Pink Floyd Pre/Post Syd Barret

[ross g]

(i started writing this in the "floyd fans" thread, it got too long...seemed better to start a new one)


how do you KVR folk feel about pre/post Syd-era Pink Floyd, and what do you think about Syd Barret's music post-Floyd?

when i was in highschool in the late 70's, i had "A Nice Pair" which was "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and "Saucerful of Secrets" packaged as a double lp in the states...i had heard and dug most of the big floyd stuff up until that time (Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals), but i loved the early Floyd sound, especially the Syd stuff; the songs were quirky and the music was cool...but i liked "Secrets" as well ("Corporal Clegg" is to this day one of my favorite tunes period)...you could definatly hear the transition they went through between those two lineups...the cool swinging 60's/sing-songy/trippy vibe they had with Syd became less raw, innocent, and fun...it was still fueled by experimentation, but it lacked direction somewhat-they overcame that for sure...but then Syd w/o Floyd was so sparse and underdeveloped... i've understand he had some kind of breakdown that made it impossible for him to carry on with the band, but what was it that allowed him to do his solo stuff,? some of it really just sound like demos...

to me it shows how the sound of a sympathic group of people make a "Rock Band"...seems most Pink Floyd fans are generally fans of progressive rock music and/or classic rock and aren't even familiar with Syd Barret or even Ummagumma or Meddle (i ain't heard 'em in a long time myself)...they really grew and progressed, but that weird little pyschedelic combo that used to play stones covers and such, i wonder what happened to that initial spark...





rg

[Lazarus Machine]

Hello all.

I apologize to all if my questions in the other "For Floyd fans only" thread appeared to be an attempt to hijack it. Actually, I thought it’d be better to ask these questions there while everyone was discussing Floyd-related stuff rather than start a brand new topic which wouldn’t have had the sort of continuity that thread has. Sorry .

Anyway, to make up for it I made this WALLpaper based on Gerald Scarfe’s hammer design from The Wall movie. You can see a small lo-rez version below:



The original [1024x768; 200kb] can be found here:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a217/LM1/PFWALL.jpg

This thing will also make a nice Flash screensaver with the hammers continuously marching off the screen to some suitable piece of music. I might do it but it’ll take some time [have to ‘do’ the soundtrack and make it sound Wall/Floyd-esque without using actual Wall/Floyd samples. An interesting project! ]. When [and if] I make it, I’ll post the download URL in this thread [if it’s still alive, that is].

It was Voidoid Surrealist’s wallpaper pic [@ the beginning of the aforementioned thread] that got me working so he’s to be thanked for inspiration.

Cheers!

[philipc68]

I've read the band bios A Saucerful of Secrets, and Lost in the Woods (more about Syd than PF). It's apparent that Syd did almost all of the writing in the period up to Piper and somewhat beyond, however I think that the actual mechanics of getting gigs and being organised fell to manager Peter Jenner and the less drugfucked elements of the band. They were very fortunate in having a supportive fanbase in London at UFO and the Roundhouse. Outside of London they usually had terrible shows and were often abused by the audience, who wanted to hear the big hits and didn't know the other stuff. They wouldn't have been successful without Syd's writing, but I also doubt they would have succeeded without the (comparative) business sense of Jenner, Waters and Wright (Mason was a bit more laissez-faire about the whole thing, being already independently wealthy).

I like Piper and SOS a lot, but have to say I prefer the post-Syd PF, especially Meddle, DSOTM and WYWH. Animals gets played now and then. I listened to The Wall incessantly when it first came out but find I can't bear it much anymore. Can't stand Final Cut at all, and haven't listened to any Floyd after that much.

Syd's solo stuff *was* virtually demo quality, often done in one take with no other instruments than guitar. Other musicians filled in the tracks later, especially members of Soft Machine, and Gilmour playing bass and Wright playing organ. I have both albums on vinyl but seldom listen to them these days.
Good songs, but underdeveloped.

Philip

[CypherOne]

only my opinion of course but Floyd with Syd was shite, greatness came when he went mental and left.

[skyscape]

Syd's songs are fun and all but I think Pink Floyd really shone from the period between Meddle and the Wall.

[ross g]

only my opinion of course but Floyd with Syd was shite, greatness came when he went mental and left.

at what point did the actual "greatness" occur?

[CypherOne]

25th March 1971, around lunchtime.

[ross g]

25th March 1971, around lunchtime.

not trying to be a jerk, just wondered like, uh, what album or something...

i asked for opinions so it's all good...

[CypherOne]

well for me it kinda goes:

Meddle
Dark Side Of The Moon 8)8)8)
Wish You Were Here 8)8)8)8)
Animals 8)8)8)
The Wall 8)8)
Momentary Lapse Of Reason

Sorry if that's the wrong order but working from frazzled memory here..

I'd do a graph ideally.

[knockman]

the syd era is basically the only floyd i listen to these days, i used to have everything up to the final cut, but gave up on it all. i kind of prefer the freshness of syd's work which for me has an inclusive quality in its childlike play, the post syd floyd seem more exclusive in that respect - something we should look upon in awe, which personally i find less appealing.

i also love his solo albums for the same reason, uneven though they are in technical terms they provide untold measure of fascination and charm.

he was no doubt an immensely troubled soul, and by all accounts hugely exasperating to deal with once the disturbance set in - i couldn't imagine having to work with such a person, especially if one had known him prior to that, when evidently he was very out going affable and bright. i've read a couple of syd biographies, lost in the woods and crazy diamond, but syd's enigma remains intact for me.

regards

[Sepheritoh]

only my opinion of course but Floyd with Syd was shite, greatness came when he went mental and left.

Yup

[Hernan]

I used to listen to Floyd a lot back in the 80s, mostly the Dark Side - The Wall era. Nowadays the only CD I have by them is Piper, which gets sporadic playing.

[Hink]

only my opinion of course but Floyd with Syd was shite, greatness came when he went mental and left.

I wouldn't say shite as I wont judge any music...however I am on the same page as you. I do prefer the latter floyd...with a few exceptions. But purely because of production techniques.

In the late 60's and early 70's with the emergence of rock breaking into the once promised land of FM radio came a real big direction change for mainstream and pop music. No longer was the music being heard on a noisey frequency range (AM) on tiny little transitor radios, now it was in the realm of the audiophiles as well. The latter Pink Floyd saw that potential and helped pave the way (along with many others) for many to come...

[Voidoid Surrealist]

the syd era is basically the only floyd i listen to these days, i used to have everything up to the final cut, but gave up on it all. i kind of prefer the freshness of syd's work which for me has an inclusive quality in its childlike play, the post syd floyd seem more exclusive in that respect - something we should look upon in awe, which personally i find less appealing.

i also love his solo albums for the same reason, uneven though they are in technical terms they provide untold measure of fascination and charm.

he was no doubt an immensely troubled soul, and by all accounts hugely exasperating to deal with once the disturbance set in - i couldn't imagine having to work with such a person, especially if one had known him prior to that, when evidently he was very out going affable and bright. i've read a couple of syd biographies, lost in the woods and crazy diamond, but syd's enigma remains intact for me.

regards

That pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject.

Don't get me wrong, I love the later stuff, but it's always the first few albums (and unreleased stuff of the same era) that I end up coming back to.

Somewhere on KvR I made a smiley-rating (like CypherOne) of pretty much all of the Floyd's major stuff, but I can't for the life of me find it with the forum search...

[Muzik 4 Machines]

25th March 1971, around lunchtime.

not trying to be a jerk, just wondered like, uh, what album or something...

i asked for opinions so it's all good...

in no particular order

Animals ****** (my personal favorite)
atom heart mother ****
TDSOTM *****
The wall ****
Meddle *****
WYWH *****