Ummagumma

''Ummagumma'' is the fourth album by English rock band Pink Floyd. It is a double album and it was released on 7 November 1969 by Harvest Records. The first disc consists of live recordings from concerts at Mothers Club in Birmingham and the College of Commerce in Manchester that contained part of their normal set list of the time, while the second contains solo compositions by each member of the band recorded at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios). The artwork was designed by regular Floyd collaborators Hipgnosis and features a number of pictures of the band combined to give a Droste effect. It was the last album cover to feature the band.

Although the album was well received at the time of release, and was a top five hit in the UK album charts, it has since been looked upon unfavourably by the band, who have expressed negative opinions about it in interviews. Nevertheless, the album has been reissued on CD several times, along with the rest of their catalogue.

Title

The album's title supposedly comes from Cambridge slang for sex, commonly used by Pink Floyd friend and occasional roadie, Iain "Emo" Moore, who would say, "I'm going back to the house for some ummagumma". According to Moore, he made up the term himself.

Background

The original idea behind the live album was to feature fan favourites that would subsequently be dropped from the set. Although the sleeve notes say that the live material was recorded in June 1969, the live album of ''Ummagumma'' was recorded live at Mothers Club in Birmingham on 27 April 1969 and the following week at Manchester College of Commerce on 2 May of the same year as part of The Man and The Journey Tour. Keyboardist Richard Wright later said the recording of " A Saucerful of Secrets" was a composite from both gigs. A show at Bromley Technical College on 26 April was also recorded but not used. The band had also recorded a live version of "Interstellar Overdrive" (from ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'') intended for placement on side one of the live album, and " The Embryo", which was recorded in the studio before it was decided that the band members each come up with their own material.

The studio album came as a result of Wright wanting to make "real music", where the four group members (in order: Wright, Roger Waters, David Gilmour and Nick Mason) each had half an LP side to create a solo work without involvement from the others. Wright's contribution, "Sysyphus", was named after a character in Greek mythology, usually spelled "Sisyphus", and contained a combination of various keyboards, including piano and mellotron. Although initially enthusiastic about making a solo contribution, Wright later described it as "pretentious".

Waters' " Grantchester Meadows" was a more pastoral acoustic offering that referred back to his youth in the Cambridge suburbs. It originated from an instrumental piece that had been occasionally performed live and was usually played as an opening to concerts over 1969, with vocals. His other track, " Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" contained a variety of vocal and percussion effects treated at various speeds, both forwards and backwards, and was influenced by Ron Geesin, who would later collaborate with both Waters and Pink Floyd. The two tracks were bridged by the sound of a fly being swatted.

Gilmour has since stated he was apprehensive about creating a solo work, and admits he "went into a studio and started waffling about, tacking bits and pieces together", although part one of "The Narrow Way" had already been performed as "Baby Blue Shuffle in D Major" in a BBC
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