Poll: How do you rate Syd Barrett's "Barrett" album?

Or there's the theory put forth as far back as Nicholas Schaffner's Pink Floyd book, that Syd may have already had some mental problems that were exacerbated by LSD use.

The "he tripped out on too much acid" thing is probably overstated, though it was no doubt possibly a factor.

At least he did seem to live out the last of years comfortably, and among his possessions there were psychiatry textbooks found, the implication being that even late in life he was researching his own condition and seemingly aware of it.

 

I don't remember what previous biographies of Syd said about him in his last few years but the picture the Chapman book paints seems plausible to me, his sister contributed a lot to it.

 

A wonderful album that I return to again and again. Baby Lemonade. Found myself singing Dominoes a few days ago and had to pull the album out again.
So many unforgettable lyrics:

and the trees by the waving corn stranded
my legs move the last empty inches to you
the softness, the warmth from the weather in suspense

braver and braver, a handkerchief waver
the louder you lips to a loud hailer

there will be wine and drinking in the yard
there won't be anybody very hard

I'm so happy to have lived with this wonderful album for so long.

 

I like this one a little more than Madcap. Not sure if it's essential to a Floyd fan.
It is to me, a Barrett fan.

 

Peter Green's and Syd's trajectories are very different imho. They both get lumped in the "took too much acid" club by various parties with an angle to push when the truth is more complicated.
Green never had the kind of breakdown that Syd reportedly did. When he quit Fleetwood Mac, in a responsible manner, he was at the top of his game and lucid. His illness appeared gradually after he had basically left the music business.

But what's similar is that both were highly artistic and sensitive people with, seemingly, underlying issues and a certain disdain for the music business who should probably have stayed away from drugs. Not everyone is cut out for the corporate grind.

 

I just ordered this book. What sold me is that he got to interview family members and flesh out the picture of his last years.

 

I'm reading it now, as it so happens.

 

One neighbour said that in a tabloid. Don't believe everything you read.

 

What did the Chapman book say?

Dark Globe was a downer, man...

 

Ordered a copy of A Very Irregular Head. Anything to counter-balance Dark Globe...

 

Yeah maybe I should get a different Syd bio. If there's one thing I'd like from my Syd worship, it would be something to puncture the awful image of him screaming and smashing up the house full of regrets about his past.

Neighbours speaking to a tabloid is one thing. Shame on Dark Globe's author if he's peddling salacious non truth and slopping those tales into an otherwise fine book. There's enough sadness in the Syd story without exaggerated tabloid claims.

 

Whilst 'A Very Irregular Head' is a much more positive assessment and digs deep into the literary references in Syds lyrics. I don't think it is quite fair to refer Dark Globe as though it were a tabloid hatchet job. It is far from that.

Whilst I never met him I did use to live about half a mile away from Syd in Cambridge in the latter part of his life and I know folks who encountered him regularly. Sadly, many of the distressing stories are true. He was generally quiet and private and sometimes pleasant but did have some 'episodes' that were noisy or destructive.

I have read all the books and the 'real' Syd remains fascinating but elusive (even his band mates and friends can't really agree about what happened to him and why). Was he an intensely creative artist who decided to withdraw from a distasteful industry or a schizophrenic or an acid casualty? Probably a bit of all three. The man himself was complex and damaged and had no desire (or capability?) to explain himself.

 

Opel - coming tomorrow.

 

Head on over here... Unless you haven't voted yet!
Poll: How do you rate Syd Barrett's "Opel" album?

 

The final ramblings of poor old Syd. Lower tier but I prefer it to anything that came after Wish You Were Here.

 

I am posting so it doesn't post what I wrote and decided not to post next time I post.

 

Wow, hard for me to argue with the top ten so far:

Wish You Were Here. 4.78.
The Dark Side of the Moon. 4.75.
Meddle. 4.70.
Animals. 4.62.
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. 4.26.
The Wall. 4.01.
Obscured by Clouds. 3.87.
The Madcap Laughs. 3.77.
Atom Heart Mother. 3.72.
A Saucerful of Secrets. 3.78.

 

That top 5 is really hard to beat.

Personally, I could take or leave Obscured & Saucerful, however.

 

This one hasn't been active for well over a year... Here's hoping for some new votes!

 

Good. But not as.... errrr..... coherent as "The Madcap Laughs".

 

Rated "Barrett" as essential and clearly one of the best.

I see old comments above about Julian Palacios' 'Dark Globe' book being a downer? I didn't get that at all, aside from the fact that Syd's biography is a downer.

'Dark Globe' was the best Syd bio I've read, and it filled in all the backstory on London counter-culture in ways the other books hadn't. There's also quite a lot of unique analysis of Syd's lyrics scattered through the book. It's very dense, and for some reason I keep it on hand for casual reading.

Chapman's book was like an extended magazine article. That book got all the glory and recognition but was merely adequate. If anything, Chapman's book felt more like a tabloid than 'Dark Globe'.

...But the best Syd book, of course is David Parker's 'Random Precision' recording sessions! I hope we get the full soundtrack in a giant boxset one day. Kickstarter it, please Barrett Estate.

 

Contains some of his best lyrics IMO. It Is Obvious is damn fine poetry. Also Dominoes has THE best backward guitar solo ever recorded. Supergrass’ backward solo on Wait For The Sun is a close second.

Love the artwork, the mood but most of all the lyrics.