UMMAGUMMA

If you think that Pink Floyd abandoned the chaos that haunted Piper at the Gates of Dawn and echoed in A Saucerful of Secrets, then you need to listen to Ummagumma. It may not be as frantic as Pink Floyd's first two albums, but there is no question that Ummagumma is the most experimental and eerie album that Pink Floyd ever put together.

The live portion of the album is spectacular, but I prefer those on Live at Pompeii. But since Pompeii is a DVD and can't be listened to/watched everywhere, this is the next best thing. Plus, there is an brilliant and extended Syd-less version of "Astronomy Domine," which is well worth hearing.

What intrigues me more are the original compositions on the album which fully convince me that the individual members of Floyd were fully able to write interesting songs on their own as well as in a group setting. The styles on Ummagumma vary between classical, folk and rock, and always with an experimental mindset. Rick Wright's "Sysyphus" is ominous and foreboding, and is a genuine classical piano piece with plentiful improvisation/chaos in the middle. Next is "Grandchester Meadows," Roger's simple and pleasant folk tune, which gives the impression of a nice spring morning. "Several Small Species." would probably be the worst possible Pink Floyd song to listen to whilst on acid. It is quite scary at points, and shrill "animal" voices seem to chatter and snicker between each other until a booming voice jumps in and calls out in a hilarious made-up language! Gilmour's "The Narrow Way" starts off as an experimental, echoing guitar jam and morphs into a whimsical blues number which sounds similar to "Summer of '69" and "Fat Old Sun" if you've listened to Atom Heart Mother. Now, Nick Mason's contribution, "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party," starts and ends nice, with a soothing flute melody, but it becomes readily evident that this is just a drum solo, and an uninteresting one at that. It's fitting, I suppose, but not enjoyable.

I can see why some people wouldn't like Ummugumma. It is messy and chaotic, but can also be very interesting as well. It is not at album I would like to listen to every week, but at certain times and for certain moods, hardly anything else could do better.