It's fitting that Ummagumma begins with the live album comprised of basically all the good tracks (save "Interstellar Overdrive") from the first two albums, maybe as a mission statement that they were trying to throw away all the rest and continue on in that psych rock jam kind of style going forward for a bit. These are all explosive, electric versions of the songs, as well, really highlighting what probably was truly the main catalyst for Pink Floyd's rise: their live performances. I do feel like once we get to the studio side of the album, I have many of the same issues I had with the first two records: these are just not great songs.

Reviewed on Friday, February 3rd, 2023, 12:22pm.

A step, albeit a small one, in the right direction. There's definitely a lot more here to enjoy for me than on The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, since there are bit more tracks in the "Interstellar Overdrive" vein, like "Let There Be More Light," "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun," and "A Saucerful of Secrets," which all trend toward longer psych rock exploration. It's when they try to write songs in these early albums that they really lose me. The band just sounds so amateur and silly on stuff like "Corporal Clegg" and "Jugband Blues," like they literally have zero idea how to write a song, which obviously changes big time later on.

Reviewed on Friday, February 3rd, 2023, 9:15am.

This is definitely one of my least favorite Pink Floyd records, if not the least favorite, but historical context aside there is actually some decent stuff here. "Astronomy Dominé" and "Interstellar Overdrive" are wonderful psych-rock explorations, with the latter achieving incredibly high highs in the genre, taking you to pretty out there and dark places, which I always appreciate. Too much of it sounds like shitty carnival music, though.

Reviewed on Thursday, February 2nd, 2023, 3:16pm.