Information AboutUmmagumma |
''Ummagumma'' is a Progressive / Psychedelic Rock double album by Pink Floyd , released in 1969 . The first disc is a live album of their normal setlist of the time, while the second one contains individual compositions of each member of the band. BACKGROUND ''Ummagumma'' is a double album. One disc was recorded live at Mothers Club , Birmingham , on 27 April 1969 and the following week at Manchester College of Commerce, on 2 May 1969 ; the other included four solo segments, one half-side of vinyl each by David Gilmour, Richard Wright, Nick Mason and Roger Waters. The album was released in the UK on 25 October 1969 and then in the U.S. on 10 November 1969 . The album reached #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 U.S. The album was certified Gold in the U.S. in February 1974 and Platinum in March 1994. Once released, critics have been quoted as saying it sounded like " Rick Wright and Roger Waters had sex on a bunch of instruments and recorded the sound they made." 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 U.S. CD version's booklet). Inside the cover is a picture of David Gilmour in front of the Elfin Oak . Nick Mason came up with the idea for the rear cover (or cover of the Live Album), which shows the band's equipment laid out on a runway at Biggin Hill Airfield . TRACK LISTING Disc one: live album Side one #" Astronomy Domine " ( Syd Barrett ) – 8:29 #" Careful With That Axe, Eugene " ( Roger Waters , Rick Wright , David Gilmour , Nick Mason ) – 8:50 Side two #" Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun " (Waters) – 9:12 #" A Saucerful Of Secrets " (Waters, Wright, Gilmour, Mason) – 12:48
Disc two: studio album Side one #" Sysyphus Part 1" (Wright) – 1:03 (CD) 4:29 (original 1969 LP) #"Sysyphus Part 2" (Wright) – 3:30 (CD) 1:49 (original 1969 LP) #"Sysyphus Part 3" (Wright) – 1:49 (CD) 3:07 (original 1969 LP) #"Sysyphus Part 4" (Wright) – 6:59 (CD) 3:38 (original 1969 LP) #" Grantchester Meadows " (Waters) – 7:26 #" Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict " (Waters) – 4:59 Side two #" The Narrow Way Part 1" (Gilmour) – 3:27 #"The Narrow Way Part 2" (Gilmour) – 2:53 #"The Narrow Way Part 3" (Gilmour) – 5:57 #" The Grand Vizier's Garden Party Part 1: Entrance" (Mason) – 1:00 #"The Grand Vizier's Garden Party Part 2: Entertainment" (Mason) – 7:06 #"The Grand Vizier's Garden Party Part 3: Exit" (Mason) – 0:38 On the original vinyl release, "Sysyphus", "The Narrow Way" and "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party" were single tracks, clocking in at 13:25, 12:17 and 8:44, respectively; "Sysyphus" was separated into four parts for the US vinyl release. On the remastered re-release, Part one of "Sysyphus" was split into two tracks and labelled "Part 1" and "Part 2". Part two on vinyl became "Part 3" on CD, while "Part 4" of the re-release consists of parts three and four ("Part 4" beginning with the large orchestral thud). Both track times are listed above. The record was also released as a double cassette, featuring the tracks in a different order. The band had also recorded a live version of " Interstellar Overdrive " (from '' The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn ''), intended for placement on side one of the live album. The track was dropped at the last minute, some say to maintain the sound fidelity of the record, but numerous Bootlegs were given to friends of the band including John Peel . Other sources have claimed that the song was dropped because of a conflict over the music publishing rights. (It would have been one of only two songs on the record to include Syd Barrett as a writer.) PERSONNEL
MISCELLANEA
QUOTES "What was your inspiration for ''The Narrow Way'' (on ''Ummagumma'') your first major Floyd composition?" "Well, we'd decided to make the damn album, and each of us to do a piece of music on our own... it was just desperation really, trying to think of something to do, to write by myself. I'd never written anything before, I just went into a studio and started waffling about, tacking bits and pieces together. I haven't heard it in years. I've no idea what it's like." "What do you think of your early records like ''Atom Heart Mother'' and ''Ummagumma'' today?" "I think both are pretty horrible. Well, the live disc of Ummagumma might be all right, but even that isn't recorded well." "When you listen to ''Ummagumma'', you get the feeling that each one of you is doing his own music, not caring much about the others." "That's right. I can't be precise, but we were very individualistic at the time." ''"The back of Ummagumma comes from something Nick Mason did." ''- Storm Thorgerson - ''Guitar World'' - February 1998 CHARTS Album REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS |
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