''Syd Barrett'' is a 1974 double-album pairing of

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, guitarist and songwriter who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Until his departure in 1968, he was Pink Floyd's frontman and primary songwriter, ...

's two solo albums, ''

The Madcap Laughs ''The Madcap Laughs'' is the debut solo album by the English singer-songwriter Syd Barrett. It was recorded after Barrett had left Pink Floyd in April 1968. The album had a lengthy recording history, with work beginning in May 1968, but the bul ...

'' and '' Barrett'', both originally released in the UK in 1970.

Cover

During the summer of 1965, Barrett had his first

acid An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...

trip in the garden of his friend Dave Gale, with Ian Moore and

Storm Thorgerson Storm Elvin Thorgerson (28 February 1944 – 18 April 2013) was an English art director and music video director. He is best known for closely working with the group Pink Floyd through most of their career, and also created album or other art f ...

. While on the influence of the substance, Barrett had placed an orange,

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...

and a

matchbox A matchbox is a container or case for matches, made of paperboard, cardboard, thin wood, or metal, generally in the form of a box with a separate drawer sliding inside the cover. Matchboxes generally measure 5 x 3.5 x 1.5 cm, and commonly have ...

into a corner, while staring at the fruit, which he claimed symbolized "

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

and

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

". Thorgerson used this imagery when he added these items to the cover of ''Syd Barrett''.

Release

After the unexpectedly massive success of

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

's ''

The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973, by Capitol Records in the US and on 16 March 1973, by Harvest Records in the UK. Developed during live performances before ...

'', EMI re-issued the Barrett-era albums '' The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' and ''

A Saucerful of Secrets ''A Saucerful of Secrets'' is the second studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 28 June 1968 by Columbia Graphophone Company, EMI Columbia in the UK and in the US by Tower Records (record label), Tower Records. The menta ...

'' as '' A Nice Pair'' in the hope that fans would be interested in the band's earlier work with Barrett. Once that was a success, primarily in the US, ''Syd Barrett'' was compiled to meet demand. As a result, ''The Madcap Laughs/Barrett'' (as it was titled in the US) made number 163, giving Barrett his only US chart album. ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

'' critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

wrote of the album: "Admittedly, a lot of what results is worthy of the wimp-turned-acid-casualty Barrett is. But a lot of it is funny, charming, catchy--whimsy at its best... I know damn well it gives me more pleasure than ''

''."

Track listing

All songs by

, except where noted.

Disc 1 – ''
The Madcap Laughs ''The Madcap Laughs'' is the debut solo album by the English singer-songwriter Syd Barrett. It was recorded after Barrett had left Pink Floyd in April 1968. The album had a lengthy recording history, with work beginning in May 1968, but the bul ...
''

;Side one # "

Terrapin Terrapins are a group of several species of small turtle (order Testudines) living in freshwater, fresh or brackish water. Terrapins do not form a taxonomic unit and may not be closely related. Many belong to the families Geoemydidae and Emydid ...

" – 5:04 # "No Good Trying" – 3:26 # "Love You" – 2:30 # "No Man's Land" – 3:03 # " Dark Globe" – 2:02 # " Here I Go" – 3:11 ;Side two #

Octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) 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, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

" – 3:47 # "Golden Hair" (Syd Barrett/

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

) – 1:59 # "Long Gone" – 2:50 # "She Took a Long Cold Look" – 1:55 # "Feel" – 2:17 # "If it's in You" – 2:26 # "Late Night" – 3:11

Disc 2 – '' Barrett''

;Side one # " Baby Lemonade" – 4:11 # "Love Song" – 3:05 # "Dominoes" – 4:09 # "It is Obvious" – 3:00 # "Rats" – 3:02 # "Maisie" – 2:51 ;Side two #

"Gigolo Aunt" – 5:47 # "Waving My Arms in the Air" – 2:07 # "I Never Lied to You" – 1:52 # "Wined and Dined" – 2:59 # "Wolfpack" – 3:41 # "Effervescing Elephant" – 1:54

Charts

Album -

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

References

{{Syd Barrett Syd Barrett albums 1974 compilation albums Albums produced by David Gilmour Albums produced by Richard Wright (musician) Harvest Records compilation albums EMI Records compilation albums Albums with cover art by Hipgnosis