Let's do a SYD BARRETT Poll of his SOLO songs, and have a general debate.

Message Bookmarked
Bookmark Removed

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/MarkGrout/barratt.jpg

Poll Results

OptionVotes
Opel – 6:26 6
No Good Trying – 3:26 6
Dominoes – 4:09 5
Terrapin – 5:04 4
Dark Globe – 2:02 3
Gigolo Aunt – 5:47 3
Golden Hair (Syd Barrett/James Joyce) – 1:59 3
Bob Dylan Blues - 3.14 2
Octopus – 3:47 2
Let's Split – 2:23 2
Word Song – 3:19 1
Rats – 3:02 1
Swan Lee (Silas Lang) – 3:13 1
Wolfpack – 3:41 1
Baby Lemonade – 4:11 1
Late Night – 3:11 1
Birdie Hop – 2:30 1
Effervescing Elephant – 1:54 1
If it's In You – 2:26 1
Lanky (Part One) – 5:32 0
Wined and Dined – 2:59 0
Waving My Arms in the Air – 2:07 0
Dolly Rocker – 3:01 0
She Took a Long Cold Look – 1:55 0
Feel – 2:17 0
Here I Go – 3:11 0
I Never Lied to You – 1:52 0
No Man's Land – 3:03 0
Milky Way – 3:07 0
Maisie – 2:51 0
Love You – 2:30 0
Love Song – 3:05 0
It is Obvious – 3:00 0
Long Gone – 2:50 0


Mark G, Thursday, 11 February 2010 14:42 (fifteen years ago)

Terrapin, just barely over Late Night

∫ (Curt1s Stephens), Thursday, 11 February 2010 14:46 (fifteen years ago)

Well, this is hard - all these songs made a huge impact on me - some of them I got on a tape comped for me by a dude whose position on Pink Floyd was strictly "Piper is great, fuck Pink Floyd thereafter" - he had a copy of "Apples & Oranges" which I'd thought "Here I Go" (also on the tape) was the b-side of. Later Opel came out & was just huge for me - something from another world. Haven't heard it in years but looking at the titles all their melodies pop right in for me.

That said, I think the class of the pack is the song "Opel." The way he just tosses off "a dream in a mist of grey" & some of those incredibly dense phrases, and that coda. Love "Wolfpack" and "Wined & Dined" to pieces but "Opel" opened some new worlds for me.

Lee Dorrian Gray (J0hn D.), Thursday, 11 February 2010 14:49 (fifteen years ago)

I heard "Love You" on John Peel, back not quite in the day (more during the punk years) and understood.

How they 'forgot' Opel when they compiled Madcap, I can't understand: It was the way Syd could have gone, loose but together.

I did have that Octopus single for a while (not the one in the pic), it went to Japan for a ton.

Still pondering my vote...

Mark G, Thursday, 11 February 2010 14:54 (fifteen years ago)

"Opel" really needs some band to fill in behind, like Airbus did with Portishead's Sour Times...

Mark G, Thursday, 11 February 2010 14:55 (fifteen years ago)

if that ever happens to that 100% perfect track, Mark G, I will hold you personally responsible & hunt you down, so be warned

Lee Dorrian Gray (J0hn D.), Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:01 (fifteen years ago)

Ah, it happens in my MIND, and it is perfect and wonderful.

So, until I can d/l from my brane (and there's a ton of unreleased MG songs that'd have to come out first) the world is safe. Or sage, or sade (my last two typos)..

Mark G, Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:05 (fifteen years ago)

dominoes

mizzell, Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:08 (fifteen years ago)

if theres a an adjective for something thats both twee and creepy, 'terrapin' defines it. love syd's stoned, drooling delivery. 'golden hair' pops into my head from time to time too.

Michael B, Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:43 (fifteen years ago)

I remember Knox (of the Vibrators) nearly had a hit with a not unacceptable version of "Gigolo Aunt" back whenever (1981?)

Mark G, Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:45 (fifteen years ago)

Opel. So fucking haunting.

Trip Maker, Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:50 (fifteen years ago)

Waters Floyd > Barrett Floyd.

anagram, Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:54 (fifteen years ago)

hmmmm ... challenging opinions indeed, anagram ...
love "Golden Hair" so much.

tylerw, Thursday, 11 February 2010 16:27 (fifteen years ago)

and, funnily enough, neither are within the scope of this poll!

Mark G, Thursday, 11 February 2010 16:35 (fifteen years ago)

it's funny, when he passed away, I learned a couple of Syd's solo songs on guitar, and was kinda amazed at how well-crafted they are! It's easy to think of them as a jumble of chords thrown together, but there's a real logic at work there ... Maybe that's not terribly profound, but it struck me at the time. They're also hard! Just the rhythms/changes/etc.

tylerw, Thursday, 11 February 2010 16:41 (fifteen years ago)

I've always been impressed by Syd's song structures, it's one of those things that flies in the face of the whole "barely keeping it together" stories you hear about the post-Floy Barrett. Dude was just fucking incredible, imo.

Trip Maker, Thursday, 11 February 2010 16:57 (fifteen years ago)

Another vote for Opel. I find Word Song quite mysterious too.

Zelda Zonk, Thursday, 11 February 2010 17:07 (fifteen years ago)

"Dark Globe" is stunning and haunting. But the version they put on the non-rarities album seems to be a deliberate choice of a performance that accentuates Syd's lunacy, and cynically attempts to capitalize on it. The version on Opel is way better.

Melvin van Osterlow, Jr. (res), Thursday, 11 February 2010 17:09 (fifteen years ago)

also, why the fuck is his name misspelled on that record?

Melvin van Osterlow, Jr. (res), Thursday, 11 February 2010 17:09 (fifteen years ago)

Prize for noticing.

The promo edition got it wrong. The single corrected.

Mark G, Thursday, 11 February 2010 17:18 (fifteen years ago)

"Opel"

Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Thursday, 11 February 2010 18:04 (fifteen years ago)

Rats. Love the way the muttering gains focus as it goes along...

dlp9001, Thursday, 11 February 2010 19:48 (fifteen years ago)

i will probably will be the only vote for "bob dylan blues" i think

lukevalentine, Thursday, 11 February 2010 19:50 (fifteen years ago)

Kevin Ayers > Syd Barret
I'm gonna do a kevin ayers poll

CaptainLorax, Thursday, 11 February 2010 19:51 (fifteen years ago)

Well, I mean Colin Lloyd Tucker>Kevin Ayers...

dlp9001, Thursday, 11 February 2010 19:52 (fifteen years ago)

Kevin Ayers > Syd Barret

congratulations on your latest SB

Lee Dorrian Gray (J0hn D.), Thursday, 11 February 2010 20:02 (fifteen years ago)

"No Good Trying" ftw u disgusting savages imo

Snop Snitchin, Thursday, 11 February 2010 20:08 (fifteen years ago)

"Gigolo Aunt" I think, probably the first Syd song I heard properly.

I'm afraid we're dealing with Garth Crooks (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 11 February 2010 20:12 (fifteen years ago)

xpp tbf Syd Barret > J0hn D.

CaptainLorax, Thursday, 11 February 2010 20:45 (fifteen years ago)

Waters Floyd > Barrett Floyd.

I dont think it is possible to make a less true statement than that.

acer, Thursday, 11 February 2010 21:44 (fifteen years ago)

"Dominoes" captures for me the very specific, quiet feeling of being wearied by too much time with entertainment and people you like, feeling trapped by pleasant domesticity. This is a personal take on it, but for me it mirrors the way time and feeling drags in such a scenario. It's been a favorite of mine since I first heard it.

vacation to outer darkness (Abbott), Thursday, 11 February 2010 22:59 (fifteen years ago)

Voted Birdie Hop. Had to.

dynamicinterface, Thursday, 11 February 2010 23:03 (fifteen years ago)

I know for a fact I will be the only person who votes for "Bob Dylan's Blues."

"I'm a poet. Don'tcha know it?"

Mr. Snrub, Friday, 12 February 2010 01:38 (fifteen years ago)

Read upthread, yr already wrong.

Mark G, Friday, 12 February 2010 08:02 (fifteen years ago)

Kevin Ayers has a whole host of accomplished and stylish albums to show off how great he is.

If someone wanted to argue that he is 'better' than Syd, who am I to argue against?

Mark G, Friday, 12 February 2010 08:07 (fifteen years ago)

I voted for Dominoes. It encapsulates for me how Syd was able effortlessly to inject pathos into his performances.

Daniel Giraffe, Friday, 12 February 2010 10:20 (fifteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

so..

Mark G, Saturday, 27 February 2010 01:26 (fifteen years ago)

I've been stuck on Madcap Laughs and Opel for a week now

dynamicinterface, Saturday, 27 February 2010 15:20 (fifteen years ago)

Will be disappointed at ILX if "Effervescing Elephant" doesn't score at least 1 vote.

"Fuck Off" to the Buskers (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 27 February 2010 15:24 (fifteen years ago)

dark globe?
no good trying?

dark globe.

Zeno, Saturday, 27 February 2010 15:26 (fifteen years ago)

Thread also prompted me to listen to Madcap and Opel.
Madcap is just brilliant throughout.

Trip Maker, Saturday, 27 February 2010 16:27 (fifteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Sunday, 28 February 2010 00:01 (fifteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Monday, 1 March 2010 00:01 (fifteen years ago)

surprised Long Gone didn't get one vote? that's a famous one, innit? (I am educating myself on Syd and early Floyd, and loving it all)

iago g., Monday, 1 March 2010 00:26 (fifteen years ago)

Two of the 'zero' tracks were two I nearly voted for, "Love you" and "Here I go"

Mark G, Monday, 1 March 2010 08:10 (fifteen years ago)

alright, who voted for "Word song"?

Mark G, Monday, 1 March 2010 08:11 (fifteen years ago)

seven months pass...

Hmm, two things:

1) I did a poll of Syd songs 2 years previous to this. Even put a photo of the mis-spelled promo uptop. and NO-ONE called it. (OK, I forgot as well)

2) And now there's a new best of, with a 'new' track, Rhamadan. It's not half bad, actually.

Seems a shame that someone must have said "no, syd, do more sing-songs" and Syd sighed and went home.

Mark G, Friday, 22 October 2010 10:20 (fifteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmTBHjs6Q1U

borad.crutial.org (crüt), Friday, 22 October 2010 10:23 (fifteen years ago)

Yeah, I got that as a £1 offer at Fopp Reading, when there was one.

Mark G, Friday, 22 October 2010 10:25 (fifteen years ago)

Didn't see this one. Might have gone for "If It's In You". Because it's crazy.

Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Friday, 22 October 2010 15:01 (fifteen years ago)

barrett headz might want this: http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/1128336207/interstellar-overdrive-s-can-it-be-that-in-a

tylerw, Friday, 22 October 2010 15:10 (fifteen years ago)

2) And now there's a new best of, with a 'new' track, Rhamadan. It's not half bad, actually.

is that the same drum-heavy track thats been on previous bootlegs

am0n, Friday, 22 October 2010 15:28 (fifteen years ago)

"Feel" is pretty amazing. Really abstract and off the rails, but the couple of times it slows down it suddenly becomes immensely beautiful and sad and nostalgic. Really great.

Telephoneface (Adam Bruneau), Friday, 22 October 2010 15:33 (fifteen years ago)

xpost it might well be, I've not seeked it out before. The drumming is quite light...

Mark G, Friday, 22 October 2010 15:47 (fifteen years ago)


You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.