Melody Maker's Take on Ummagumma and Its Slow Rehabilitation

When Ummagumma landed in late 1969, Melody Maker’s reviewer called it a “disappointing mixture” and said the live side was fine but the studio side felt like “individual doodling.” The paper’s verdict was that the album lacked cohesion and that some tracks were “self-indulgent to the point of boredom.” That sentiment echoed across most UK press at the time.

Still, Ummagumma has been quietly re-evaluated over the decades, especially by fans of early experimental Pink Floyd. The studio side is now seen as a fascinating document of what happens when four band members each get a quarter of the tape machine with no editorial gatekeeper. Tracks like “The Narrow Way” and “Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving With a Pict” have become cult curiosities rather than failures. Even its famously baffling cover photo of the band floating mid-air — taken in a single shot, no wires — is now a psychedelic icon.