the Mystery of EMBRYO

I recently got a hold of a live recording at the bbc of Pf doing "embryo" and I ask why didn't they ever release this song, its good enough to be compared to other material like "echoes". Does anyone care to explain this?

They just never got around to doing it properly, I suppose. There is a studio version on the compilation album "Works" but it's really more of a demo... much shorter, and with vastly different instrumentation.

Basically, they never had the time to do it properly because it didn't fit in on any albums. Also, they were never really happy with it.

I believe that song could have easily been released on another album.....but i'm not sure which one. Maybe it would have brightened up Ummagumma a little.

That would have violated the "four solo members" concept of Ummagumma.

Which was a crap concept, so maybe you're right.

I agree, Ummagumma definitely wasn't the best album on the shelves. But it also has some of my favorites on it.

An album for the fans only

As I said in the "erase one album" thread, it probably would have been better as a double-live album, with "The Man/The Journey" concept piece replacing the inferior studio recordings. But then, we would be whining about how there aren't studio versions of the songs

I believe Ummagumma was an acurate representation of Floyd at the time. No more Syd, and there are all these different directions they are going. Anyway, David's "The Narrw Way 1-3" has got to be the best on the album. One more thing, is Relics the only place to find Careful W/ That Axe in a studio version. The live one is okay, but I always prefer studio cuts.

Meh, Zappa did it a few times (relelased only live versions of songs). And we can get the Man/Journey suite on the Amsterdam radio recording, which sounds awesome.

Nope... there's another version called "Come in Number 51, Your Time Is Up" on the Zabriskie Point soundtrack.

The only reason I haven't gotten the Zabriskie Pt. soundtrack is because I noticed Floyd only had a couple cuts on this album. Oh well, these may be the masterpieces I've been looking for.

There are some other good bands as well, right----->Grateful Dead

I guess I will buy this album, and maybe some other Floyd-related stuff next time.

Not really. At the time, they were were doing their best to pull together, especially as the loss of Syd hurt them so much and with the addition of Gilmour. Making the band members work on their own was a bad idea. At least on AHM they were solo compisitions performed by the whole group.

I agree, it was a very bad idea. And yes, with Atm Hrt Mthr there was definitely a feeling of an awesome band working together.

But, Ummagumma also allowed for some interesting pieces. It showed that group unity is a necessary part of recording. Also, at least the band members got to express themselves early on so they could get it out of their system.

I think Ummagumma let the members of Pink Floyd know which direction NOT to take their music towards. "Small Species of Furry Animals" is a very unique song, but COME ON!

Spot on.

Make sure to get the deluxe 2-disc set with the bonus tracks. Lots more Floyd for your buck.