Pink Floyd had a lot of strange titles for albums over the years (they were a strange band so it fit) and this is the strangest. What is ummagumma? Apparently, it is slang for sex; the band first heard the term when it was used by their roadie, Iain “Emo” Moore (who has since claimed he made the term up). Why they used this term for this particular album baffles me; Pink Floyd was not a sexy band in the conventional sense (only one song I can think of, “Candy And A Currant Bun” from the Syd Barrett era, can qualify as a “sexy” Pink Floyd song).
Without beating a dead metaphor, the only part on this album that could qualify as “sex” is the live part of the album (The album is essentially split into two halves; the first half are pieces from different concerts and the last half are original songs). Pink Floyd may have been struggling with some of their studio efforts, but this album shows their strength as a live band. Now I don’t want to act like the live half is perfect; at times some of the songs peak too early and lose focus (“Careful With That Axe, Eugene” is a good example of that). However, the versions of “Astronomy Domine” and “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun” retain what was great about the original recording, while stretching the song out with different movements without it getting overlong. Even the live version of “A Saucerful Of Secrets” is strong and better than the studio version; the movements are much more discernible.
I wouldn’t blame you at all if you only listened to the live half. The album is 86 minutes long and while the live part is great, the majority of the album is made up of long form compositions so it does get tiring after a while. At some point you will ask yourself, “Do we have to have another 12 minute song?” It doesn’t help that their attempts at long form compositions are still not great; they’re arguable worse than the ones on A Saucerful of Secrets and More. “Sysyphus” is the worst of them; it’s essentially 13 minutes of piano bashing. It pains me to say that because I’ve loved Richard Wright’s compositions and the last movement is slightly better, but not enough to excuse the first three. However “The Narrow Way,” David Gilmour’s first songwriting effort for the band, is successful; the movements stand on their own, the guitar playing is fantastic and Gilmour’s lyrics and singing are top notch as well.
Ummagumma is also the first truly experimental album Pink Floyd has done since Piper. There’s literally a song on here called “Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict.” Sound cute? It isn’t. Made up of animal noises, it’s playful but it goes on for almost five minutes; if it was two minutes it would have been a lot better. The most successful experimental song on here is “The Grand Vizier’s Garden Party” and while it’s as annoying as “Several Species,” it has enough variation with its absurd playfulness and has a beautiful flute to bookend it. That’s sad when drummer Nick Mason’s (who only composed a handful of songs for the band in total) contribution beat the so called “leader” of Pink Floyd’s (Roger Waters) contribution.
Why Pink Floyd was unable to make their long form compositions in the studio as interesting and moving as the live versions is truly a conundrum for them. Now the long compositions are improving and it is clear that they are trying harder; the movements are separately indicated when you listen to the album, so it shows that they are trying to discern the movements instead of having them regress into noodling.
No matter how strong the live part is and no matter the amount of redeeming qualities the studio attempts might have, the album still suffers from being too long. However, I have a gut feeling that Pink Floyd will eventually make an album that is really long but manages to hold our attention.
Track List (Strongest To Weakest)
- Astronomy Domine (Live)
- Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (Live)
- The Narrow Way
- A Saucerful Of Secrets (Live)
- Careful With That Axe, Eugene (Live)
- Grantchester Meadows
- The Grand Vizier’s Garden Party
- Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict
- Sysyphus
