago I would have said The Narrow Way

The release of About Face sent me scouring through my Floyd album collection looking for Gilmour-written songs and by then this had surpassed Grantchester Meadows in my affections. Of all the tracks this is the most complete Floydesque piece, but that's not to say it couldn't be improved with lyrics and a touch of the Wright/Mason affect.

16 years ago I would have said Grand Vizer's Garden Party

I was on a 'Man and the Journey' kick at the time, piecing together the entire piece from various sources; while this track was later replaced in live concerts, listening to it first in isolation from The Narrow Way and then in a different context made me appreciate it more.

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. LOL

Edited by Dean - May 17 2016 at 09:48

What?

Dellinger

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Posted: May 17 2016 at 21:46

Dean wrote:

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:

<div style="line-height: 18.2px;">[I've never liked Small Species...]

45+ years ago I would have said Grantchester Meadows<blockquote style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;">

I used to love singing Grantchester Meadows as I stumbled home from the pub late at night (other songs in my drunken repertoire included Julia Dream and Cirrus Minor... and The Nile Song & Bike Big smile

). I can't claim credit for this, it was prompted by an old school friend (Mike Pierce) who once told me how he used to sing it on the way home from the pub, so later when I staggered home alone along country roads lit only by moonlight I would serenade the nocturnal creatures with my slurred off-key singing from the Pink Floyd songbook. [beats the hell out of drunkedly singing My Way].

32 years ago I would have said The Narrow Way

The release of About Face sent me scouring through my Floyd album collection looking for Gilmour-written songs and by then this had surpassed Grantchester Meadows in my affections. Of all the tracks this is the most complete Floydesque piece, but that's not to say it couldn't be improved with lyrics and a touch of the Wright/Mason affect.

<div style="line-height: 18.2px;">16 years ago I would have said Grand Vizer's Garden Party

<div style="line-height: 18.2px;">I was on a 'Man and the Journey' kick at the time, piecing together the entire piece from various sources; while this track was later replaced in live concerts, listening to it first in isolation from The Narrow Way and then in a different context made me appreciate it more.

8 years ago I would have said Sysyphus

<blockquote style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;">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...<blockquote style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;">
...so anyway, I voted for Wright but tomorrow would probably change my mind. LOL

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.

jude111

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Posted: May 18 2016 at 09:20

Dean wrote:

There is little doubt that all four sections would have been vastly improved by allowing the rest of the band to contribute to them.

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.

Dean

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Posted: May 18 2016 at 09:58

jude111 wrote:

Dean wrote:

There is little doubt that all four sections would have been vastly improved by allowing the rest of the band to contribute to them.

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.

What?

Intruder

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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.

I like to feel the suspense when you're certain you know I am there.....

Michael P. Dawson View Drop Down

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Posted: May 18 2016 at 12:23

Intruder wrote:

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.

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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Poll Question: Which studio parts do you prefer?
Poll Choice	Votes	Poll Statistics
Roger's (Grantchester Meadows and You know what...)	11	[25.00%]
David's (The Narrow Way)	20	[45.45%]
Richard's (Sysyphus)	8	[18.18%]
Nick's (The Grand Vizier's Garden Party)	5	[11.36%]
This topic is closed, no new votes accepted