Track Listing

1. Opel
2. Clowns And Jugglers
3. Rats
4. Golden Hair
5. Dolly Rocker
6. Word Song
7. Wined And Dined
8. Swan Lee (Silas Lang)
9. Birdie Hop
10. Let's Split
11. Lanky
12. Wouldn't You Miss Me
13. Milky Way
14. Golden Hair (2)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35879 in Music
• Released on: 1994-05-03
• Number of discs: 1

CD Description
Syd Barrett is primarily known amongst fans less as a musician and more of a doomed poet along the lines of Skip Spenceor Brian Wilson--someone who talked the talk AND walked thewalk. Unfortunately, what's usually lost amid the drug-casualty hoopla is exactly how talented the man was as a singer/songwriter. OPEL is a collection of alternate and rare material that Syd recorded without help from the other members ofPink Floyd (though band members did contribute to his othertwo official releases). Robert Wyatt and most of Soft Machine back Syd on some of OPEL's tracks, and while this lineup might lack the sympathetic touch of the Gilmour-directed material, OPEL is nonetheless a gem. Of particular interest arethe spacier versions of "Octopus" (Here titled (Clowns and Jugglers") and "Wouldn't You Miss Me" (dubbed "Dark Globe" on this collection). A must for Barrett fans and the curious alike.

Customer Reviews

A must for every serious Barrett fan
Some records you buy to dance to. Some to listen to for pleasure. Some because they're exciting. I don't think anyone would buy Opel for those reasons. The reason for buying it is simply to understand, or at least try to understand, the creative genius of Syd Barrett. So it's really for the dedicated fan, who already knows the other material. If you don't have any other solo Barrett material, this isn't the one to start with. Either get the box set, which includes this CD, or buy this one last. But, if you're in any way serious about his music and lyrics, this is a 'must'. It would take me far too long to explain exactly whay it's so good, and many books have already been written on Syd. But put it like this. If a new work by William Blake was uncovered, wouldn't people rush to get it? Of course! Or an alternative version of 'The Tyger'? Why certainly! That's your answer. Oh, by the way, the title track is great.

syd's cleverest songs
This is a collection of recordings that were left out of the two solo albums presumably because they were too clever for EMI's pop chart entrepreneurs.

Clowns and Jugglers is better and more imaginative than the version called Octopus on Madcap (good as that is), and it and the sparkling instrumental Lanky look towards the 1980s.

Birdy Hop is unique and difficult to describe. It is a blues word sculpture which has the singer and the subject of the song (the bird) built into the shape of the song as well as into the words. Another experimental song is Word Song which is the most condensed example of his song writing style. It consists of a list of mostly nouns playing off against each other, but it makes a fascinating song. There was a third song form experiment on the second album (Mindshot), but someone changed the title to It Is Obvious and made it seem just barmy.

On first impression I didn't like there being so many accoustic guitar tracks and it took me years to like Rats (from the second album) without the group sound. But over the years I have become fascinated by his style of playing it, especially on Birdy Hop, Word Song, Rats, and the accoustic version of Golden Hair.

This is a collection of out-takes but it is close to being as good as Madcap Laughs. It has several of Syd Berrett's best recordings and is essential for fans.

for completists only
a selection of out takes from the sessions which produced "madcap" and "barrett". this compilation includes the tracks, "dolly rocker", "opel", birdie hop", "word song" and "lanky" of which floyd fans may have read but not heard. sadly, none of these are brilliant. word song is my favourite, consisting of a string of seemingly unconnected words mumbled over a single chord, it has a strange, haunting quality and frightens my children. "lanky" is a bit of mangled blues reminiscent of "interstellar overdrive" and "opel" is a darker, less together visit to the terratory of "octopus" (an early version of which, entitled "clowns and jugglers" is also included). "birdy hop" and "dolly rocker" give the impression of having been made up on the spot and add nothing to the singer's output. There are alternative takes of some of the songs from madcap and barrett but only the version of "dark globe" could be considered an improvement.

All in all, you'd be better just getting the double cd of the studio albums which includes the best of the out takes. I doubt that syd would have been happy with this collection as an album and perhaps that's the telling verdict.