MUSIC/Music Part 2



PART 1 - WITH PINK FLOYD PART 2 - SOLO ARTIST PART 3 - BELATED RELEASES

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After a disappointing break, a keen Syd Barrett introduced further songs to a new producer, Malcom Jones, for a work eventually completed hastily by his former bandmates at the mixing desk.



A1. Terrapin

A2. No Good Trying

A3. Love You

A4. No Man's Land

A5. Dark Globe

A6. Here I Go

B1. Octopus

B2. Golden Hair

B3. Long Gone

B4. She Took a Long Cold Look

B5. Feel

B6. If It's in You

B7. Late Night

Written by Syd Barrett

Produced by

Malcolm Jones (Tracks A1-A4, B7)

David Gilmour & Roger Waters (Tracks A5, B1-B6)

Recorded from 28 May 1968 to 5 August 1969 at EMI Studios, London

Engineered by Jeff Jarratt, Mike Sheady, Pete Mew, Phil McDonald, Tony Clark

Cover photo by Mick Rock

Released on 3 January 1970

Notes: The lyrics of Golden Hair are almost entirely from a poem by James Joyce, who has been always explicitly credited. Peter Jenner actually co-produced the last track, although he was not credited on the back cover. Storm Thorgerson, the cover designer with Aubrey Powell, also shot for the photo session, and would have claimed that he shot the cover photo too. Syd Barrett had painted the floor. The original cover featured no musician credits.

Roger Waters: "Some of the songs are GREAT, in capital letters. All of them are good. Syd is a genius."

David Gilmour: "The potential of some of those songs... they could have really been fantastic."

Malcolm Jones: "The false starts to the tracks that I had personally supervised were far more interesting than those left in the final album. They certainly would have been more of a candid insight to the atmosphere on the sessions and less detrimental to Syd's abilities than the ones left in."

This second time Syd Barrett introduced further songs to David Gilmour... The magic of Syd's songwriting in the core of the overall result was the same.



A1. Baby Lemonade

A2. Love Song

A3. Dominoes

A4. It Is Obvious

A5. Rats

A6. Maisie

B1. Gigolo Aunt

B2. Waving My Arms in the Air

B3. I Never Lied to You

B4. Wined and Dined

B5. Wolfpack

B6. Effervescing Elephant

Written by Syd Barrett

Produced by David Gilmour & Richard Wright

Recorded from 26 February to 21 July 1970 at Abbey Road Studios, London

Engineered by Peter Bown

Released on 14 November 1970

Notes: A drawing made by Syd Barrett in Cambridge years earlier was used for the front cover. David Gilmour was actually the sole producer of all the recordings, although Richard Wright was originally credited as co-producer of the album. All the musicians involved, Jerry Shirley and Willie Wilson on drums, and Vic Saywell on tuba, were credited with Gilmour and Wright on the back cover. Alan Parsons was one of the uncredited co-engineers.

Richard Wright: "It was just trying to help Syd any way we could, rather than worrying about getting the best guitar sound."

Alan Parsons: "That sounds more like a Pink Floyd session to me."

Jerry Shirley: "Sometimes Syd couldn't play anything that made sense, other times what he'd play was absolute magic."

From Syd Barrett's last interview, with Mick Rock, December 1971:
 * "I'll show you a book of all my songs before you go. I think it's so exciting. I'm glad you're here." ... Syd's present favourite is "Wolfpack," a taut threatening, claustrophobic number. It finishes with:


 * Mild the reflecting electricity eyes


 * The Life that was ours grew sharper and stronger away and


 * Beyond


 * Short wheeling fresh spring
 * Gripped with blanched bones
 * moaned
 * Magnesium proverbs and sobs.

Due to the poor commercial reception, the only further record to add to during his solo career would have been only the forerunner single for the launch of his first LP. The same two LPs released as repackaged four years after sold better, due to the massive success of his former band, but somehow it was already too late for his musical career well abandoned years before.



The image above is a promotional advertisement from the fanzine Terrapin, there was not a picture sleeve made for the original release of the single, although on the Franch release there was a drawing of an octopus.

A. Octopus

B. Golden Hair

Written by Syd Barrett

Produced by David Gilmour & Roger Waters

Recorded on 12 June 1969 at EMI Studios, London

Released on 14 November 1969

Notes: James Joyce was credited as co-writer of Golden Hair, since the lyrics are almost entirely from his poem with the same title. Syd Barrett and David Gilmour were actually the producers, so credited on the recording sheets but not on the original releases.



Disc 1. The Madcap Laughs

Disc 2. ''Barrett

Written by Syd Barrett

Produced by David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Richand Wright and Malcolm Jones

Released in US on 20 July 1974

Released in UK on November 1974

Notes: This double album is also known as Syd Barrett. The photo on the front cover was shot by Storm Thorgerson, co-founder of Hipgnosis, the company credited for the cover design of this and the original two albums, while Richard Evans was credited for the artwork.

For the many photos and clippings inside the gatefold sleeve it was written: "Match box courtesy of Bryant and May", while on later issues it was more correctly written "Thanks to Bernard and Nigel of Terrapin for their help".

From a 1971 interview: It is possible people still expect Barrett to produce work in the Floydian mould and are slightly disturbed to hear this slightly stoned voice singing very often with only an acoustic guitar. "It puts people off their guard" he says. "I think that people miss the fact that it's obviously a gentler thing because it's clever and it's into that more than content. The message might be a bit lost because people find it hard to grasp."

Released or not, difficulties on the recording or not, meanwhile let's see how between 1967 and 1970 Syd Barrett produced a repertoire of almost 60 songs, mostly written during his early career.

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