Peak of Pink Floydby Gonzo84

Reader Rating:
See Detailed Ratings

July 28, 2009: Pink Floyd was on the verge of releasing some of the finest and commercially successful albums of all time with Meddle and Dark Side of The Moon and Wish You Were Here, but before those wonderfully composed albums came Ummagumma. Nevermind the studio tracks on Disc 1, which are mediocure in my mind, the second Disc is where the action is at. Only four wild and crazy psychedelic songs that will blow and bend your mind at the same time. This has to be my all time personal favorite tracks from this band or any band for that matter. It's a clear departure from what Syd Barrett had brought to the table and a wonderful introduction of what David Gilmour's talent consists of. Barrett's style was more wymsicle and free whereas Gilmour is more perfection and tight. From the first track "Astronomy Domine" which is a great throwback and tribute to Barrett and played in the same original style, this song has a nice melody and hook to it and carries the listener to lengths that Floyd intends. This song like all the songs are lengthy psychedelic jams that last for 10min apiece, but this is the only one with excessive lyrical content, whereas the others are more harmonies and strong powerful ambient psychedelic compositions. An experimentation that seemed to go right. It's not til the second song "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" where the listener becomes quite aware of the Floyd's sheer raw intensity. The song starts out soft and slow and builds up to something loud, hard and cruel. Usually this is a song I play for those whom aren't aware whom the Floyd really are, cause this song makes even fans cringe, since the hook is so powerful like a lightening bolt. I've even had the pleasure of witnessing this song performed live by the great Austrailian Pink Floyd and they played the song very well. You can only imagine what it would've been like to be in a theatre or concert hall listening the sounds of Pink Floyd. Which is funny, cause by this point, they were already well known and didn't have much to prove, but they definitely expanded on their talent and sound over the years, much more than many of the bands of their time and ours. The third song jumps into a more darker tone and somewhat spacious and somehow even more psychedelic "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" this is where the band gets much more crazier and definitely a lot more experiemental. The guitar and organ playing by Gilmour and Richard Wright are definitely mindbending and mind altering, this is one of those rare albums that space the listener out without the use of any kind of mindaltering substances. The drumming of Nick Mason is exquisite and fits perfectly with Roger Waters powerful bass riffs. Then comes the final song "A Saucerful of Secrets," yet another powerful strong psychedelic jam that's from the Album of the same name. This song is much like the two songs before it and shines with so much intensity. I would say that if you're a big fan of the Meddle album and even Dark Side of the Moon, then this is the one for you, it will definitely put a scare in you and creep out any of your friends hanging out in a dark room. Like I said though, this to myself, is the Greatest Acheivement to Live recording. I've never heard anything like it and I'm a huge Deadhead, so to say that this is better than all of my other live recordings of many other bands, that says a lot. So sit back, tune in and drop out!

I Also Recommend: The Dark Side of the Moon [SACD], Meddle.

Awesomeby Anonymous

Reader Rating:
See Detailed Ratings

November 19, 2005: I esspecially love the live album. Very pschedelic. My two favorites are Careful With That Axe Eugene and Astronomy Domine (which is A thousand time better than Syd Barrett's version. A timeless classic.