I recently read an article titled The 50 Most Drug-Addled Albums in Music History. Both of Syd Barretts solo albums nabbed the top spot. When I first listened to Barretts solo works outside of what I already knew from his short time as the front man to Pink Floyd I was not impressed. But over time I began to appreciate his solo work and recognize it as truly brilliant. Heres what the article had to say about his solo albums. I think they describe his music perfectly. 1. Syd Barrett – Madcap Laughs, Barrett No other album was even considered for the top spot. Without question, this is the most raw, disturbing, and haunting entry on the list. So much so that both solo works had to be included. Syd Barrett left Pink Floyd in 1968 due to mounting instability and lysergic dissolution, but it’s because of his huddling pair of solo albums, Madcap Laughs and Barrett, that he appears here. This is broken music. Lost Thelonius. Way out on the coil. Completely untethered. But it’s also beautiful, transcendent, and truly childlike. The structureless quality of the songs, combined with improvised lyrics and jarring (but somehow perfect) rhythmic changes, tap into something elemental without making any effort to. These songs simply exist. It’s a sound bands have been laboring to achieve for half a century, but only Syd sounds like Syd. And even he only briefly did.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 00:44:45 +0000
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