Wouldn't You Miss Me: The Best of Syd Barrett

Amazon.com
Pop culture's fascination with the psychically damaged has inspired a pantheon of cult heroes, from Brian Wilson through Sky Saxon, Roky Erickson, and Kurt Cobain, whose enduring--if troubling--appeal could give a cultural psychologist a life's worth of study. Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett has long been one of the most obsessed over. Listening to this first-ever distillation of the "best" of Barrett's brief post-Floyd recording career (which essentially ended in 1970), it's not hard to understand why. Barrett's childlike side (displayed here on such Lewis Carroll-esque fare as "Octopus," "Terrapin," and "Effervescing Rhino") and almost painfully innocent love songs sometimes feel like the lost blueprint of alt rock, while his space-case vocal delivery and distinctly surreal sense of timing and rhythm give each cut a hypnotic sense of intrigue. It's all a far cry from the intricately baroque pop psychedelia of his brief tenure in Pink Floyd. Something (LSD? Insanity? Both?) clearly shattered Barrett's consciousness between the band's debut album Piper at the Gates of Dawn (he left the band shortly afterward) and the spare, shattered acoustic ballad poems from his first solo album (The Madcap Laughs) featured here. The more accessible, pop-conscious ethos of its follow-up, Barrett (highlighted by "Baby Lemonade" and the amusing "Gigolo Aunt") were largely studio illusions conjured up by sidemen such as Floyd's David Gilmour and Richard Wright. Barrett fans should also note the presence here of the previously unreleased "Bob Dylan Blues," a wry, talking blues parody of the great Zimmerman and allegedly one of Barrett's earliest compositions. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description
UK collection featuring 22 tracks, the finest solo works from the eccentric original Pink Floyd co-founder. Compiled from his solo albums, the rarities and outtakes collection 'Opel', the box-set 'Crazy Diamond' and two previously unreleased tracks, 'Two Of A Kind' (BBC Session Track) and 'Bob Dylan's Blues'.

Wouldn't You Miss Me: The Best of Syd Barrett,Syd Barrett,Capitol,British Psychedelia,Pop,Psychedelic,Psychedelic Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

Wouldn't You Miss Me: The Best of Syd Barrett

Average customer rating:

The best collection likely
A great tribute for Syd Barrett
Flashes of Brilliance
He was a genius no doubt...But this is just so-so
A GREAT COLLECTION FROM SYD

Wouldn't You Miss Me: The Best of Syd Barrett
Syd Barrett
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Alternative Folk | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Opel
Barrett
The Madcap Laughs
Syd Barrett - Under Review

ASIN: B00005ABWV
Release Date: 2001-09-11

Tracks:

Octopus
Late Night
Terrapin
Swan Lee (Silas Lang)
Wolfpack
Golden Hair
Here I Go
Long Gone
No Good Trying
Opel
Baby Lemonade
Gigolo Aunt
Dominoes
Wouldn't You Miss Me (Dark Globe)
Wined And Dined
Effervescing Elephant
Waving My Arms In The Air
I Never Lied To You
Love Song
Two Of A Kind
Bob Dylan Blues
Golden Hair (Instrumental)

Amazon.com

Pop culture's fascination with the psychically damaged has inspired a pantheon of cult heroes, from Brian Wilson through Sky Saxon, Roky Erickson, and Kurt Cobain, whose enduring--if troubling--appeal could give a cultural psychologist a life's worth of study. Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett has long been one of the most obsessed over. Listening to this first-ever distillation of the "best" of Barrett's brief post-Floyd recording career (which essentially ended in 1970), it's not hard to understand why. Barrett's childlike side (displayed here on such Lewis Carroll-esque fare as "Octopus," "Terrapin," and "Effervescing Rhino") and almost painfully innocent love songs sometimes feel like the lost blueprint of alt rock, while his space-case vocal delivery and distinctly surreal sense of timing and rhythm give each cut a hypnotic sense of intrigue. It's all a far cry from the intricately baroque pop psychedelia of his brief tenure in Pink Floyd. Something (LSD? Insanity? Both?) clearly shattered Barrett's consciousness between the band's debut album Piper at the Gates of Dawn (he left the band shortly afterward) and the spare, shattered acoustic ballad poems from his first solo album (The Madcap Laughs) featured here. The more accessible, pop-conscious ethos of its follow-up, Barrett (highlighted by "Baby Lemonade" and the amusing "Gigolo Aunt") were largely studio illusions conjured up by sidemen such as Floyd's David Gilmour and Richard Wright. Barrett fans should also note the presence here of the previously unreleased "Bob Dylan Blues," a wry, talking blues parody of the great Zimmerman and allegedly one of Barrett's earliest compositions. --Jerry McCulley

Album Description

UK collection featuring 22 tracks, the finest solo works from the eccentric original Pink Floyd co-founder. Compiled from his solo albums, the rarities and outtakes collection 'Opel', the box-set 'Crazy Diamond' and two previously unreleased tracks, 'Two Of A Kind' (BBC Session Track) and 'Bob Dylan's Blues'.

Customer Reviews:

The best collection likely.......2007-07-25

After playing all Syd Barrett's solo albums and deciding what should be on a decent "best o' Syd," I found only two tunes different on my list from what appears here; "It Is Obvious," which I would have included, and "Here I Go," which I would not. But upon reviewing both tunes, I can see their reasons, adding hastily that even though "Here I Go" has some historical significance because of its vague Pink Floyd reference, considering how few albums Barrett has out, a collection of this sort should be less about history, and more about what he did well. If you want history, it's only two CDs, an outtake collection, and a live-in-studio EP. Syd Barrett completism is neither hard nor expensive. But that aside, I could hardly hope for a better collection: Considering the usual variations in taste, two tunes difference from theirs to mine is rare. Plus this collection has the previously unreleased "Bob Dylan Blues," wisely left for last--or next to last, anyway--and all tracks have been properly remastered. A good, representative collection of works by one of Rock's greatest oddities, and definitely the one to look to if you're a fan of early Pink Floyd, curious to hear other music by the man who started it all.

A great tribute for Syd Barrett.......2007-01-23

Wouldnt you miss me is a great collection of songs from Syds solo discs. i like all the songs. Syds vocals are understandable and the music is good Rick Wrights solo on love song is beautiful Syd was a good guitarist the producers including Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour did great i like them even more for their helping Syd. The booklet answers most of the questions and gives a good insight. If you like Piper and Jugband blues you should like these songs to.

Flashes of Brilliance.......2007-01-11

I am tempted to say that a burned out Syd Barrett wrote better lyrics than a stone cold sober Roger Waters or a not so sober David Gilmour, but that would be posturing. Besides, Syd Barrett's reputation hasn't suffered any from his absence from the studio these many years. In fact it is due in part to his absence from the recording studio that people have been able to build up his persona to it's now legendary status. Wouldn't You Miss Me doesn't bust that bubble or blow it up even more; it just confirms what his fans have been saying all these years: that Syd Barrett had a unique lyrical talent that even mental illness could not completely tarnish. There is a distinct Floyd (circa 1969) sound to these tracks: lots of jangly 12 strings, close-mic'd vocals and analog synth swirls in the backround. This may have to do with the production assist from Gilmour et al in the making of Barrett's post-floyd albums. But, if you listen to the singer as he struggles his way through each number, you can hear sparks of verbal interplay and imagination that far outstrip anything his former bandmates have done since. It just makes my heart ache to think of what he could have accomplished had he not succumbed to his drug-aggravated mental illness. These songs are a testament not only to Syd Barrett's genius but to the striving of a noble soul undone by the vagaries of life: there but for the grace of God go I...

He was a genius no doubt...But this is just so-so .......2006-08-18

No one acknowledges the genius of Syd Barrett more than I do...Especially, on songs like "See Emily Play" and "Arnold Layne."

Quite frankly though, if any Floyd/Barrett fanatic is truly honest with him or herself, this collection of solo material is average at best. Sure there are a couple of really great songs like "Baby Lemonade," but most of the stuff just sounds like discarded demo tapes.

A GREAT COLLECTION FROM SYD.......2006-07-18

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT GIRL "FED UP".SHE ALWAYS TRASHES GREAT BANDS LIKE PINK FLOYD WHILE PRAISING HORRIBLE TR$@H LIKE JUSTINK,BRA@#NCE AND TALKING RIGHT A@S LOPES.SYD WAS THE FOUNDER OF THE FLOYD AND THIS COMPILATION IS PUT TOGETHER FROM HIS GREAT SOLO WORK AFTER HE LEFT PINK FLOYD.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
LONG LIVE SYD BARRET.

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