Track Listing

1. Terrapin
2. No Good Trying
3. Love You
4. No Man's Land
5. Dark Globe
6. Here I Go
7. Octopus
8. Golden Hair
9. Long Gone
10. She Took A Long Cold Look
11. Feel
12. If It's In You
13. Late Night

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18644 in Music
• Released on: 1994-05-03
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Having left Pink Floyd in 1968 after a daily LSD habit had taken its toll, Syd Barrett's first solo album finally appeared two years later with ex-Floyd sidekicks Dave Gilmour and Rick Wright riding shotgun with him in the studio. The Madcap Laughs is a brilliant but brittle album, with every strum of the electric guitar seeming to take its toll on Barrett's increasingly frayed nerve strings. On songs like "Love You", his state of mind is well concealed beneath the sort of jolly ice cream van jangle-pop Blur would later indulge in. On "Dark Globe", however, the strain is palpable: "Please land a hand ... won't you miss me? Wouldn't you miss me at all?" he pleas, ominously. Best tracks are "Octopus" with all the controlled mania of early Floyd and "Golden Hair", a still moment of musical rapture whose lyric is taken from a James Joyce poem. --David Stubbs

CD Description
When Syd Barrett departed Pink Floyd for a solo career after (minimally) contributing to A SAUCER FULL OF SECRETS in 1969, expectations naturally ran high. Aside from being Floyd's primary songwriter, singer, and guitarist, Barrett had already developed the reputation for being a twisted child prodigy. Taking a turn away from Floyd's complex layered psychedelia, Barrett's solo debut, MADCAP LAUGHS, revealed the singer/songwriter to be a somewhat gentle, reflective poet. Although MADCAP is not as lyrically obscure as most of Barrett'swork with Floyd, the album nonetheless proves that Barrett could mutate a simple love song ("Love You", "She Took a Long Cold Look") past the realm of the expected into something chilling.
The plaintive voice-cracking wail of "Won't youmiss me / won't you miss me at all?" in "Dark Globe" could just as easily have been directed at a departing lover or the fanbase that Syd was separating himself from at the time through chemical abuse and reclusive behavior. The most compelling song lyrics on MADCAP, however, were not even written by Barrett, but by fellow spiritual expatriate James Joyce. The unlikely collaboration "Golden Hair" is among the most haunting songs ever committed to vinyl. MADCAP is a rich distillation of the triumph of creativity over self-destruction.

Customer Reviews

This album is testament to the poetic genius of Syd Barrett
This album is just Syd, his guitar and some simple accompaniment. Everything is focussed on the lyrics and Syd's voice. Don't expect it to sound like ' The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn' as his voice has lost it's happy quality. At times though, especially on the slow and beautiful love songs 'Terrapin' and 'Late Night', the sound is sweet toned and together.
The 13 tracks and 6 retakes are lifted out of the ordinary by Syd's wonderfully poetic lyrics and that emotional quality his voice has. In my opinion his lyrics have never been bettered. There are dark tracks, the prophetic 'Dark Globe', 'Feel' and the unbearably sad 'If it's in you' that reflect his growing unease and despair. But it's not all sadness, the extraordinary 'Octopus' is a stream of consciousness as image after image flows and shines from his brilliant mind. The funny 'Love You' and the wryly amusing 'Here I Go' help to lift the spirit.
Of course the songs are imbued with what was happening to Syd at the time. He recorded this album already suffering from a terrible break down. For the past decades, this album has been an eloquent testimony to what has been lost; a rare poet, a composer of music and a free spirit.

A way-out record from a way-out genius
The opening track of the album 'Terrapin' sets the scene for what any listener unfamaliar with the work of Barrett is about to encounter. It is a bare skeleton of a song, with just a single acoustic guitar playing at a snails pace, and Syd singing a simple love lyric with all the soul he can muster. A beautiful yet strange song, it is one of my favourite tracks on the album. If the track doesn't draw you into Syd's world, it is probable that this record won't be for you.

The rest of the tracks on the record are made up of up-tempo songs such as 'Love You', 'Here I Go', and the superb 'Octopus, yet also has its share of undescribably painful songs which feel as if they came directly from the nervous breakdown from hell. 'Dark Globe' is one such track, yet even it sounds together when compared to 'If it's in You' and 'Feel'. Although these tracks have false starts, and would not be to everybody's liking, I have a lot of affection for both, particular 'If It's In You'. While some of the record may be deemed as "way out", there is no doubting the fact that the album contains several classic tracts, by whatever standards you use to judge it by. No Man's Land, 'Long Gone' and the gentle beauty of the closing track 'Late Night' are all superb, not to mention Golden Hair, where Syd imaginatively puts music to a James Joyce poem with great results. I

A rare wonder in the face of destruction
One of rock's most famous recluse's, the first of Syd's solo album contains some of his most fluent, and also incoherent work. Painstakingly put together this documents an amazing revolutionary artist in free-fall. Yes, "Piper..." may always be superior, but it will never have the emotional depth and intrigue this offers the listener. Ranging from the fuzzy "No good trying", to the frightening mental pain of "Dark Globe" ("Wouldn't you miss me?!?" he roars, titling his won best of 32 years later) and the sweet borrowed poem of "Golden hair". The range of moods and emotions, the way you can feel the difficulty Syd was going through this heartfelt work is amazing. This album is wonderful, and anyone considering investigating him should defiantly start here, not at that evil commercialised best of and see what this incredible songwriter managed to produce under the worst of circumstances. Miraculous.