Ummagumma

I’ve seen the Floyd numerous times, and of all their recordings I love this one above the rest. The first of the two LPs here, the live album, is the most true, the most extreme example of raw psychedelic music ever played before a live audience. No messing with pre-recorded tapes, this is a 4-piece band playing and singing their way into the stratosphere, and taking you with them. I heard them play the songs of this album, which I adored in 1970, note-for note at the Fillmore East. I was in the front row of the balcony, 50 feet away from the band. This wasn’t improv, this was as serious as the most demanding ‘classical’ music I’d heard at Lincoln Center in NYC. After the intermission, for the second half of the show, they performed Atom Heart Mother with chorus and orchestra. Everyone was absolutely stunned as they staggered back onto the street in Greenwich Village. The studio album is well known to be sketchy, and you need to be in a special state of mind to run through it . Like most people, my favorite is “Grantchester Meadows” more than the rest, which I usually skip. This was the historical period when bands had enough money to essentially waste studio time. To each his own. BUT THIS RECORDING AND PRESSING ARE SPECTACULAR. I still have my ancient, taped-up Harvest copy of the LPs, which, beat to hell, I always preferred to the dull CD. But now this!! An absolutely incredible remix of the original tapes, and a perfectly silent, stunningly alive pressing of the LP. After 50 years, now with a $15K stereo, I’m back in the Fillmore East! GET IT!!

Re: Ummagumma is integral to the Pink Floyd canon, an excellent record, a fun listen, and something you will go back to hear again and again. First, full transparency, I love Dark Side of the Moon/Wish You Were Here/Animals, but pretty much despise The Wall. (The live show is breathtaking, but the album and animated movie always came across as heavy-handed and pompous, a darker Tommy Redux, but that's just me.) With that said... Most people consider Dark Side of the Moon the beginning of Floyd's 'masterpiece era'. Me, I think that era begins one album earlier with Obscured by Clouds. Before Obscured, you have the pair of 'pre-masterpiece' releases, Meddle and Ummagumma. If you are like me and appreciate those three core masterpieces (Dark/Wish/Animals), you should a) definitely get Obscured by Clouds, just don't expect it to be a concept album, and b) add Meddle and Ummagumma to have a very solid 6-album run of classic Floyd. The first two releases (Piper and Saucerful) are great for fans of Syd's quirky shorter songs, but I can sort of take them or leave them, with rare exception (eg Emily, Arnold). The soundtrack More doesn't quite move me, and Atom Heart Mother is, to me, way too un-psychedelic and too overtly gimmicky instead. (A much more successful and enjoyable attempt at the same thing would be Zappa & The Mothers' We're Only in it for the Money.) For those of you who follow and agree with this line of thinking, Ummagumma presents the best of early Floyd, some truly breathtaking performances, and a valuable listening step along the ascending road toward the masterpiece recordings that would soon follow. I'm happy with these Core Six: Ummagumma, Meddle, Obscured, Dark, Wish, and Animals.

Excellent CD quality. Bought it as my original copy became defective.

This album is panned by many, and kind of deservedly so. Most of the second disc is entirely skippable for most people. The decision for each member to go solo was an interesting idea, but the execution was horrible. It seems that Nick and Rick had no idea what they were doing and the first two parts of David's suite just seem like noodling. However, there lie two gems in the rough of this concept: Grandchester Meadows and Narrow Way Pt. 3. These two songs seem to foreshadow what was coming next for the band. The former reminds me a lot of the acoustic numbers that would come on the next couple albums and Narrow Way shares the type of dynamic progression that would make DSotM so popular. Furthermore, the live album half of the album is perfection and I couldn't have asked for more! Best Songs - Narrow Way Pt. 3 & Careful With That Axe, Eugene (Live) Worst Songs - Too many to choose from... This review gets a star off because the CD digipack had some sort of water damage on the inside tri fold.

Trippy man! Add to my collection. Had it on vinyl back in the day.

高校時代に2枚組はお高くて中々購入 出来ませんでしたがCD化されお安く 購入。 しかも、紙ジャケ版でレコードを買った気分です。何十年振りに聴き直し再発見も有り 内容としては、CD2のメンバー個々作品で 超マニアックな物も含めて好きです。

This was purchased to finally replace my vinyl version . I know it has been remastered but, to my mind this has altered some of the ambience of tracks such as Grantchester Meadows and Several species etc etc etc. The high frequencies seem to have been muted somewhat but over all, still a great album. I'd say my biggest complaint is that it is supplied simply in a very tight fitting cardboard wrapper. It is SO tight that getting the discs out is extremely difficult if, like me, you don't want to touch the playing surface with your fingers. If you are a Pink Floyd fan then I need say no more. If you're just becoming aware of one of musics greatest ever bands then add this to your collection.

Un des premiers album de ce groupe génial. Avec la version publique d'Obscured By Clouds extraordinaire.

Il ritorno dei Pink Floyd in vinile La mitica band inglese ristampa finalmente in vinile tutta la discografia rimasterizzata. Sono ormai alcuni anni che il prezioso disco in vinile rivive una seconda giovinezza, un successo (forse inaspettato) che sta man mano soppiantando il CD nelle vendite internazionali. E’ la dimostrazione del fatto che gli appassionati amano il suono caldo e dinamico del 33 giri e, soprattutto, non rinunciano alla bellezza di copertine e confezioni sempre più ricche, in molti casi – se trattasi di ristampe - repliche esatte delle release originali dell’epoca. Non sorprende quindi che anche artisti leggendari come Beatles, Queen, Doors, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, ecc. hanno già ristampato la loro discografia completa su vinile. Anche i mitici Pink Floyd erano attesi con la discografia in vinile da circa 20 anni e finalmente la Warner ha deciso di ripubblicare il loro catalogo a partire dal 3 giugno 2016 I primi quattro titoli sono: ‘The Piper at the Gates of Dawn’, ‘A Saucerful of Secrets’, la Colonna Sonora del film ‘More’ e il doppio LP di ‘Ummagumma’. Si tratta della prima fase artistica dei Pink Floyd, quella considerata “psichedelica”, album di straordinaria importanza per il loro contributo all’evoluzione del rock. In particolare il primo, ‘The Piper at the Gates of Dawn’, rimane ancora oggi uno dei dischi più significativi dei Pink e di tutta la scena psichedelica degli anni Sessanta, album leggendario anche per la presenza di Syd Barrett, personaggio controverso e geniale il cui ruolo fu importantissimo nella creazione del suono atmosferico e pulsante della band. Tutte le ristampe sono state prodotte su vinile audiophile 180gr. ed anche le copertine sono fedeli alle versioni originali UK. Per i patiti di suono hi-fi è importante sapere che tutta la serie è masterizzata appositamente per il vinile da James Guthrie, Joel Plante e Bernie Grundman e si basa sui remaster dei nastri analogici originali. Al primo ascolto il suono di questi primi 4 vinili sorprende piacevolmente, soprattutto in confronto ai CD pubblicati nel 2011, in parte contestati dai fans. Se queste sono le premesse si annuncia un grande ritorno su LP per una delle band più amate di tutti i tempi. Warner ha già annunciato la pubblicazione di altri sette LP, certamente i più attesi dai fan in quanto sono compresi gli album più famosi e amati dei Pink Floyd (“The Dark Side Of The Moon”, “Wish You Were Here” e “The Wall”), e successivamente degli altri capitoli finali della discografia (“The Final Cut” e “A Momentary Lapse of Reason”). Consigliati. Consegna Amazon eccellente, l'imballo, vista la delicatezza dell'articolo dovrebbe essere più consistente.

Cd arrived today in undamaged packing, but cd case looks to be stamped on, with marks and indentations on cover. Cd 1 inside has same marks and indentations, so it's unplayable.