Syd Barrett was the principal visionary of Pink Floyd, writing most of their early material including 1967 debut album, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn.
By 1968 however he had been forced out of the band due to ‘increasingly unpredictable’ behaviour partly induced by frequent experimentation with psychedelic drugs such as LSD which coupled with mental health issues forced him into obscurity and later reclusiveness. His short musical career also yielded two great solo albums The Madcap Laughs and Barrett which influenced a raft of artists, most notably Blur’s Graham Coxon.
A brand new collection of Syd’s material, An Introduction To Syd Barrett has been released bringing together tracks of Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett for the first time on one compilation. The album features a series of new remasters and remixes, overseen by Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour who co-produced The Madcap Laughs and produced Barrett.
It all sounds very well and I’m delighted to get my hands on cleaner sounding versions of ‘Apples & Oranges’, ‘Here I Go’ and ‘Dominoes’ as well as the previously unreleased 20 minute instrumental ‘Rhamadan’.
An excellent introduction to one of music’s greatest lost talents, his life is still one of intrigue, sadness and a case of what could have been more.