UMMAGUMMA

Ummagumma is a 1969 double album by Pink Floyd. It is a little unusual in that it contains live tracks on one disc and studio tracks on the other. The live section on disc 1 contains excellent performances of "Astronomy Domine", "Careful With That Axe Eugene", "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun", and "Saucerful of Secrets". The band was becoming ever tighter as a live unit thanks in large part to David Gilmour. The Syd Barrett inlfluence was clearly waning.

By 1969, Pink Floyd had also begun to spread its creative wings in more experimental ways than ever before. They still had the jones to create daring and artful sounds post-Barrett, as heard on disc 2 . However, giving the individual members of Pink Floyd carte blanche in the studio to create their own personal suites, leaves this album with something to be desired (i.e. a true Pink Floyd album).

Richard Wright's 4 part "Sysyphus" suite wreaks of self-indulgence as does Nick Mason's 3 part "Grand Vizier's Garden Party".However, David Gilmour's 3 part "Narrow Way" suite has moments of musical excitement, but alas is still somewhat indulgentl. Roger Waters' "Grantchester Meadows" comes off much less so with the beautifully panned bird sounds to nice effect in concert with the mellow yet trippy folk. "Several Species of Small Furry Animals...", however, brings Ummagumma back down to Earth with an indescribable series of sounds, noises, and chants.

The real problem with this double album is that the 2 discs don't really go together. Disc 1 is an fact a very good live album, but disc 2 is not a good studio album. They cancel each other out to an extent. It is for this reason that Ummagumma is only recommended for Pink Floyd purists. 2 stars