124 lines
6.8 KiB
Plaintext
124 lines
6.8 KiB
Plaintext
Story about Syd from the "Opel" album
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From: bondt@dutiws.tudelft.nl (Piet de Bondt)
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Subject: Syd Barrett - Opel (a short story...)
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To: echoes@fawnya.tcs.com (Pink Floyd Submissions)
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Date: Fri, 6 Mar 92 17:22:20 MET
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Hi echoers,
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Just found some paper-copies of some Syd- and Floyd-related material;
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interviews, storiess and the like. Here's the first one. I believe it's
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from the booklet that accompanied the CD release of Barrett's Opel. The
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other stories will appear on the net some other time. Because some are
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interviews which have appeared in Dutch magazines and were first
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translated into Dutch, I have to translate them directly while typing
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the story; this will take some time ! Be patient...
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===== cut here =====
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SYD BARRETT * OPEL
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Roger Keith 'Syd' Barrett left Pink Floyd early in 1968. Now, some
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twenty years later, his brief time with the group froms only a fraction
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of their history, but its legacy remains incalculable. Barrett wrote,
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sang and played guitar on almost everything recorded during those first
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outings - 'Arnold Layne', 'See Emily Play' and 'The Piper at the Gates
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of Dawn' l.p., but the commercial failure of his dazzling 'Apples and
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Oranges', coupled with an increasing unpredictability, undermined his
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eminant position. Several compromises would quickly flounder - the
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addition of a fifth member, Dave Gilmour; a suggestion that Syd should
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not perform, but merely write for and record with the group, and the
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inevitable parting followed.
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Several months later Barrett returned to Abbey Road with his co-manager
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Peter Jenner, who acted as producer on a handful of new tracks. Somewhat
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exploratory, they included some which would be re-recorded later ('Late
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night', 'Golden Hair') and others which were then abandoned. Both 'Swan
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Lee' and 'Lanky Pt 1' date from this first session, the former is a
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wonderful 'Hiawatha-esque' tale which could well have accompanied the
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Floyd of 'Corporal Clegg', while 'Lanky' suggests the fragile
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instrumental improvisation of the previous year. Sadly, the recording
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charts give no clues to the other musicians involved, sadder still was
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the fact that the tempting 'Lanky Pt 2' consisted of percussive backing
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tracks.
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Little was then heard of Barrett for almost a year, but in March 1969,
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he contacted EMI again. His request for studio time was passed on to
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Malcolm Jones, then setting up the Harvest subsidiary. Almost by
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accident, Jones bacame the producer of the next batch of recordings
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which formed the basis for Barrett's solo debut, 'The Madcap Laughs'.
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Six of the final album's tracks were recorded between April and May, the
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rest came from three sessions cut in June and July, but with Fave
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Gilmour and Roger Waters replacing jones. Both provided their share of
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out-takes, and it's from these that 'Clowns and Jugglers', 'Opel' and
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the various 'Golden Hair's' date. The version of 'Opel' included here is
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one of nine which were attempted, but this determination would not
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result in an official release; until now. The song is a gem, one of
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Barrett's finest, and it's elongated, closing refrain is positively
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haunting. 'Clowns and Jugglers' meanwhile would resurface on 'The Madcap
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Laughs' under a new title, 'Octopus', but this earlier take features
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Syd's first vocal and guitar which was later overdubbed by the Soft
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Machine - mike Ratledge, Hugh Hopper and Robert Wyatt, something they
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also did on two tracks which did appear on 'Madcap', 'No Good Trying'
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and 'Love You'. Barrett's irregular timing made the task somewhat
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difficult, but there's no denying the exciting edge the combination
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gave.
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Waters and Gilmour tried eleven takes before they formed a satisfactory
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'Golden Hair'. A short poignant piece, even the outtakes boast a
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distinct beaty at the persistance (the song was tried at every stage in
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the recording) finally succeeded.
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'Dark Globe' (aka 'Wouldn't You Miss Me') was one of the 'new' songs
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Barrett brought to the Gilmour/Waters' sessions. Few attempts were
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required, but while the issued take features Syd on a high register, the
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one here is lower, more natural and less strained.
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'The Madcap Laughs' was released in January 1970, and within a matter of
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months, work began on a second collection. The resulting album, titled
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simply 'Barrett' was a less experimental offering, it featured a single
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production unit, Dave Gilmour and Rick Wright, and a more structured
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backing group. Syd had prepared several demos in readiness for the
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sessions, some of which would form the basic vocal and guitar tracks for
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the finished master, with the instrumental muscle merely overdubbed.
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'Rats' and 'Dominoes' were certainly completed in this way, but the
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former is included here simply because the difference between this and
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the finished release is so great. 'Wined and Dined' however, is a
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different take to that on 'Barrett', but rather than complete this
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collection with alternative versions - however interesting - we've opted
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instead for unreleased material. 'Word Song', 'Milky Way' and 'Birdie
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Hop' are each part of the whimsical Barrett of 'Gigolo Aunt' or
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'Effervescing Elephant', rarer of course, without the backing those
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finished tracks boasted, but equally captivating. Two further songs were
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also uncovered, both of which have, up to now, escaped acknowledgement.
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Each is somewhat rudimentary, the sound of Syd turning the page can be
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easily heard, but 'Let's Split' and 'Dollyrocker' remain important
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finds. The first boasts the complex lines which make accompaniment
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awkward, while the second claims one of pop's great lyrics - "she's as
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cute as a squirrel's nut" - and a soaring middle-eight that's truely
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exceptional. With time, and sympathetic arrangements, any of these could
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have graced 'Barrett' and time rather than other factors seems to have
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been the final deciding factor.
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'Barrett' was released in November 1970, and is, to date, the last album
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of new Syd material. This is not a lost third album, but a companion to
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those two exceptional original releases and collects the best of what is
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left available. Yes there are some flaws, some missed notes and some
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fumbling, but there's also an engaging insight into the talent of a most
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enigmatic figure. There's still more left 'in the can', takes hampered
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by false starts, or which fall apart quickly, there's the rambling
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'Rhamadan', the infamous motorbike noises and somewhere there's the lost
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'Bob Dylan's Blues'. Wherever that now resides, it's not at Abbey Road,
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and neither is its paperwork. Indeed there's no record of any further
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sessions there after July 1970, and if the stories which surfaced in
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1975 are true; of an altruistic benefactor bringing Syd into EMI's
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studios, of Robin Trower's support (etc etc), then those responsible
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removed every shred of evidence; tapes, logs, everything. For several
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reasons, Syd Barrett's talent crumbled quickly, but for that
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all-too-brief time it was startlingly original.
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BRIAN HOGG
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LIZARDD SOUND ARCHIVES AUGUST 1988
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