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 Discography : Ummagumma |
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UK Release Date - October 25, 1969
US Release Date - November 10, 1969
UK Chart - #5; US Chart - #74
David Gilmour - Guitar & Vocals
Roger Waters - Bass Guitar & Vocals
Nick Mason - Percussion
Richard Wright - Keyboards
Engineer - Peter Mew, Brian Humphries
Producer - Norman Smith, Pink Floyd
Live Album credits - Engineered by Brian Humphries
Recorded at - Mothers, Birmingham, on April 27, 1969 & Manchester College of Commerce, on May 2, 1969
Produced by - Pink Floyd & Brian Humphries
Engineered by - Peter Mew
Studio Album Produced by - Norman Smith
Engineered by - Peter Mew
Original sleeve design & photography by - Hipgnosis
Re-packaged Design by - Storm Thorgerson & Jon Crossland
Mastered by Doug Sax at - The Mastering Lab, L.A.
Re-Mastering supervised by - James Guthrie
TRACKS
Astronomy Domine (Barrett) [08:28] Vocals by Waters (name chanting),
Gilmour (high harmonies) and Wright (low ones).
Careful With That Axe, Eugene (Waters, Wright, Mason, Gilmour) [08:47]
Vocals by Waters; Gilmour does the "ooooh".
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun(Waters) [09:22] Vocals by Waters
A Saucerful of Secrets (Waters, Wright, Mason, Gilmour)
a. Something Else [00:00]
b. Syncopated Pandemonium [03:57]
c. Storm Signal [07:16]
d. Celestial Voices [10:14] [12:49] Vocals on Celestial Voices by Gilmour
Studio album:
Sysyphus [part 1-4] (Wright) [13:17] Vocals on part 4 by Wright.
Grantchester Meadows (Waters) [07:28] Vocals by Waters.
Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and
Grooving With a Pict (Waters) [04:57] Vocals by Waters.
The Narrow Way [part 1-3] (Gilmour) [12:14] Vocals on part 3 by Gilmour.
The Grand Vizier's Garden Party(Mason)
Part 1 (entrance)
Part 2 (entertainment)
Part 3 (exit) [08:45] Instrumental.
Total Playing Time: 86:33
INFO
Release date: October 25th, 1969
The live part was recorded at 3 places where they playes #1 - Bromley
Technical College, Bromley Common, Kent (April 26th, 1969); #2 -
Mothers, Erdington, Birmingham, Warwickshire (April 27th, 1969); and #3
College of Commerce, Manchester, Lancashire (May 2nd, 1969).
This album can almost be considered a disapointment for Pink Floyd. The
group themselves dont even highly regard it. This was Pink Floyds
creation from experimental techniuqes.
The CD is divided into 2 seperate discs. The First Cd is the Live
recordings with different works from in-studio dubbing. The one of a
kind version of "Astronomy Domine" on the CD and a remorseless "Careful
With That Axe, Eugene" (which can be considered on the first
of many Floyd tracks about insanity) are amazing, and helped clear the
way and lay the platform for their way into musical divinity.
The Reason why it is broken up into 4 sides is because each group
member was given half a vinyl side to experiment with (doing it all by
himself, including lyrics, playing, etc) in the second disc -- the
studio one. It is said that Nick Mason probably cheated as the flute is
most likely played by his wife.
The original intention of the band was to include those live songs as a
sort of "farewell" gesture. They would release the live versions, and
then stop playing them. However with the popularity of the album,
the public kept wanting to hear the songs from Ummagumma Live, and so
they stayed in their set lists.
A version of "Interstellar Overdrive" was also recorded and mixed with
the intention of being included on the album, but was eventually not
included. John Peel received an acetate of it, which he liked very
much, but this was stolen. What happened to it is unknown.
On some album cover pressings, the album seen leaning on the wall is
the soundtrack to "Gigi." It was deleted in US pressings due to
copyright ownership problems. The US pressing had a "Special Buy" label
on the cover. Also, the last "reflection" in the wall is of the
cover to "A Saucerful of Secrets".
The picture on the back of the album was taken at Biggin Hill airfield.
The roadies on the picture are Alan Stiles (the same
referred to in Atom Heart Mother's "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast") and
Pete Watts. The "Jude" listed alongside Waters is Judy Trim, Roger's
first wife.
The song "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a
Cave and Grooving With a Pict" was done all by Roger Waters. The
weird sounds are obtained by playing human voices back at various
speeds, whereas the drumming sounds are created by Water drumming with
his hands on his body and a hard surface probably a table. A "pict" is
a member of a possibly non-Celtic people who once occupied Great
Britain, carried on continual border wars with the Romans, and about
the ninth century became amalgamated with the Scots. There is are still
much debate to what is said during the song.
Rick Wright's creation "Sysyphus" you can hear the opening melody of
the well known "Silent Night". Sysyphus, more commonly spelled as
'Sisyphus,' as a figure is a Greek mythological figure who was punished
by being made to roll a rock up a hill for all eternity.
(pun pun, har har)
QUOTES
Nick Mason: "This was absolutely not a band album. The live stuff
sounds incredibly antiquated now, although the fact of Pink Floyd
playing at Mothers in Birmingham was considered a bit of an event at
the time. We were looking for new ways of constructing an album,
although I think what this demonstrates is that our sum is always
better than the parts. EMI was very hidebound in those days. It was
still run by guys in white coats. I was prevented from editing my own
tapes by a studio manager who told me I wasn't a union member."
David Gilmour: "I'd never written anything before. I just went into the
studio and started waffling about, tacking bits and pieces
together. I rang up Roger at one point to ask him to write me some
lyrics. He just said, No."
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