AN INTRODUCTION TO SYD BARRETT

This was a refreshing little compilation.

Only one new thing, I know, (and Rhamadan was an amazing little piece of work too) but he old stuff has never sounded better. Whatever David Gilmour did in producing this really gave the classic tracks some new life and that's always a good thing when it comes to Syd.

Among the greatest tracks on here are the newly mixed Apples & Oranges which I never like at first but this version has made it grow on me and Dark Globe which has much better sound quality than previously.

The new instrumental, Rhamadan, was a great track too. Frankly I didn't know Syd was coherrent enough to make music this good but his guitar abilities are really showcased with this and it is actually a very good track.

For those hardcore, and maybe not so hardcore, Floyd fans.

I can't really describe it, but Syd Barret's music carries with it an aura that seams to lift you up from the ground. This compilation does a good job of sumarizing the carrier of this musical genious. It is a pity that he never recorded in the 80's because I would really like to see what the evolution would have been. I can't even imagine. But as with most of these geniouses they are destined to burn bright but for a short period of time. This is a testimony to musical and lyrical simplicity and at the same time complexity because most of the songs Sys composed had a kind of emotional complexity no one will ever be able to understand. And that is why he is a legend. The remastering and also tweaking that David Gilmour did are not obtrusive, as it would expected from a guy that participated on the original recordings. A good place to star your collection and also a fine addition for completists.

As of this writing Syd Barrett now has four times more compilations of his work than actual studio albums: not a bad ratio for a burned-out acid casualty who released only a pair of solo LPs over four decades ago.

This one is a winner, however, and not just for new fans wanting what the title promises: a one-stop primer to the brief, troubled career of PINK FLOYD's original crazy diamond. The songs here have all been re-mastered (and in many cases entirely remixed) by none other than David Gilmour...that's right, the same guitarist who took Syd's place in his own group and then went on to international superstardom is ironically now the caretaker of Syd Barrett's legacy.

Thankfully so, I might add. Geriatric chestnuts like "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play" have never sounded better, and other tunes are greatly enhanced by the sympathetic remixes. The whimsical early Floyd nursery school daydream "Matilda Mother" is the most radically different, using an alternate take with unfamiliar lyrics and an extended instrumental coda.

I still question the inclusion of the ragged false start to "If It's In You": the song by itself reveals more than enough of Barrett's disintegrating psyche without the voyeuristic look at his struggling attempts to find the right key. And the absence, once again, of the still unreleased but widely bootlegged Barrett classics "Vegetable Man" and "Scream Thy Last Scream" is a disappointment: both are essential to any understanding of Syd Barrett's fragile genius, for reasons beyond even the obvious implications of the song titles by themselves.

Instead we get relative rarities like "Apples and Oranges" and the stinging Folk Rock parody of "Bob Dylan Blues", neither one completely unknown, but welcome additions to this set. And buyers of the CD (or borrowers, like me) will be allowed to download the bonus track "Rhamadan": a rambling twenty-minute (!) jam from one of Syd's more desperate studio sessions.

As a cultural artifact it's a fascinating (but failed) attempt at instant composition. But as a piece of music it doesn't add up to anything more than a rather pathetic group improvisation by players obviously unskilled in the art of extemporaneous music making (notice how little Barrett himself actually contributes to the track). I suppose it deserves to be heard for historical (if not quite for aesthetic) perspective. And for armchair Barrett archeologists in particular the experience will be like striking a rich vein of glowing pyrite.

If nothing else the extra track is a generous afterthought to an already well-rounded compilation, maybe the best of the many Syd Barrett collections on the market. Until the next one, at least...

Great Barrett days!

Most people know that Syd Barrett was the first lunatic inside Pink Floyd; that his work with the band produced the most psychedelic tunes; but only a few people know his solo work, and that's a fact. Given that fact, I think it was a good decision to release a compilation album from his work, because it is a nice way of reliving him, of giving him a deserved credit, of spreading his tunes with new listeners. It is a nice tribute to someone who changed rock history.

And though I am not fond of compilation albums, I received this one with open arms; and though I don't regularly listen to it, I think it deserves exposure and a word from us, the fans. It was a pretty cool decision to begin this 18-song album with some early Floyd tracks, of course, Pink Floyd songs composed by Barrett whose sound has his truly personal touch, so you will smile and sing with songs such as "Arnold Layne", "See Emily Play" and "Bike", which are representative from those early years.

From track 7 to 17 the album has songs from his solo career. The first batch has music taken from "The Madcap Laughs", with tunes such as "Terrapin", "Dark Globe", "Octopus" and "If it's in You", songs that show his melancholic, depressive and crazy elements, songs that one can sing and enjoy, because his voice and guitar were good enough to enjoy. The second batch contains songs from "Syd Barrett", there you will listen to "Baby Lemonade", "Dominoes" and "Effervescing Elephant", among others. It is worth mentioning that some of the songs featured here were remixed in 2010.

Last but not least, track 18 is "Bob Dylan Blues", a kind of tribute that Syd composed for Bob, and that was lost somewhere and found several years after its composition by David Gilmour. I think this was a good choice for finishing this great compilation. So if you would like to explore a bit more about Barrett, this is a great way to start.

Enjoy it!

Everybody loved the handsome, witty, creative, smart, charming and charismatic, 'Bohemian dressed' Syd. He was also considered as an extraordinary tunesmith, with a potential at the level of John Lennon and Ray Davies. And Jimi Hendrix praised Syd for his experimental use of echo and feedback. But then in July 1967 Syd didn't appear for a BBC Radio session, and when he came back after a few days his friends noticed that 'the crazy diamond' had changed: "Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky". I agree with those who think this was his first psychotic decompensation, part of a severe underlying mental disease, paranoid schizophrenia, and triggered by excessive LSD use. One month later Pink Floyd its debut album Piper At The Gates Of Dawn was released, Syd was embraced as the highly creative force. But more and more he felt depressed and confused, about his status as rock star, and his increasing inability to keep control over his mind and behaviour. Like catatonic states on stage and frequent physical aggression to his girlfriend in his apartment. Due to this unpredictable and erratic behaviour Syd was even fired in Pink Floyd, in April 1968. But Syd was still able to make two solo albums in 1970, with the help of many known music friends. Unfortunately shortly after Syd was no longer able to function as a musician. He went to a mental hospital for a few months and then lived for the rest of his life in Cambridge: first with his very caring mother Winifred (who died in 1991), and later in a semi-detached-house, where Syd died in 2006 (due to the complications of diabetes). It's an honour to Syd his creative mind that his songs were covered by known bands, like Al About Eve (See Emily Play), The Boomtown Rats and The Damned (both Arnold Layne), REM (Orange Crush), The Smashing Pumpkins (Terrapin), The Jesus & Mary Chain (Vegetable Man) and Neil from The Young Ones (The Gnome). And keep in mind that in 1992 Atlantic Records offered Syd 500.000 dollars for new material, but his family turned it down, afraid for too much pressure on Syd.

This compilation starts with 6 Pink Floyd tracks, including the legendary psychedelic pop songs Arnold Layne and See Emily Play featuring Syd his distinctive voice, wonderfully blended with Rick Wright his soaring Farfisa organ. The song Apples And Oranges contains Syd his raw Fender Telecaster guitar sound. And it is trademark whimsical Syd Barrett in the cheerful and funny Bike, let's name it typical British humor.

The other 12 tracks showcase hardly the Syd Barrett who became famous as the inventive Pink Floyd psychedelic pop tunesmith. Many tracks feature Syd as a troubadour, strumming on his acoustic guitar and singing with strong melancholical undertones. Like in Terrapin (a bit bluesy lullaby), Dark Globe (with the legendary Wouldn't you miss me?, sung slightly hysterical), Here I Go, She and Took A Long Cool Look. But Syd also went back to his roots, as a young teenager who discovered rock and roll and The Beatles and Rolling Stones: Octopus (energetic climate with nice rhythm guitar and in the end fiery rock guitar) and Baby Lemonade (captivating psychedelic guitar sound). Some tracks even sound more elaborate, like Dominoes (dreamy with Hammond organ, dark vocals, a distorted experimental guitar sound and electric piano) and Gigolo Aunt (catchy beat, delicate Hammond, funny lyrics and sarcastic vocals, the exciting distorted raw rock guitar sound is my highlight). The track Effervescing Elephant is trademark Syd, simplistic and humorous, like My Bike. A very special composition is Bob Dylan Blues, Syd sings in the vein of Bob Dylan, like a tribute, but looking at the lyrics he is pretty sarcastic about his former musical hero. Finally the 'download bonus track' Rhamadan: a 20 minute improvisation with strong propulsive percussion (from the T Rex drummer), mellow organ and electric piano and experimental guitar work, to me this composition sounds too unbalanced, sometimes close to cacaphonic, with only a very few sparks that reminds of great improvisional work like Interstellar Overdrive.

Syd was far from easy to collaborate with in those days, nonetheless a wide range of known musicians were willing to contribute to his solo efforts, from his former Pink Floyd collagues Roger Waters, Rick Wright and David Gilmour to Mike Ratledge, Hugh Hopper and Robert Wyatt. They did a fine job to support an often fragile and vulnerable Syd Barrett. Although in general I miss that captivating vibe, energy and creativity as in Pink Floyd, I like some more energetic tracks, I am touched by Syd his pure emotion in some troubadour songs, and I consider his lyrics as the most interesting part of Syd solo, in many ways!

A final note. Due to the increasing amount of royalties from Pink Floyd and Syd solo albums, Syd could stay in luxury hotels, watching tv and ordering every meal he liked, because his family wanted him to be happy, this gives an ironical extra dimension to the title of his first solo album, The Madcap Laughs!

My rating: 2,5 star.