IN SEARCH OF SYD

This CD that came free with Mojo mag is quite good as it gives an overall snapshot of the influences of the late great Syd Barrett. Not every track works as prog and many I have only played once but there is enough here to make this worth getting hold of if you can.

Highlights include in track order: 2. She Is Death (The Flaming Lips) (4:00) 6. Oh! Wot A Dream (Kevin Ayers) (2:45) 7. Take My Hand (Jennifer Gentle) (2:58) 8. Who Are The Brain Police? (The Mothers Of Invention) (3:33) a real taster to the "Freak Out!" album 9. 5 and 20 Schoolgirls (Gong) (4:33) a psychedelic softer Gong 11. Cymbaline (Hawkwind) (4:01) from their debut 13. I Should've Known (The Soft Machine) (7:25) and the ultimately weird 15. Crystal Rainbow Pyramid (Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.) (18:38)

There are many throwaways,as is usual with these giveaway CDs, but these tracks are very interesting and quite difficult to get hold of. Overall, great prog giveaway from one of the best magazines on the shelf.

Nice little compilation, not worse than many compilations that are bundled with magazines, but don't expect too much of a prog rock here. As usual, rock magazines are absolutely ignorant of prog most of the time (although the situation is changing in a last few years) and this one is not an exception.

Perhaps it's a good reference point to distinguish psychedelic rock from psychedelic prog rock - this one is certainly more accenting so-called neo-psychedelia. That's not a bad thing per se, but it falls flat to represent truly Barrett's heritage and how his musical genius really affected the rock world in forthcoming years.

The bunch of neo-psych songs are okay, but nothing to die for. The other ones, that supposed to be more elaborate, are not the best ones around; even Soft Machines tune is not very memorable. Zappa is, of course, okay, but it's more on the avant side, and I doubt how much of Syd's influence is there. 'Cymbaline' by Hawkwind is not improving Pink Floyd's original (which is from post-Barrett era if I'm not much mistaken).

Perhaps the best of the bunch is Bonzo's 'Humanoid Boogie', with their typical humour and sublime wisdom.

The two blues numbers, by Floyd Council and Pink Anderson seems out of place here. Of course, they're origins of the Pink Floyd's name, but one would have to dig deep into the beginnings of THE PINK FLOYD SOUND, in the time when Syd Barrett and Bob Klose were jamming around with blues patterns. A brave move from the editors, but not self-explanatory from the sonic side.

The biggest problem is- -there's not much explicit musical evidence of Syd's approach - exceptions may be Ayer's song and '4 and 20 schoolgirls' from Gong's pre-trilogy era, but we knew that already.

As a compilation, I believe it's worth two stars, but I'm giving it three (two and a half would be fair) because I love psychedelic rock music in almost any shape or form.

And you won't find him here

I can't say it thrills me to see our fine site including the free CD samplers from rock magazines as legitimate albums, but here we are. Being a huge Syd fan, I have to take a moment to warn fellow Syd fans not to waste their time hunting this down. The stated mission of the disc was to provide a collection of tracks which "seeks to present that elusive sense of...Sydness" and "encapsulates the spirit of the man." Yeah, right. Not exactly a modest goal. We'll be nice and just say that "the search continues."

The disc purports to include songs: A) Which influenced Barrett. B) Were the product of his contemporaries. C) Were the product of his "devotees." Parts B and C are pure conjecture and opinion as to their importance in understanding Syd. Part A is the only interesting part of the equation, and unfortunately only three of the 15 tracks fall under part A. Some of the music of his contemporaries and devotees is interesting of course, or would be in the full context of their albums. Here, by themselves, they are really pretty disjointed and not worth discussion---go get their real albums if interested.

The three tracks which supposedly influenced Syd are interesting to hear, although the extent these specific tracks influenced Floyd material is debatable. Certainly he heard these artists prior to writing Piper which makes them worthy of inclusion. The first two are tracks from the 1920s/30s by Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, the bluesmen who provided the spark for the band's name. These tracks are exactly what you'd expect, simple acoustic blues ditties, completely catchy and enjoyable from the first listen. The 3rd item of interest is a track by AMM from 1966. This was an experimental noise troupe connected to Floyd managers King and Jenner, and Syd was most interested in their recording process and the bizarre sounds they conjured. The song isn't what you'd call enjoyable, especially by itself, but is worth hearing. It's pretty wild and abrasive avant-garde music.

I rate this disc one star because the notes promise far more than they deliver. And because this is not the way to hear either the classics or the newer psych bands herein, all of whom should be pursued properly. Syd himself had the best line for anyone who thought they knew him, who thought they had him figured out, and who thought they could speak for him---including his former bandmates and silly magazines trying to make a buck off of selling myths about his life:

"I'm not anything that you think I am anyway." -Syd, '71