UMMAGUMMA

The entire Pink Floyd discography has been reviewed so many times, that nothing new can be said that hasn't already been said. As I suspected, the reviews for this double psychedelic and experimental album are all over the place. A lot of this is due to the fact that Pink Floyd is one of the most popular progressive bands in the world. So you get all of these people that love some aspect of Pink Floyd, but they are shocked in either a positive or negative way when they hear this album. I know I was, because, like most, I had heard DSotM and WYWH first, and that is what attracted me to the band. When I first bought this album, I was beyond excited because it was a double album, but I knew nothing about where the band had been previous to the two aforementioned albums. I listened to it the first time, and I was shocked and not sure what to think. I wasn't impressed the first time, but what happened was that I was curious as to what made this album and this band tick. I wanted to understand this music and how was it that this band could put together music that was so diverse.

This album was a mystery to me and I wanted to crack it. The thing is, the more I listened, the more I understood. The music started to penetrate, and this is where my love of avant garde style rock started. When I started studying music theory and composition in school, it even started making more sense than ever. The reason for this is because I had a professor that pushed me into composing music that was challenging. I wish I could find him and thank him for this, because it opened up my mind to some amazing composers and song writers, both current and classical. My love of rock grew even more, because it was only this genre that admitted talent that was way out there and experimental.

But this album was the first big step. It was the doorway for me for Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Art Zoyd, Henry Cow, Comus, Gong, and on and on and on. All of that inaccessible music suddenly became accessible. And that is what it takes. You have to work hard at some things to help them make sense.

So, about Ummagumma. I can't say a lot that hasn't already been said. It is one of Pink Floyd's most inaccessible albums. It is nothing like the Pink Floyd that most people are familiar with. It is space rock, psychedelic rock, improvised music and extremely innovative and experimental. It sounds nothing like anything after "Meddle". But if you work on it, the rewards are huge. Nothing I can say here will change anyone's mind about whether this is an essential album, or if it is a dud. But, to me, it's everything I love about progressive rock. Its unpredictable, its different, its quirky and its daring. It means very little to me if someone wants to put the time into it that I did, but I do know that if you do, and if you open your mind up to new musical possibilities, with time, you will most likely agree that it is at least a 4 star. I consider it essential, a masterpiece. But that is just my opinion.

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