''Barrett'' is the second and final studio album of new material released by former

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

frontman

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...

. Recording began at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music ...

on 26 February 1970, and lasted for 15 sessions until 21 July. The album was produced by Pink Floyd's

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

and

Richard Wright Richard Wright may refer to: Arts * Richard Wright (author) (1908–1960), African-American novelist * Richard B. Wright (1937–2017), Canadian novelist * Richard Wright (painter) (1735–1775), marine painter * Richard Wright (artist) (born 19 ...

, who also contributed on bass and keyboards respectively, along with previous '' Madcap'' contributor

Jerry Shirley Jerry Shirley (born 4 February 1952) is an English rock drummer, best known as a member of the band Humble Pie, appearing on all their albums. He is also known for his work with Fastway, Joey Molland from Badfinger, Alexis Korner, Billy Nic ...

on drums. ''Barrett'' was released in November 1970 on

Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most l ...

in the United Kingdom, but failed to chart; it was re-released in 1974 as part of ''

'', which was the first US issues of these LPs. No singles were issued from the album. It was remastered and reissued in 1993, along with Barrett's other albums − ''The Madcap Laughs'' (1970) and ''

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...

'' (1988) − independently and as part of the ''

Crazy Diamond ''Crazy Diamond'' is a 1993 triple-CD boxed set of Syd Barrett's two 1970 albums ''The Madcap Laughs'' and '' Barrett'', and ''Opel'', an out-takes compilation from 1988. All discs are further augmented by various alternate takes. "Our main p ...

'' box set. A newly remastered version was released in 2010.

Background

Initial sales of and reaction to Barrett's first solo album, '' The Madcap Laughs'', were deemed sufficient by EMI to sanction a second solo album. On 24 February 1970, a month after releasing ''Madcap'', Barrett appeared on

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

's '' Top Gear'' radio show, where he performed only one song from the newly released album (" Terrapin"), three that would later be recorded for ''Barrett'' ("Gigolo Aunt", " Baby Lemonade", and "Effervescing Elephant"), and a one-off ("Two of a Kind", possibly written by

). The session producers had no verbal contact with Barrett, having communication with him only via Gilmour. For the radio session, Gilmour and

Humble Pie Humble Pie are an English rock band formed by guitarist and singer Steve Marriott in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. They are known as one of the first supergroups of the late 1960s and found success in the early 1970s with songs such as " Black C ...

drummer

accompanied Barrett on bass and bongos, respectively. The version of "Gigolo Aunt" recorded for the radio session (and later released on 1988's '' The Peel Session'') was unfinished, as Barrett had sung the opening verse three times. Barrett played slide guitar on the radio version of "Baby Lemonade", with Gilmour on organ. Two days later, he began working on his second album in

, with Gilmour as producer, and a trio of musicians:

, Shirley and Gilmour himself. The main aim for the ''Barrett'' sessions was to give Barrett the structure and focus many felt was missing during the long and unwieldy sessions for '' The Madcap Laughs''. Thus, the sessions were more efficiently run and the album was finished in considerably less time than ''The Madcap Laughs'' (six months, compared to ''Madcaps one year). On 6 June 1970, Barrett gave his one and only official solo performance, at the Olympia in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Garden ...

, backed once more by Gilmour and Shirley. At the end of "

Octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, ...

", the fourth number of the set, Barrett baffled the audience and his backing musicians by abruptly taking off his guitar and walking off stage.

Recording

The first session was on 26 February, three of the first songs—fully recorded—attempted during the session were "Baby Lemonade", "Maisie" and "Gigolo Aunt". However, Gilmour thought they were losing the "Barrett-ness". After "Baby Lemonade" was attempted, 2 takes of "Maisie" were recorded before Barrett went into 15 takes of "Gigolo Aunt". The next day, two-track demos of "Wolfpack", "Waving My Arms in the Air", "Living Alone" and "

Bob Dylan Blues "Bob Dylan Blues" is a song written in 1965 by Syd Barrett, the founder of Pink Floyd. Recorded during sessions for ''Barrett (album), Barrett'', it was unreleased until it turned up in 2001. The song was included in ''The Best of Syd Barrett: ...

", were recorded. The former two made it to the album; the latter two didn't. On the recording sheet, it lists Gilmour as having taken home a copy of the latter two, Gilmour later returned and took the master tapes too. Gilmour has since said "Those sessions were done so quickly. We were rushing to gigs every day and had to fit recording sessions in between. I probably took it away to have a listen and simply forgot to take it back. It wasn't intended to be a final mix. Syd knocked it off, I took a tape home." Despite some minor work made to "Gigolo Aunt", Barrett wouldn't return to Abbey Road Studios until 1 April, due to

working on their 1970 album, ''

Atom Heart Mother ''Atom Heart Mother'' is the fifth studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It was released by Harvest on 2 October 1970 in the UK, and by Capitol on 10 October 1970 in the US. It was recorded at EMI Studios (now Abbey Ro ...

''. On various occasions, Barrett would "spy" on the band as they recorded the album. Again, Barrett recorded some work to a song, "Wolfpack", on the 3rd, before the sessions were postponed until 5 June, this time due to Gilmour and Wright going on tour in the US with Pink Floyd. On the session of 5 June, Barrett managed to record an unknown number of two-track demos for three songs: "Rats", "Wined and Dined", and "Birdie Hop". The "Rats" demo recorded here, became the basis for the album master, and would later be overdubbed by musicians, despite the changing tempos. Two days later, on the 7th, Barrett recorded "

Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...

", "Millionaire", before being rounded off with overdubs for "Rats". "Millionaire" was originally titled "

She Was a Millionaire Pink Floyd have been known to perform and/or record a number of songs and instrumentals which have never been officially released on a single or album. Only those whose existence can be reliably confirmed are listed here. Bootleg recordings of th ...

", and was originally recorded by Pink Floyd. Barrett recorded two attempts at a backing track before abandoning it, and adding vocals. Yet another break in recording occurred, until 14 July, where Barrett recorded several takes of "Effervescing Elephant", while numerous overdubs were added to Barrett's "Wined and Dined" demo by Gilmour. Three takes of "Dominoes" ensued, with an unknown number of takes of "Love Song", "Dolly Rocker" and "Let's Split" were recorded. "Love Song" and "Dolly Rocker" were both overdubbed, the former being overdubbed from 17 to 21 July, but overdubs for the latter were wiped. On 21 July, Barrett worked on another Untitled track (later to be titled as "Word Song"), recording only one take, before recording 5 takes of the last new song to be recorded for ''Barrett'': "It Is Obvious". Barrett worked on remakes of two tracks: "Maisie", and "Waving My Arms in the Air" (the latter now seguing into a new track, "I Never Lied to You"). Shirley said of Barrett's playing: "He would never play the same tune twice. Sometimes Syd couldn't play anything that made sense; other times what he'd play was absolute magic." Barrett's direction to the other musicians were limited to pronouncements like "Perhaps we could make the middle darker and maybe the end a bit middle afternoonish. At the moment it's too windy and icy".

Songs

Animals are a recurring item in not only the album, but Barrett's entire solo output.

Side one

" Baby Lemonade" is a blues folk tune. The intro was actually Barrett simply warming-up on guitar, that Gilmour had managed to record and placed it at the start of the album, making it seem like an intro to the song. The lyrics that describe the way for a person to

kill time Idleness is a lack of motion or energy. In describing a person, idle means the act of nothing or no work (for example: "John Smith is an idle person"). A person who spends his or her days doing nothing could be said to be "idly passing his or her ...

(such as the line "''In the clock they sent / Through a washing machine''"). The solo was performed by Barrett, not Gilmour as is often noted. A recurring theme in the album, starting with "Baby Lemonade", is the weather. Barrett performed the song twice, both times for the BBC (previously recorded on 24 February 1970, for John Peel's ''Top Gear'', and later for Bob Harris' show on 16 February 1971). "Love Song" tells the story of an ex-girlfriend fondly remembered ("''I knew a girl and I like her still''"). It is the first of two songs which feature dreamlike-senses in the lyrics ("''I'll lay my head down and see what I see''"). Barrett performed the song for Bob Harris' show in 1971. "Dominoes" features imagery of regret and recollection in the lyrics. The song features a backwards guitar solo by Barrett, and organ and Wurlitzer by Wright. The song's "''You and I''" lyric refers to the tail end relationship Barrett had with Lindsay. The first of three songs on the album which lyrics point to

anguish Anguish (from the Latin ''angustia'' "distress") is "extreme unhappiness caused by physical or mental suffering." The feeling of anguish is typically preceded by a tragedy or event that has a profound meaning to the being in question. Anguish can ...

("''In my tears, my dreams''"). Barrett performed the song for Bob Harris' show in 1971. "It Is Obvious" is the second of two songs which feature dreamlike-senses in the lyrics ("''Creep into bed when your head's on the ground''"). It is also the second of three songs on the album which lyrics point to anguish ("''Remember those times I could call / Through the clear day time / And you would be there''"). The theme of weather is referenced again ("''The softness, the warmth and the weather in suspense''"). The song also references the

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

quarry pits, and the landscape. "Rats" started off as a jam, but eventually evolved into a structured song. It contains taunting and maniacal lyrics ("''Rats rats lay down flat / We don't need you we act like that''"). "Maisie" is a blues jam, with Barrett muttering the lyrics.

Side two

"Gigolo Aunt" was performed by Barrett for ''Top Gear'' in 1970. For Barrett's only solo performance, at the Kensington Olympia in 1970, he played four songs, one of them being "Gigolo Aunt". "Waving My Arms in the Air" contains an echo of "Octopus" ("''Waving my arms in the air / Pressing my feet to the ground''"). The lyrics refer to a hard-learned experience. The song features a childlike section ("''No care / No no''"). The song segues into "I Never Lied to You" with the aid of Wright's organ. "I Never Lied to You" is the final of three songs on the album which lyrics point to anguish ("''It's been so hard to bear with you not there''"). "Wined and Dined" dated from Barrett's Cambridge days, and is about the relationship between Barrett and his then-girlfriend, Gayla Pinion, a model from Cambridge. The song reflects on about

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

evenings ("''Musk winds blow''"), and hauntings of Barrett's childhood ("''Chalk underfoot / Light ash of blue''") evoked during a summer party he didn't want to leave. Dave Gilmour added a sinuous sliding lead over Barrett's vocals. "Wolfpack" had been mentioned by Barrett in an interview, he said the song was one of favourites, out of all his material. "Effervescing Elephant" was pastiche of the

verse form Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. H ...

Cautionary Tales for Children ''Cautionary Tales for Children: Designed for the Admonition of Children between the ages of eight and fourteen years'' is a 1907 children's book written by Hilaire Belloc. It is a parody of the cautionary tales that were popular in the 19th cent ...

. In contrast to "Dominoes", "It Is Obvious", "Rats", "Waving My Arms in the Air", and "Wolfpack" previously mentioning one or two animals, "Effervescing Elephant" contains references to a whole jungle full of animals. Barrett performed the song for ''Top Gear'' in 1970. For Barrett's only solo performance, at the Kensington Olympia in 1970, he played four songs, one of them being "Effervescing Elephant".

Release and aftermath

The cover of the album was designed by Barrett; it was originally one of many drawings Barrett had done in

, years earlier. ''Barrett'' was released in November 1970 to less interest than had greeted ''The Madcap Laughs'' earlier in the year, and as a result, failed to reach the chart. Talks of more singles and a third album were rumoured over the following months. Barrett dismissed the album and ''Madcap'', saying: "They've got to reach a certain standard and that's probably reached in ''Madcap'' once or twice and on the other one only a little – just an echo of that. Neither of them are much more than that."

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

reviewer Ritchie Unterberger called the album "a bit fuller and smoother than the first album", referring to "Baby Lemonade", "Gigolo Aunt", and "Effervescing Elephant" as "among his peppiest and best-loved tunes"; however, "the tone is darker and more meandering" in the rest of the album. In an overview of Barrett's career, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' referred to both Barrett's solo albums as "entrancing". On 16 February 1971, Barrett recorded a short set for

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

's '' Sound of the Seventies'' radio show; in contrast to 1970's radio appearance where Barrett performed new material, this time he played songs from ''Barrett'': "Baby Lemonade", "Dominoes" and "Love Song". Bored and directionless, Barrett headed back to his hometown of Cambridge and – but for a brief dalliance with a band called

Stars A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

in 1972, and some abortive recording sessions in 1974 – left his music career behind for good. The album was reissued in late 1974 with his first solo album '' The Madcap Laughs'' as record two of the two-record set ''

'' in Harvest's series of Harvest Heritage reissues. In 1993, ''Barrett'' (along with ''The Madcap Laughs'' and ''

'') was reissued both independently and as part of the ''

'' Barrett box set, on 26 April 1993. "Bob Dylan Blues" would later turn up on 2001's '' The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me?''. A newly remastered version was released in 2010. For release on ''

An Introduction to Syd Barrett ''An Introduction to Syd Barrett'' is a 'best of' compilation featuring the work of Syd Barrett spanning the period 1967–1970, including both material written during his time with Pink Floyd and his post-band solo career. Release The album wa ...

'' in 2010, Gilmour laid down a new bass track to four songs, only one from ''Barrett'': "Dominoes".

Track listing

Original release

1993 reissue

This reissue splits "Waving My Arms in the Air" and "I Never Lied to You" into tracks 8 and 9 respectively.

Personnel

* Syd Barrett – lead and backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars,

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

– bass, 12-string guitar, slide guitar , additional organ, drums , production *

- Hammond organ, piano,

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. Th ...

Wurlitzer electronic piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptua ...

tack piano A tack piano (also known as a harpsipiano, jangle piano, and junk piano) is an altered version of an ordinary piano, in which objects such as thumbtacks or nails are placed on the felt-padded hammers of the instrument at the point where the ha ...

, production * Vic Saywell –

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

– drums, percussion * John "Willie" Wilson – drums, percussion

Technicial personnel

* Peter Bown –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

*Gareth Cousins – mixing on ''Crazy Diamond'' bonus tracks *

Mick Rock Michael David Rock (born Michael Edward Chester Smith; 21 November 1948 – 18 November 2021) was a British photographer. He photographed rock music acts such as Queen, David Bowie, Waylon Jennings, T. Rex, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop ...

– photography (uncredited)

References

Footnotes Citations {{Good article Syd Barrett albums Harvest Records albums EMI Records albums 1970 albums Albums produced by David Gilmour Capitol Records albums Albums with cover art by Mick Rock Albums produced by Richard Wright (musician)