Product Description

If THE MADCAP LAUGHS showed Syd Barrett's paring down his songs into their basic components to reveal their inner workings, then BARRETT is the fruition of that process. While BARRETT is not a tremendous departure from what Barrett had been working on earlier, it seems to have benefited from Rick Wright taking Roger Waters's place alongside David Gilmour inthe producer's chair. (If Waters had trouble "getting" Barrett in the context of Floyd, then there was little chance ofa sympathetic ear during the solo sessions.)
Wright and Gilmour also accompany Barrett on much of the material. Their tasteful blend of murmured bass, harmonium, and piano nicely complements Barrett's acoustic strumming and the album's slower pace and slightly darker mood, providing a counterpoint to Barrett's dislike of conventional song structure. Fromthe seemingly paranoid free-association of "Rats" to the dirge "Maisie", Barrett seems to be channeling his wounded psyche directly to the vinyl. But just when you think you've heard it all, Barrett surprises with the beautiful (and almostconventional) "Gigolo Aunt". The importance of the contributions that Syd Barrett--a man simultaneously years ahead andyears behind the times--made to music are undeniable.

Track Listing

1. Baby Lemonade
2. Love Song
3. Dominoes
4. It Is Obvious
5. Rats
6. Maisie
7. Gigolo Aunt
8. Waving My Arms In The Air
9. I Never Lied To You
10. Wined And Dined
11. Wolfpack
12. Effervescing Elephant

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16174 in Music
• Released on: 1994-05-03
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Syd Barrett's second solo album seems more "together" than its predecessor but in fact its author was increasingly losing the plot. "Baby Lemonade" and "Dominoes" have some of the old winsome English psychedelic sparkle about them but mostly these tracks proceed at a busking plod. In retrospect, Barrett seems remote from what's going on, whereas on The Madcap Laughed he was still fighting for vitality. Producer David Gilmour once again had to work hard to elicit material from him. The CD version of this album contains out takes which will prove morbidly fascinating for Barrett aficionadoes, as he fluffs and misses his lines. This was his last ever recorded album before he retreated into the cocoon of Cambridge suburbia where he lives today, his shell and madcap spell broken. He remained, however, an icon to every fey and tousled left-field popster from Marc Bolan to Blur's Damon Albarn. --David Stubbs

Customer Reviews

Another sobering experience
If "The Madcap Laughs" is Barrett's night on the booze, "Barrett" is the morning after. The upside is that on some tracks he sounds as if he's drunk enough coffee to give a coherent, if fragile performance. This is so on "Dominoes", "Gigolo Aunt" and "Wined And Dined". What he's short on are the transcending moments of beauty that flit in and out of the previous album. Not that they're totally absent: the opening guitar on "Baby Lemonade" is lovely, while his eccentric lyrical style occasionally throws up vivid images.

The overall band sound is similar to "The Madcap Laughs". But where there was lightness there is now much darkness, no more so than on "Rats" and the disturbing vocal delivery on "Maisie". The one light-hearted moment is provided by "Effervescing Elephant", but as Barrett wrote it years before fame chewed him up, you can discount it as a sign of hope.

THIS ALBUM
This album is pleasant to listen to, but I would not buy it as your only barrett album. Barret does not attack the songs and they are generally less good than in The Madcap Laughs. I would only buy this album after getting Barrett's other solo and pink floyd stuff.

If only there was a 3rd album...
Overall, more together than "Madcap" production-wise, but the songs pretty much the same quality. "Dominoes" perhaps the saddest song Barrett has ever written, alongside gems such as "Baby Lemonade", "Gigolo Aunt", "Wined and Dined" and "Effervescing Elephant". It is such a pity that Syd never continued, but it simply didn't interest him anymore. Therefore you have to respect the man for it. Shine on Roger - we will always miss you.