Syd Barrett: The Madcap Laughs

Syd Barrett: The Madcap Laughs

1970

Harvest/Capitol Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Terrapin  2. No Good Trying  3. Love You  4. No Man's Land  5. Dark Globe  6. Here I Go  7. Octopus  8. Golden Hair  9. Long Gone  10. She Took a Long Cold Look  11. Feel  12. If It's In You  13. Late Night

I can still recall my first encounter with the music of Syd Barrett. I was a teenager and listening to the classic rock radio station on a Sunday night. I remember they used to play this program that would feature  live performances by bands and on this night they were playing a live recording of an old Pink Floyd show from the 60's. Like most kids in the Midwest I loved Pink Floyd and was very familiar with their 70's albums. But Pink Floyd music from the 60's?! I was dimly aware they had been together for that long but had never run across any of it on the radio. So I sat by the radio that night listening intently as I was treated to some of the most intense, brain-scraping psychedelia I've ever heard in my life... It certainly turned my head around, but I just couldn't seem to get my hands on any of it for the longest time.

Eventually,  sometime during the late 90's I was able to procure a copy of Pink Floyd's "Piper at the Gates of Dawn," and grew to love it, even though it seemed (for the most part) tamer than the live recording I had heard. But even after I had become familiar with "Piper at the Gates of Dawn," hearing "The Madcap Laughs" was still a startling experience. It's pretty well documented that by the time "Madcap" was recorded, poor Syd was already well out of his mind due to schizophrenia. There's lots of debate whether releasing the audibly troubled Barrett's recordings constitutes as exploitation of a mentally handicapped person, but I'm not getting into all that...I don't care who made this record...Hell, it could be the new release by Justin Timberlake for all I care...I still think it's totally worthy of its place in the pantheon of rock history...



(Here's the alternate cover...I don't like this nearly as much as the regular cover...It doesn't fit the vibe...The original cover captures the stark vibe of the album perfectly...)

I don't feel like this falls in the same category as Wesley Willis or Wild Man Fischer, where it's "Ha Ha, listen to the funny crazy guy..."  "The Madcap Laughs," despite its sometimes whimsical qualities, is a pretty harrowing listen...The vocal performance on "If it's in You" alone is enough to disturb you. The tempos are sea-sick, constantly going in and out of time...I literally have no idea how the backing band played along to this...it gives the tracks with the more-fleshed out arrangements a particularly odd (and instantly recognizable) gait...But despite these unbalanced qualities there's a distinct talent that's undeniable, and once you get the hang of it, addictive...I could listen to the wordplay on "Octopus" and "Dark Globes" all day...

"Dark Globes" is emblematic of the more stripped-down side of the record. There's a batch of songs where it's only Syd on acoustic guitar and these tracks, more than anything, I think,  are responsible for the enduring appeal of Syd Barrett...You've never heard anything like this...and that's a hard thing to pull off when it's just one guy and a guitar...He creates a new alien language that sounds like he's desperate for communication, which he totally gets across but not in any of the usual expected ways...when he sings:

"Please, please, please lift a hand, 
 I'm only a person with Eskimo chain, 
 I tattooed my brain all the way, 
 Won't you miss me?
 Wouldn't you miss me at all?"

His words make no literal sense but his voice and performance speak volumes...that's why it's so unsettling...and it's why it's so relateable... It seemed like the guy had something to say...and the most honest way to say it was a jumbled mess...It's also kind of strikes me at how similar he sounds to Roger Waters when he sings the line "Wouldn't you miss me at all?"  But it's a vocal tone Syd had never used before and Roger never used until waaayyy later... but it's undeniable. I feel the same way about "Domino" from Syd's next record...it seems to foreshadow Pink Floyd's later direction somewhat...Like he was still an influence on Pink Floyd even after he had left that band...

But it's not all psychic turmoil, like I said there's some lighter material that evens things out while you're listening...The first half of the record sounds like Syd is having  a good time. He sounds like he's barely able to contain himself on "Love You," and album opener "Terrapin" is a lightly drifting psychedelic cloud of a song...Understated and very catchy..." Octopus" is also a fun, if a slightly nightmarish, fairy tale romp, somewhat similar to "Piper at the Gates of Dawn," except a bit more urgent...not quite as pastoral...A bit of a mental shift but still familiar...but ultimately, when you take the record off the turntable these aren't the moments that stick with you...

So yea...I love this record, I've listened to it regularly in the 10 years I've had it now, and I suspect it's never going to lose its power...I wouldn't casually recommend this to folks who spend their lives listening to nothing but Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" on classic rock radio, but I'd say if you're a little bit adventurous in your listening habits you're going to get a lot out of this...

That said, let's check out "Dark Globe" by Syd Barrett...