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SYD BARRETT
RATING: 5
PLAY THESE: TERRAPIN, DARK GLOBE, OCTOPUS
SKIP THESE: LOVE YOU, FEEL, IF IT'S IN YOU
When you're good, you're good. And if you're crazy, well, you're...not. That is the lesson to be learned by the baffling The Madcap Laughs, the 1970 debut "album" by the infamous ex-Pink Floyd frontman, Syd Barrett. We've all heard the sad story: Syd drops too much acid, goes catatonic, gets kicked out of Pink Floyd, and then heads into a thirty-year downward spiral that mercifully came to an end about a month ago (in early July 2006). However, even the knowledge of these events can't prepare you for this aural testament to the gone-bonkers lunacy that surfaces quite frequently on this record, such is the magnitude of the onset of his schizophrenia at times.
You also must remember that Syd had a lot of help making this album, so the fact that there even is an album is a miracle of sorts - the dude was in seriously rough shape. His ex-bandmates all helped him record about half of the tracks (although some of the songs are just solo Syd on acoustic), while Harvest Records boss Malcolm Jones oversaw the remaining songs. One can only imagine how difficult this must have been. The songs invariably fall apart at some point, and Syd keeps playing on without even noticing he's just effed up, while the other instrumentalists try desperately to keep up to poor old Syd. Most of the songs have a jarring, brisk verse and a slowed down chorus, where Syd's vocals don't follow the rhythm of the music, and his pitch is way off on the high notes. In short, it is the sound of descending madness. Nonetheless, it is a fascinating listening experience, especially when one has knowledge of what the future would hold for Mr. Barrett.
On the plus side, the album does have its share of typical Barrett brilliancy. His lyrics are still surreal, nursery rhyme-like stories where only part of the narrative makes sense, and some of the chord progressions are very interesting indeed. There are snatches of great songs buried within the mess of mental anguish, should you have the patience to sift through them. Anyone who says this album is great is lying through their teeth, but listening to it at least once is time well spent. Otherwise you would miss incredible moments like 'Terrapin,' which is almost hypnotic, as well as 'Dark Globe,' in which Barrett is very lucid in his thoughts about his descending mental illness and its effects on those around him (i.e "wouldn't you miss me at all?"). The bizarre 'Octopus' is very catchy and outrageously funny, and the part in 'Long Gone' when the organ kicks in is very cool. However, for every good bet we get about five cringe-worthy blunders, the worst of which is undoubtedly 'If It's In You,' in which Syd's voice cracks unbelievable horribly but it doesn't even phase him in the least. On the whole, if you love early Pink Floyd than you need to check this one out, but I'm sure that most people would rather cut off their fingers one-by-one than listen to this kind of weird music. Five out of ten.
RATING: 6
PLAY THESE: BABY LEMONADE, GIGOLO AUNT, EFFERVESCING ELEPHANT
SKIP THESE: I dunno....you pick 'em.
The second (and final) installment in the tragic tale that is Syd Barrett's solo career, Barrett is a more polished (and commercial) record than The Madcap Laughs. Syd's former Pink Floyd band mates Rick Wright and David Gilmour once again play in his backup band, as do the psychedelic/prog rock combo Soft Machine, who appear on about half of the tracks. It is a miracle that this album was completed, as Syd's condition had deteriorated to the point that he was no longer able to dress himself, let alone make good music.
It is evident from the first strains of 'Baby Lemonade' that Syd plays a lesser role on this album than he did on his first solo LP. In contrast with Laughs, which seemed as though the backing musicians were struggling to keep up to Syd's strange, unpredictable improvisations, Barrett sounds like the band (or, rather, bands) laid down most of the backing tracks without him, and then prodded him into overdubbing his vocals later on. And while this is probably the only recording method that could have produced any results, there seems to be a sort of "c'mon Syd, let's get on with it" attitude amongst his former bandmates that seems a bit misguided. Granted, nobody knew just how ill Syd was, and that he suffered from schizophrenia, but it should have been clear to everyone that the last thing he needed at this point in his life was the added pressure of a solo music career.
That being said, these sessions did produce some excellent songs.. The aforementioned 'Baby Lemonade' sparkles with pure pop tunefulness, while 'Gigilo Aunt' stands up to anything Barrett ever wrote, and that includes his Pink Floyd material. The dark, trance-like groove of 'Rats' is also impressive, while 'Effervescing Elephant' is so joyous in its innocent whimsical prose that one is eternally grateful that Gilmour and company were so committed to getting it down on tape. The final word? It sounds smoother and more conventional than Madcap Laughs, and the songwriting is just as good, but when all is said and done its hard not to conclude that this album really isn't a Syd Barrett solo album.