written by Chris Familton

In early 1970 Syd Barrett entered Abbey Road studios and with fellow Pink Floyd David Gilmour in the production seat began the apparently laborious task of recording the tracks that would make up his second solo record Barrett.

What we get here is a different kettle of fish to his first solo album The Madcap Laughs. There he continued a similar strain of work to which he made his name in Pink Floyd and indeed both Gilmour and Roger Waters played a part in its creation. Barrett sees a weakening of his musical powers with only a couple of tracks really standing up to his best writing. In general the songs are more restrained and solemn than the explanatory psych pop of his earlier music.

The opener Baby Lemonade is an absolute gem with its fantastically ripe and rich chorus and thrusting melody. It is as good as anything else he did. Dominoes is just as great with a mood that is as unsettling as it is cute. It bounces along in a stoned jazz groove before morphing into a Doors blues jam. Presuming he was as involved in the music as he was the writing, it showed that he could create mood in his music as well as he could arrange words.

As an influence on future singers, Barrett isn’t widely cited – but here on Rats you hear a predecessor to Mark E. Smith’s stream of consciousness rants and the day-glo rhymes of Happy Monday’s Shaun Ryder.

When things don’t work they are almost too hard to listen to. Maisie screams out as a desperate search for a song. It is little more than a lazy blues jam with Barrett almost audibly disintegrating on tape in front of the listener as he mumbles on and on. In contrast Gigolo Aunt sounds positively bubbly with its hooks and trippy chorus. Sonically it is a joy to listen to – especially with headphones – with its warm tone and playful stereo pannning.

There are 8 bonus tracks accompanying his reissue and though they give a behind the scenes view of the recording of Barrett and its songs in various stages of progress they are really designed for the fanatics to mull over to their heart’s content.

Barrett signaled the turning point for Barrett’s musical career. From here on he would dabble in various projects for a few years before retreating to his sister’s bedsit and focusing on his paintings. We should be grateful that a handful of the songs here made it onto tape and out into the world as they are further examples of the imaginative and talented songwriter that Syd was from the mid 60s through to the dawn of the next decade.

this review first appeared on FasterLouder

* these are from the original mix, not the new versions…