The Only Pink Floyd Album I'll Ever Rate 4 Stars
4
By Diblin' Dablin' Dave
This album is of a weak point in Pink Floyd's history. On one hand, or should I say disc, there are amazing live versions of four of their early songs; Astronomy Domine, Careful With That Axe, Eugene, Set the Controls For the Heart of the Sun, and A Saucerful Of Secrets. On the other LP there is all new studio work that each member writes by himself, each making about 15 minutes of music, or in some cases, noise. Here I will rate all the songs.
Disc 1:
Astronomy Domine (Live) 7.5/10: My favorite song from their debut album has now been extended 2x (note that Syd Barrett is not in this version) and is very interesting, to say the least. Although in my opinion, the studio version is better, as it is shorter and less boring (especially in the middle), it still is very well made.
Careful With That Axe, Eugene (Live) 9.5/10: The B-Side of the non-charting single Point Me At The Sky was made to be a live track, and it was until 1973. This far exceeds the studio version, in which it is longer and more suspenseful. If you want the studio version, get it on Relics, and if you want a re-recording of up, look up Zabriskie Point.
Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (Live) 8/10: They really like extending their songs when playing live! Again, far exceeds the studio version without a doubt.
A Saucerful Of Secrets (Live) 9.5/10: I can't put into words how much better this version is. There is less noise, which I like, but the last part, Celestial Voices, is extended and sounds so much better, with David Gilmour singing instead of a choir. This isn't only better than the studio version, but in my opinion is probably the best version I've listened to so far.
Disc 2:
Sysyphus 2/10: This is the worst Pink Floyd song that exists. Every part of it, especially part 3, is horrible. I know it's supposed to sound like the torment of Sysyphus (look up his story) but it's just so bad. You cannot put this under rock or any genre, even classical. This is Richard Wrights solo composition by the way.
Grantchester Meadows 10/10: I love the peaceful quality of this track by Roger Waters. Definitely the best off of this album.
Several Species of Blah Blah Blah: 3/10: The other Roger Waters composition is hilarious at best. The sound effects of animals making noises and scurrying along with the Scottish accent makes for something I can't even consider a song. But it's not as bad as Sysyphus.
The Narrow Way 7/10: You have to give credit to David Gilmour for trying to make the most normal composition on this album. But even though the 1st part is nice and peaceful, it gets overshadowed by the hard rocking section known as pt 2. Then, there's the song that is the only one to have lyrics besides Grantchester, which is pt 3. Although many people like this song the best off of Ummagumma, I don't like it at all. The way he says the words sound weird and it's pretty boring.
The Grand Vizier's Garden Party 4/10: Using only percussion and tape loops of percussion, Nick Mason pulled off a composition, that again, I cannot call a song. In fact, when listening to part of it on my earbuds, I thought that the speakers broke.
Pretty Good Album, nonetheless, and if this is the worst one, then we have a good thing coming the rest of the way.