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Released: October 25, 1969


Rating: 3.640 (average of 14 ratings)


Genre: psychedelic rock


Quotable: --


Album Tracks, Disc 1 (Live):

  1. Astronomy Domine
  2. Careful with That Axe, Eugene
  3. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
  4. A Saucerful of Secrets
    i. Something Else
    ii. Syncopated Pandemonium
    iii. Storm Signal
    iv. Celestial Voices


Album Tracks, Disc 2 (Studio):

  1. Sysyphus, Part 1
  2. Sysyphus, Part 2
  3. Sysyphus, Part 3
  4. Sysyphus, Part 4
  5. Grantchester Meadows
  6. Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict
  7. The Narrow Way, Part 1
  8. The Narrow Way, Part 2
  9. The Narrow Way, Part 3
  10. The Grand Vizer’s Garden Party
    i. Entrance
    ii. Entertainment
    iii. Exit


Sales:

sales in U.S. only 1 million
sales in U.K. only - estimated --
sales in all of Europe as determined by IFPI – click here to go to their site. --
sales worldwide - estimated 4 million


Peak:

peak on U.S. Billboard album chart 74
peak on U.K. album chart 5


Singles/Hit Songs:

  • none


Ummagumma
Pink Floyd
Review:
“For many years, this double LP/CD was one of the most popular albums in Pink Floyd’s pre-Dark Side of the Moon output, containing a live disc and a studio disc all for the price of one (in the LP version). The live set, recorded in Birmingham and Manchester in June 1969, is limited to four numbers, all drawn from the group’s first two LPs or their then recent singles. Featuring the band’s second lineup (i.e., no Syd Barrett), the set shows off a very potent group, their sound held together on-stage by Nick Mason’s assertive drumming and Roger Waters’ powerful bass work, which keep the proceedings moving no matter how spaced out the music gets; they also sound like they’ve got the amplifiers to make their music count, which is more than the early band had. Astronomy Domine, Careful with That Axe Eugene, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, and A Saucerful of Secrets are all superior here to their studio originals, done longer, louder, and harder, with a real edge to the playing” (Eder).

“The studio disc was more experimental, each member getting a certain amount of space on the record to make his own music – Richard Wright’s Sysyphus was a pure keyboard work, featuring various synthesizers, organs, and pianos; David Gilmour’s The Narrow Way was a three-part instrumental for acoustic and electric guitars and electronic keyboards; and Nick Mason’s The Grand Vizier’s Garden Party made use of a vast range of acoustic and electric percussion devices. Roger Waters’ Grantchester Meadows was a lyrical folk-like number unlike almost anything else the group ever did” (Eder).


Review Source(s):


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Last updated January 18, 2009.