Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #43193 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

As good as it's going to get�
There are to date, to my mind, two biographies on Syd available (not counting "Random Precision" or the first few chapters of any Floyd bios). Info on him is always second-hand as the man himself remains elusive, and probably always will. This book uses the limited resources available well, collating every known anecdote on Barrett (yes, the Mandrax/face incident, the green fridge, the alleged howling in cellars) - apocryphal or otherwise - and as such is the last word on him. Neither glamourising, nor entirely wagging a finger at Barrett's acid-fried antics, and clearly besotted with Our Hero's Good Stuff (his music, his charm and his subversive sense of humour) the authors have delivered a worthy book on Syd. The best there is.

Syd Barrett: Descent Into Madness
"Crazy Diamond" is in my opinion from the five or six other bio's I've read on Syd and early Floyd pretty accurate. If nothing else it's an interesting read! Many people who knew Syd back in the day were interviewed. Everyone's story was a little different. One constant however, was that Syd still would have ended up in the Lost And Found even if he didn't ingest so much LSD. There are numerous rumors and myths brought to light in "Crazy Diamond". If you've read " Madcap", or any of the other Syd material, you would see just how much contradiction there is about Syd's life and exploits. He is definitely a very colorful character! I won't spoil your fun by giving away any of the juice! You'll just have to make the investment and read the book.
I will tell you that the book begins with Syd's early years then rather quickly moves on to his intro to the other founding members of "The Pink Floyd Sound" as they were initially called. It continues from his early writing and success "The Piper At The Gates of Dawn", to his extremes and expulsion from the band, his self inposed seclusion, and finally, his early demise.
Recommended for die-hard Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd fans! Although the casual Floyd reader may enjoy it also!

Syd Barrett: Descent Into Madness
I was expecting something very much like the title states- "Crazy Diamond". I wasn't disappointed. The book begins with Syd's youth and then jumps into the early Floyd. If you enjoy any of syd's small body of work,you will begin to feel sorry for this music icon. Syd's fall from grace and early demise are very disturbing. As felt by Roger and David, Syd would have still have ended up in a world of his own even with the amount of LSD he ingested over the years. Probably not as soon, but he would still have had his meltdown. Several rumors-myths are discussed in the book,one was about the reason for the title of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". It had already been written and was being recorded even before Syd made his unscheduled appearance at the Abby Road Studios [which I might add, no one even recognized their former founder] during the "Wish You Were Here" sessions. The other rumors and myths I'll leave to the reader to discover.
All that being said, I personally enjoyed this sad but informative book and do recommend it to any diehard Syd Barrett fans.