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Joined: September 20 2010
Location: Serbia
Status: Offline
Points: 10213
Posted: August 14 2015 at 00:42
TODDLER wrote:
Svetonio wrote:
An article from 2006:
Pete Townshend insists late Pink Floyd frontman SYD BARRETT "wasn't very good" when heard without the influence of hallucinogenics. Barrett was the driving force behind Pink Floyd's debut 1967 album THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN but left the band in 1968 after suffering an LSD-induced breakdown. He died in July (06) from complications associated with diabetes. And Townshend was left disappointed when his acid trip wore off before he saw Pink Floyd perform in London in the mid-1960s. He says, "I had one of my very few acid trips and I walked all the way from Portobello Road to the Roundhouse - four miles - and by the time I got there the trip had worn off. "It was strange watching Syd Barrett stone-cold sober and realising, actually, that he wasn't very good. But it would have been brilliant if you were on acid."
I've read some negative statements from Townshend...who is one of my favorite writers. Syd Barrett was not overly impressive or up to Townshend's standards gymnastically and with all the "hoot" over Floyd during that time, he was a bit outspoken about that. I don't know if he was slightly jealous of their new audience or may have considered them a threat in some way to The Who? That was his first response to Jimi Hendrix anyway...so who knows really? Jeff Beck was like that too. His reaction was green over Hendrix.
The Who's Pete Townshend keeps a very active blog, and in a good piece
of timing with the first anniversary of Syd's passing, has today posted
another chapter from his evolving biography.
As part of a tight-knit group of the main characters of the time,
including Joe Boyd and Miles, the new drugs on the scene (especially
LSD) played a role in proceedings, and it was due to an acid trip that
Pete missed one of the only Who shows of his career. Unable to drive the
300 miles to the gig, Pete instead saw Pink Floyd's first show at the
UFO.
"They didn’t go on until after midnight. Syd Barrett was wonderful in
those days, and so were the rest of them. I immediately fell in love
with the band, and the Club itself, and especially John Hopkins (‘Hoppy’
as he was known) who ran the Club and worked the door."
He also went the following night, and the Floyd were on the bill again.
"This time I didn’t use acid and I think I took Eric Clapton especially
to see Syd who walked on stage – off his head on acid – played a single
chord and made it last about an hour using an electronic echo machine
called a Binson. When he did start to play again he was truly inspiring,
anarchic and experimental..."
Did he sing all the songs on the Floyd albums he was on?
Not totally. Astronomy Domine has a harmony vocal and it might be Waters backing Syd Barrett. Additionally on "Matilda Mother" ..it may be Waters or an overdubbed vocal of Syd Barrett. Difficult for me to tell...as sometimes, Wright and Waters sang in the style of Syd. "Corporal Clegg" is supposedly Roger Waters singing lead, yet it sounds very much like Syd Barrett. Rick Wright's vocal work can be matched with similarities to Syd Barrett's on very early Wright songs...such as B sides to their singles. Syd Barrett sang lead on most of Piper and lead only on one track from Saucerful which was Jugband Blues. "Scream Thy Last Scream" , written during his last days with the Floyd featured Nick Mason on lead vocal and Syd Barrett singing along with Mason, yet octaves higher in pitch, sped up more or less, emulating the same sound used for Alvin and the Chipmunks. On the BBC Sessions '67, it is easier to tell the difference between Waters voice and Barrett's. This cd contains rare versions of "Astronomy Domine", "The Gnome", "Scarecrow" "Set The Controls" , (which has Syd Barrett on guitar), "Matilda Mother", "Flaming", "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man". I highly recommend this cd to anyone who appreciates the early Floyd. I have the "so called" original studio recordings of "Vegetable Man" and "Scream Thy Last Scream" and I enjoy them quite more than the BBC recordings because they are not as stripped down.
I would really love to get this BBC CD you talk of, but as far as I know it's not officially released, and I wouldn't know how to get it. I have been wishing the BBC concerts (or some other early early concert with Gilmour already on it) were to be officially released, but a concert with Syd on it would be just about as interesting for me.
It's on Amazon/music
Oh well, I had never though of looking for BBC recordings from Floyd, since I never knew they officially released any. I wonder if this ones are official or not, but I did find many options on Amazon... and it seemed from different recordings. I guess I'll have to get something out of the choices.
If you want Pink Floyd at the BBC with Syd Barrett, then purchase Pink Floyd BBC 1967...(Japanese Import)
Joined: April 11 2014
Location: Kyiv In Spirit
Status: Offline
Points: 20523
Posted: August 14 2015 at 12:30
TODDLER wrote:
I believe that "See Emily Play" was very sincere and it may have been commercial, but it was also odd. Many songwriters obtaining #1's are even more bizarre than Prog musicians. Chi Coltrane is a Pop music writer , loves Prog, and has a different slice of reality. Syd Barrett wasn't exactly The Partridge Family you know? Even his POP songs were strange , arty, and worthy...
Joined: April 27 2004
Location: Peru
Status: Offline
Points: 19535
Posted: August 14 2015 at 12:46
I don't know if he was a genius, I know he was a great musician...But lets be honest, with him Pink Floyd would had never reached the level they reached with Gilmour.
Lets also remember that tragic figures are surrounded by a legend and an aura sometimes bigger than they were.
I always think in Jim Morrison. he was a fat decadent ex-musician who very few remembered on July 2, 1971...But he became an immortal legend on July 3, 1971.
Yes he was amazing, had a fantastic voice, he was at least 50% of The Doors, but if he would had grown old writing average poems in Paris, nobody would remember him.
Joined: June 18 2009
Location: Mexico
Status: Offline
Points: 12609
Posted: August 14 2015 at 22:12
TODDLER wrote:
Dellinger wrote:
TODDLER wrote:
Dellinger wrote:
TODDLER wrote:
brainstormer wrote:
Did he sing all the songs on the Floyd albums he was on?
Not totally. Astronomy Domine has a harmony vocal and it might be Waters backing Syd Barrett. Additionally on "Matilda Mother" ..it may be Waters or an overdubbed vocal of Syd Barrett. Difficult for me to tell...as sometimes, Wright and Waters sang in the style of Syd. "Corporal Clegg" is supposedly Roger Waters singing lead, yet it sounds very much like Syd Barrett. Rick Wright's vocal work can be matched with similarities to Syd Barrett's on very early Wright songs...such as B sides to their singles. Syd Barrett sang lead on most of Piper and lead only on one track from Saucerful which was Jugband Blues. "Scream Thy Last Scream" , written during his last days with the Floyd featured Nick Mason on lead vocal and Syd Barrett singing along with Mason, yet octaves higher in pitch, sped up more or less, emulating the same sound used for Alvin and the Chipmunks. On the BBC Sessions '67, it is easier to tell the difference between Waters voice and Barrett's. This cd contains rare versions of "Astronomy Domine", "The Gnome", "Scarecrow" "Set The Controls" , (which has Syd Barrett on guitar), "Matilda Mother", "Flaming", "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man". I highly recommend this cd to anyone who appreciates the early Floyd. I have the "so called" original studio recordings of "Vegetable Man" and "Scream Thy Last Scream" and I enjoy them quite more than the BBC recordings because they are not as stripped down.
I would really love to get this BBC CD you talk of, but as far as I know it's not officially released, and I wouldn't know how to get it. I have been wishing the BBC concerts (or some other early early concert with Gilmour already on it) were to be officially released, but a concert with Syd on it would be just about as interesting for me.
It's on Amazon/music
Oh well, I had never thought of looking for BBC recordings from Floyd, since I never knew they officially released any. I wonder if this ones are official or not, but I did find many options on Amazon... and it seemed from different recordings. I guess I'll have to get something out of the choices.
If you want Pink Floyd at the BBC with Syd Barrett, then purchase Pink Floyd BBC 1967...(Japanese Import)
Not that I want or prefer Pink Floyd live with Barrett over post-Barrett, just that if I didn't expect to be able to get any of those BBC albums with Gilmour, even less so with Barrett. I found many, but this seem to be the more popular/trustworthy ones. The live at 67 you mentioned, 68/69, 70, and 71. Though on the reviews someone said there were suposed to be 5 of them... perhaps the 5th is the Dark Side of the Moon one, which doesn't seem such a good idea if I have the new version of the studio album which already includes that concert too. However, I guess I really want to get them all, let's see if they are still available while I do buy them. Thanks for the information, it's great to know, there are many live songs from here I really wanted to get. However, I'm particularly curious about Jugband Blues, since I sort of like that one, but don't really dig the war band in the middle, plus, I always thought that song could have been much more.
Did he sing all the songs on the Floyd albums he was on?
Not totally. Astronomy Domine has a harmony vocal and it might be Waters backing Syd Barrett. Additionally on "Matilda Mother" ..it may be Waters or an overdubbed vocal of Syd Barrett. Difficult for me to tell...as sometimes, Wright and Waters sang in the style of Syd. "Corporal Clegg" is supposedly Roger Waters singing lead, yet it sounds very much like Syd Barrett. Rick Wright's vocal work can be matched with similarities to Syd Barrett's on very early Wright songs...such as B sides to their singles. Syd Barrett sang lead on most of Piper and lead only on one track from Saucerful which was Jugband Blues. "Scream Thy Last Scream" , written during his last days with the Floyd featured Nick Mason on lead vocal and Syd Barrett singing along with Mason, yet octaves higher in pitch, sped up more or less, emulating the same sound used for Alvin and the Chipmunks. On the BBC Sessions '67, it is easier to tell the difference between Waters voice and Barrett's. This cd contains rare versions of "Astronomy Domine", "The Gnome", "Scarecrow" "Set The Controls" , (which has Syd Barrett on guitar), "Matilda Mother", "Flaming", "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man". I highly recommend this cd to anyone who appreciates the early Floyd. I have the "so called" original studio recordings of "Vegetable Man" and "Scream Thy Last Scream" and I enjoy them quite more than the BBC recordings because they are not as stripped down.
I would really love to get this BBC CD you talk of, but as far as I know it's not officially released, and I wouldn't know how to get it. I have been wishing the BBC concerts (or some other early early concert with Gilmour already on it) were to be officially released, but a concert with Syd on it would be just about as interesting for me.
It's on Amazon/music
Oh well, I had never thought of looking for BBC recordings from Floyd, since I never knew they officially released any. I wonder if this ones are official or not, but I did find many options on Amazon... and it seemed from different recordings. I guess I'll have to get something out of the choices.
If you want Pink Floyd at the BBC with Syd Barrett, then purchase Pink Floyd BBC 1967...(Japanese Import)
Not that I want or prefer Pink Floyd live with Barrett over post-Barrett, just that if I didn't expect to be able to get any of those BBC albums with Gilmour, even less so with Barrett. I found many, but this seem to be the more popular/trustworthy ones. The live at 67 you mentioned, 68/69, 70, and 71. Though on the reviews someone said there were suposed to be 5 of them... perhaps the 5th is the Dark Side of the Moon one, which doesn't seem such a good idea if I have the new version of the studio album which already includes that concert too. However, I guess I really want to get them all, let's see if they are still available while I do buy them. Thanks for the information, it's great to know, there are many live songs from here I really wanted to get. However, I'm particularly curious about Jugband Blues, since I sort of like that one, but don't really dig the war band in the middle, plus, I always thought that song could have been much more.
I don't believe the salvation army band is present on the BBC recording of Jugband Blues. It might be a kazoo instead? Is that worse for you? BBC '67 is a real treat because of the details that differ completely from Piper. In "The Gnome" when Syd Barrett sings..."And then one day....hooray!"...They all sing "hooray" together which is a minor detail, but sounds rather odd and comically interesting..Lol! I simply love BBC '67 because I never in my life heard different versions of the songs on Piper. Additionally...I have never heard a live concert of the '67 Pink Floyd. I don't mean the BBC, but an actual concert is something I've never heard. It;s just very odd ...sitting and listening to BBC '67. It has really grown on me.
Joined: June 18 2009
Location: Mexico
Status: Offline
Points: 12609
Posted: August 15 2015 at 22:27
TODDLER wrote:
Dellinger wrote:
TODDLER wrote:
Dellinger wrote:
TODDLER wrote:
Dellinger wrote:
TODDLER wrote:
brainstormer wrote:
Did he sing all the songs on the Floyd albums he was on?
Not totally. Astronomy Domine has a harmony vocal and it might be Waters backing Syd Barrett. Additionally on "Matilda Mother" ..it may be Waters or an overdubbed vocal of Syd Barrett. Difficult for me to tell...as sometimes, Wright and Waters sang in the style of Syd. "Corporal Clegg" is supposedly Roger Waters singing lead, yet it sounds very much like Syd Barrett. Rick Wright's vocal work can be matched with similarities to Syd Barrett's on very early Wright songs...such as B sides to their singles. Syd Barrett sang lead on most of Piper and lead only on one track from Saucerful which was Jugband Blues. "Scream Thy Last Scream" , written during his last days with the Floyd featured Nick Mason on lead vocal and Syd Barrett singing along with Mason, yet octaves higher in pitch, sped up more or less, emulating the same sound used for Alvin and the Chipmunks. On the BBC Sessions '67, it is easier to tell the difference between Waters voice and Barrett's. This cd contains rare versions of "Astronomy Domine", "The Gnome", "Scarecrow" "Set The Controls" , (which has Syd Barrett on guitar), "Matilda Mother", "Flaming", "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man". I highly recommend this cd to anyone who appreciates the early Floyd. I have the "so called" original studio recordings of "Vegetable Man" and "Scream Thy Last Scream" and I enjoy them quite more than the BBC recordings because they are not as stripped down.
I would really love to get this BBC CD you talk of, but as far as I know it's not officially released, and I wouldn't know how to get it. I have been wishing the BBC concerts (or some other early early concert with Gilmour already on it) were to be officially released, but a concert with Syd on it would be just about as interesting for me.
It's on Amazon/music
Oh well, I had never thought of looking for BBC recordings from Floyd, since I never knew they officially released any. I wonder if this ones are official or not, but I did find many options on Amazon... and it seemed from different recordings. I guess I'll have to get something out of the choices.
If you want Pink Floyd at the BBC with Syd Barrett, then purchase Pink Floyd BBC 1967...(Japanese Import)
Not that I want or prefer Pink Floyd live with Barrett over post-Barrett, just that if I didn't expect to be able to get any of those BBC albums with Gilmour, even less so with Barrett. I found many, but this seem to be the more popular/trustworthy ones. The live at 67 you mentioned, 68/69, 70, and 71. Though on the reviews someone said there were suposed to be 5 of them... perhaps the 5th is the Dark Side of the Moon one, which doesn't seem such a good idea if I have the new version of the studio album which already includes that concert too. However, I guess I really want to get them all, let's see if they are still available while I do buy them. Thanks for the information, it's great to know, there are many live songs from here I really wanted to get. However, I'm particularly curious about Jugband Blues, since I sort of like that one, but don't really dig the war band in the middle, plus, I always thought that song could have been much more.
I don't believe the salvation army band is present on the BBC recording of Jugband Blues. It might be a kazoo instead? Is that worse for you? BBC '67 is a real treat because of the details that differ completely from Piper. In "The Gnome" when Syd Barrett sings..."And then one day....hooray!"...They all sing "hooray" together which is a minor detail, but sounds rather odd and comically interesting..Lol! I simply love BBC '67 because I never in my life heard different versions of the songs on Piper. Additionally...I have never heard a live concert of the '67 Pink Floyd. I don't mean the BBC, but an actual concert is something I've never heard. It;s just very odd ...sitting and listening to BBC '67. It has really grown on me.
I don't really know about the kazoo... I guess I'll have to listen to it. Actually, I already ordered my copies of the 3 BBC albums (67, 70, and 71), so I'll see later on. Damn, I was not planning on spending that money just yet, however, they were the only copies and I didn't want to risk them being sold and not being able to get them for who know how much time (it's happened already to me).
Joined: September 03 2005
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Posted: August 15 2015 at 23:18
The London 66/67 release with the long Interstellar and Nick's Boogie shows off a really creative Syd, right in his element. I could never source the Love In London vinyl, so I never got to hear these pieces in their entirety until it was re-released as the London 1966/67 white vinyl edition. These are historical pieces that reflect Syd really working within the band unit. All guys on the same page etc. Priceless
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Posted: August 16 2015 at 12:33
Thanks for the Intel here. I did not realize the BBC 67 had been compiled to a new CD with decent sound. Just ordered a Japan mini, hoping it is as good as the reviews state. It would be great to have a quality CD compilation of live in studio 67 Floyd.
Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
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Points: 20491
Posted: August 21 2015 at 12:53
SteveG wrote:
I've never seen an artist more over appreciated than this one. More hype than hero, I'm afraid.
I have to agree with you....
I honestly don't think his playing or songwriting is anything spectacular. I re-listened to the first two Floyd LP's and the singles they did in those days and while there are indeed some good tracks there isn't anything that makes me think he was a genius.
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin
I've never seen an artist more over appreciated than this one. More hype than hero, I'm afraid.
Well....he's over hyped because of Rock journalists, record companies..."Harvest" EMI and Pink Floyd themselves who decided to write songs about him which overly appealed to "Pot head" audiences, and overall through the publications industry. That is not Syd Barrett's fault, request, or doing.....Syd Barrett created an original style of music that was influential to artists of the future. That is a true fact..otherwise see if you can disprove it. I can't....but all this other garbage you make reference to is in the hands of jerks who often overrate an artist. Syd Barrett had nothing to do with that. Bob Dylan and Grateful Dead are extremely overrated. Many people are. That doesn't mean they weren't innovators. I don't like Dylan or the Dead and personally don't see how they would be considered great musicians or writers, but I am still graceful enough to understand how they influenced other people. I may not like them....but have respect for their originality and the foundation they laid for musicians who didn't have creative minds to do it on their own..
Joined: April 11 2014
Location: Kyiv In Spirit
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Points: 20523
Posted: August 22 2015 at 10:01
TODDLER wrote:
SteveG wrote:
I've never seen an artist more over appreciated than this one. More hype than hero, I'm afraid.
Well....he's over hyped because of Rock journalists, record companies..."Harvest" EMI and Pink Floyd themselves who decided to write songs about him which overly appealed to "Pot head" audiences, and overall through the publications industry. That is not Syd Barrett's fault, request, or doing.....Syd Barrett created an original style of music that was influential to artists of the future. That is a true fact..otherwise see if you can disprove it. I can't....but all this other garbage you make reference to is in the hands of jerks who often overrate an artist. Syd Barrett had nothing to do with that. Bob Dylan and Grateful Dead are extremely overrated. Many people are. That doesn't mean they weren't innovators. I don't like Dylan or the Dead and personally don't see how they would be considered great musicians or writers, but I am still graceful enough to understand how they influenced other people. I may not like them....but have respect for their originality and the foundation they laid for musicians who didn't have creative minds to do it on their own..
If it makes you feel better Todd, Dylan and the Dead are overrated too.
The inclusion of Barrett along with, or the view that he's superior to, true musical geniuses like Brian Wilson or Lennon & McCartney is an insult to these true music visionaries.
AMM were a group born of philosophy rather than the performance of music, the idea of searching for sound, in a leaderless environment, attempting to create a new type of music altogether. Unlike traditional free improvisation, which created sound and reflected upon itself, AMM sought to continue way past those boundaries.
"This is a very, very obscure record, but kind of legendary" says Joe, "one of the formative things in the creation of what we now think of as Pink Floyd, the long extended solos, the abstract ventures into space with the guitar, it all comes from here". He continues, "Peter Jenner gave this to Syd Barrett and he loved this record, and that took him, combined with his own acid trips, it took him off into space", leading Barrett from quirky little songs like "Arnold Layne" and "Bike" to the drawn out insanity that made them so influential.
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Posted: August 14 2015 at 00:42
Syd Barrett: Real Genius or Real Hype?
Topic Options
TODDLER wrote:
The Who's Pete Townshend keeps a very active blog, and in a good piece
of timing with the first anniversary of Syd's passing, has today posted
another chapter from his evolving biography.