Syd Barrett - Barrett
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Free Music Notes for Barrett
Free Music Review: Barrett CD - excellent!
Hit: 5 Stars
One of Syd Barrett's solo efforts, this CD is a good one. However, I do prefer The Madcap Laughs over this CD...
Free Music Review: lost soul in pa
Hit: 5 Stars
i know where syd is¿
we'll see you there
Free Music Review: Not as good as "Madcap," but still has its moments
Hit: 4 Stars
This second solo album from former Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett was also released in 1970. However, even though a short amount of time passed between this and the previous album "The Madcap Laughs," the overall feel of the music has changed dramatically with this one. A large reason for this is due to the heavy involvement of Floyd members David Gilmour and Richard Wright, who not only provide a heavy helping of musical assistance, but also act as producers on this album. The result is an effort that is much more focused than the previous album, but this in turn strips away much of the intimate poignancy that was the basis for many of the songs on "The Madcap Laughs." That being said, portions of this album still shine through the slick instrumentation. Syd Barrett is one of my all-time favorite musicians, so any album with him can't be all bad. In fact, there are about three or four songs here which I find absolutely beautiful.Now to discuss highlights of this album. "Baby Lemonade" has to be one of the most telling songs that Syd has ever written (as well as one of his best melodies). The guitar intro provided by David Gilmour is actually pretty cool. While I'm on the subject, this album is really a testament to David Gilmour's instrumental talents. He not only plays guitar on several tracks, but he is also featured playing bass, organ, and drums at various points on the album. Gilmour is an extremely talented musician, but he just isn't Syd (after all, this is supposed to be Syd's album, right?). "Wined and Dined" has to be one of my favorite Barrett songs ever. The light, folky riff coupled with Barrett's haunting yet beautiful vocal make this truly a performance to behold. The medley of "Waving My Arms in the Air/I Never Lied to You" is another highlight of this album and one of my favorite Barrett songs. I instantly fell in love with this song; I don't know what else to say about it. However, my favorite song by far would have to be "Love Song." This is one of those wonderfully naive love songs that only Syd could pull off, and the song is just as intimate and beautiful as anything on "Madcap." Even Rick Wright's piano fills work very well here. I can't describe the love that I have for this song, so I won't try. It is just plain beautiful. "Gigolo Aunt" has an extremely catchy melody (I guarantee it will stick in your head), but the end is drawn out a bit too long with the piano/drum jam that closes the song. I'm sure Syd had no involvement there. The wonderfully quirky "Effervescing Elephant" is a good closer to the album, though I think the jungle noises could have been left off. They don't add much (One note of trivia: Syd wrote "Effervescing Elephant" back when he was 16).
All in all, this album definitely has its moments. Unfortuantely, there just aren't enough of them to hold this album in as high a category as "Madcap." If you're just getting into Syd Barrett, get either "The Madcap Laughs" or the "Wouldn't You Miss Me" best of compliation first. This album takes a while to sort through, but if you listen to the songs that I mentioned earlier, you will see that Syd was still capable of magic. Considering that this was Syd's final album, it really isn't a bad way to close out a career. In fact, he's really evolved since "Piper At the Gates of Dawn."
Final verdict: get this album second (after either of the other two Barrett albums that I just mentioned).
Free Music Review: Barrett's last stand
Hit: 4 Stars
Syd Barrett's second and, as he's kept his promise to never perform again, his last album isn't quite a continuation of his first. Much like the last one, Syd would record some original takes, and his mates from Pink Floyd (bassist Roger Waters didn't participate this time, so guitarist David Gilmour and keyboardist Rick Wright helped this time) as well as other bands (Jerry Shirley from Humble Pie on drums) overdubbed.
However, this album typically sounds more together than _The Madcap Laughs_--not by too much, mind you, but nothing as shambling as "Terrapin," and thankfully no out-of-his-range warbling like "If It's In You". The album opens with a jangly guitar intro, to be followed by Wright's organ and the whimsical pure-nonsense lyrics Barrett was known for: "In the sad town, the cold iron hands clapped the party of clowns outside." In the chorus, he begs "please, please, Baby Lemonade," and whatever that means, he seems to mean it earnestly. The charming, meaningless lyrics and slightly jagged performance sets the tone for the album; the songs have an edge of oddity, but are far less disjointed than on _Madcap_, save "Wolfpack," which seems to speed up and slow down at the same time.
Wright actually gets a nice chance to shine on the album, contributing an excellent jazzy, minor-key electric piano solo on "Dominoes", and a plucky organ on "Gigolo Aunt." Kudos, too, if that's him making those eerie noises through a Leslie during the interlude.
Many of the rest of the songs are fairly accessable pop songs, save the menacing "Rats" and "Maisie", which sounds like Barrett muttering something under a lumbering blues riff for five minutes--like "Terrapin," as interesting as it is, it could do with being shorter. The album closer, "Effervescing Elephant," is a delightful little child's tale (written at age 16, when Syd still had most of his mind), with Syd accompanied on tuba by Vic Saywell, who isn't a member of anything else.
Overall, _Barrett_ is a more accessible record than its predecessor, and between his extensive discography (ha ha), first-time-listeners should pick up this album first, unless they prefer music that sounds intentionally jagged and oddly schizophrenic. A good CD for any fan of early Pink Floyd to check out, and an artifact from the tragic figure of the hippie-gone-over-the-edge Syd Barrett--if he was capable of producing this under the effect of a large amount of mind-altering drugs, just imagine if he'd straightened up and kept going. Good for fans who liked the rough togetherness of _Piper at the Gates of Dawn_ but dig more mellow, folkier stuff.
Free Music Review: Life Signs Fading...
Hit: 4 Stars
I find three main song writing styles in Syd. First is the fun pop/psychedelia that would be comfortable on any Saturday morning Kroft Superstar episode of the 70s or even the Flintstones/Jetsons vision of rock music; second is the long instrumental jams that characterized the "drugged-out" English underground music scene of the day; lastly, we have the dark depressing sounds of Syd's deepening decay...sort of like the Pee Wee Herman split personality thing. In his tenure with Pink Floyd the first two styles were explored in depth and the final reared its head exclusively in "Jugband Blues". In his first solo outing, "The Madcap Laughs" we see mainly the first catagory. "Madcap" seems a logical progression from his later Floyd offerings. The songs are offbeat, a bit ramshackle, and a bit disturbing; however, Syd seems rather lucid for the most part and actually seems to be having fun. This is not the case with the "Barrett" album. "Barrett" is probably the most depressing album ever recorded. Every song on this disc is in the dark final style as pointed out above. I will argue that this release is far less accessible than than "The Madcap Laughs" despite David Gilmour's efforts to produce structured rock songs. First off, "Madcap" had a pop sensibilty; Syd was writing songs he thought would be popular. Just listen to "Terrapin", "Love You", "Here I Go", "Octopus", etc. On that album he sang with emotion...even if he was out of tune at times. On this "Barrett" album Syd is beyond worrying about wrong notes; he is having trouble singing...period. His sense of concentration seems to have been a matter of struggle. The vocals on every song present are emotionless and dead; even the whimsical "Elephant" sounds like Syd imitating his old self...and faring poorly. The muddy bass heavy production also darkens this record giving it a cold basement sound. This is a good album for what it is; I enjoy all of the songs. It's just a very sad listen; especially when viewed from a chronological standpoint. It's also intersting to note that goth bands like Sisters of Mercy (and others) who try so hard to be depressing and morbid can't come close to Syd's deterioration. Can there be any song darker than "Dominoes" or "It is Obvious". Too bad there couldn't have been another album.