But Pink Floyd didn’t break its ties with Barrett completely. On their next album, A Saucerful of Secrets, his song “Jugband Blues”, which might provide clues to his awareness of his mental state at the time, was included. Roger Waters and Gilmour play on and produce part of his first solo album The Madcap Laughs and Richard Wright and Gilmour play on and produce his second album, Barrett. There are also references to Barrett in Pink Floyd’s work, most specifically “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” from Wish You Were Here.
DVD extras include a trivia quiz about Barrett, bios about the contributors, and information about a lost tape recently discovered that is considered to be Barrett’s last public appearance on stage in 1972.
A good biography is created from what the producers have to work with, but it never gets deeper than the surface of what is known about Syd because no one close to him is interviewed. It would have been great to hear from someone who had worked with him in Pink Floyd or from a friend or family member. Soft Machine bassist Hugh Hopper worked on The Madcap Laughs, but he has very little screen time. You can hear his influence in musicians like Robin Hitchcock and Love and Rockets so their thoughts would have been interesting as well. A more thorough biography of Syd is deserved, but this will serve until then.
Edited: [!--GH--]
Article comments
1 - J. P. Spencer
What a bummer that this DVD didn't go far enough.
I'd like to see an all-encompassing DVD or program on acid casualties that includes Syd Barrett, Skip Spence, Roky Erickson and Arthur Lee of Love. I think that would be an interesting few hours.
2 - Connie Phillips
Editor's note: This article now has another venue for success - and more eyes - at the Advance.net Web sites, a site affiliated with about 12 newspapers.
One such site is here.