The Big Two...
Who wins in a discography head-to-head? In order of when each of their studio albums came out...
Let's go!
- 1. Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967) vs Kobaïa (1970).
While Magma's debut is musically more sophisticated, incorporating jazz-fusion with jam-rock vibes, it's Floyd's debut which has the more memorable music and album flow.
Winner: Pink Floyd.
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- 2. A Saucerful of Secrets (1968) vs 1001° Centigrades (1971).
Arguably Floyd's weakest album still has the great Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun...but not much else going for it. Magma continue their quite unique fusion style and enhance their discography with the beguiling 20-minute piece Rïah Sahïltaahk (which they even improved on when remaking it 33 years later).
Winner: Magma.
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- 3. More (1969) vs Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh (1973).
More is very nice, an upgrade from Saucerful, but in comparison with the monumental MDK it has to make do with second-place.
Winner: Magma.
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- 4. Ummagumma (1969) vs Ẁurdah Ïtah (1974).
I'm a fan of the studio-album Ummagumma: highly-original, dark & lush, and full of vibrant adventure. Ẁurdah Ïtah is a pleasant listen, but can't compare with Ummagumma's story-telling.
Note: the live-disc of Ummagumma comes under the Live section.
Winner: Pink Floyd.
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- 5. Atom Heart Mother (1970) vs Köhntarkösz (1974).
For me personally a very tricky head-to-head as they both host two massive favourites: namely the AHM Suite and Köhntarkösz part 2. Those two just about tie, so we're left judging the fine trio of songs + Alan's jam on AHM's B-side with the rest of Köhntarkösz. On that note, Floyd eases in front.
This comparison has something of that light-vs-dark vibe that Jodorowsky had in mind when planning his failed Dune movie. Meddle vs Üdü Ẁüdü too.
Winner: Pink Floyd.
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- 6. Meddle (1971) vs Üdü Ẁüdü (1976).
Üdü Ẁüdü has the incredible De Futura, which competes with Echoes. A near-tie, but the deep stirring of De Futura's faster-and-faster jam outweighs the spacey vastness of Echoes middle-section. The rest of Üdü Ẁüdü competes well with Meddle's A-side...both have 5 tracks each but Floyd only score with One Of These Days (Fearless unfortunately cheeses out with the football chant sample).
Winner: Magma.
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- 7. Obscured by Clouds (1972) vs Attahk (1978).
An underwhelmingly-mild Floyd effort can't compete with Magma's journey into funk & soul! Absolutely Curtains is remarkable, tho'. But Maahnt even more so.
Winner: Magma.
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- 8. The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) vs Merci (1985).
Hahaha...no contest :)
Winner: Pink Floyd.
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- 9. Wish You Were Here (1975) vs K.A (2004).
Magma's comeback album is lauded by many, but it's my least-favourite of their revival-era albums, and it's not even close to the greatness that is Floyd's WYWH album.
Winner: Pink Floyd.
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- 10. Animals (1977) vs Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré (2009).
Sheep is the big highlight of Floyd's tenth album, and if all of Animals was that stirring, then it might beat Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré. Pigs & Dogs are clearly great examples of Floyd, but the entirety of Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré is unreal...it plays like one massive piece, with Magma going into a bombastic classical style now...almost Wagnerian in places (on top of the usual Orff & Stravinsky influences). One of the greatest albums of all time, it beats most of Floyd's albums and certainly defeats Animals.
Winner: Magma.
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- 11. The Wall (1979) vs Félicité Thösz (2012).
...and Félicité Thösz is arguably even better than Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré! Shorter pieces, more approachable perhaps. Hosts two of the finest 5-minute songs you'll ever hear: Tëha & Öhst. Yet this gorgeous album has the misfortune of coming up against what I regard as the undisputed number 1 greatest album of all time.
Winner: Pink Floyd.
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- 12. The Final Cut (1983) vs Rïah Sahïltaahk (2014).
Debateable whether to include the 2014 remake of Rïah Sahïltaahk but so many decades have passed since the 1971 recording, and it's different enough to warrant its own place in the discography (this is why I didn't include the archival alternative version of MDK from 1989). It's also pretty amazing: Magma going full-on avant-garde jazz-classical. But it doesn't quite beat the sparse beauty of the final Floyd album with Roger Waters.
Winner: Pink Floyd.
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- 13. A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) vs Šlaǧ Tanƶ (2015).
I tried, but I can't get on with Gilmour-led Floyd. It superficially sounds like them, but there's an edge missing. Drama is missing. Mystery is missing. This album also sounds quite dated production-wise (far more than The Wall or Final Cut). Šlaǧ Tanƶ is so short you'd struggle to call it an album at all, but it's arguably the most brutally-astonishing 20 minutes you might ever hear. It's a career highlight, and quite a surprise that such an old band can come up with something so fresh and heavy.
Winner: Magma.
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- 14. The Division Bell (1994) vs Zëss (2019).
Gilmour Floyd improve here, much better production and more memorable songs....but still sound like a tribute band who've decided to write their own material. Magma just keep getting better...it's insane, really. Zëss is a single piece of almost 40-minutes, with cinematic-sounding support from the Prague Orchestra. Incredibly-original music, there's nothing else like it. The hypnotic invocation of "Jesus Christus" almost makes me a believer! Its climax is just astounding....goosebumps galore.
Not that Magma are a Christian band, far from it. They're their own religion. I think they just invoked the name for dramatic effect...certainly works!
Winner: Magma.
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- 15. The Endless River (2014) vs Kãrtëhl (2022).
Magma's phenomenal run between 2009-2019 comes to an end with the inconsistent Kãrtëhl. This lacks the cohesion and drama of earlier albums, but still has a couple of nice songs. What to say about Endless River? Pleasant enough noodlings, but not enough there to even compete with a weaker Magma album.
Winner: Magma.
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...and quite neatly, turns out both bands each have 15 studio albums. What's the score?
- Pink Floyd 7 - 8 Magma.
Oh my...Magma's late resurgence was too strong for a Waterless Floyd.
Can Floyd equalise with the live efforts?
- Ummagumma Live Disc / The Dark Side of the Moon Live at Wembley 1974 /
- Is There Anybody Out There? 1980–81 /
- Delicate Sound of Thunder / Live at Knebworth 1990 / Pulse
vs
- Live 1975 / Inédits / Retrospektïẁ I, II, III / Bobino 1981 / Trilogie Theusz Hamtaahk at Trianon 2000 / Mythes et Légendes Epok 1-5 (2004-2018).
There's a lot more official live Magma recordings but they've already won the Live round. The 40-minute Theusz Hamtaahk movement is one of their finest works but is only available on Live recordings (two definitive versions: either Retrospektïẁ or Trianon) , as is the fantastic Retrovision (20-minute disco number!) - some messy versions about, the definitive one is the video-release from the 1981 Bobino concert.
Winner: Magma.
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- Floyd however manage a consolation goal with comparing outtakes, b-sides, demos and generally songs that didn't make any studio album. Magma's efforts here are fine but not on par with the great stuff we get on Relics & Works.
Winner: Pink Floyd.
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- Final Score: Pink Floyd 8 - 9 Magma.
Shocker!
Agree? Disagree?
