Syd Barrett - MOJO March 2010 - Madcaps Story...

[Keith Jordan]

The March 2010 edition of the excellent MOJO magazine has Syd Barrett on the front cover and many pages dedicated to him inside! It also has a re-recording of Syd Barrett’s debut solo album The Madcap Laughs by such people like REM, Captain Sensible, Robyn Hitchcock and more!

The inside story of The Madcap Laughs is told on 15 wonderful pages by David Gilmour, Robert Wyatt, Storm Thorgerson, photographer Mick Rock and others. Certainly worth getting a copy if you are a Barrett fan or fan of the psychedelic scene.

Syd Barrett Outtakes and Possible Gilmour Project on them!

One interesting part of the story is David Gilmour visiting his memories of taking copies of the recordings he did with Barrett and the fact he has had them digitised onto his computer.

David Gilmour said, “I’ve got a lot of Syd Material digitised onto a hard drive that I can play with, thought I haven’t yet. I have got half a mind to try to improve it, which can be done with today’s technology.

He went on to say, “These days, you can take bits of each [outtake recordings] and seam them together invisibly, and make something that’s still Syd but a little bit prettier. Its one of those things Im tempted to look at, but I suspect your ardent Syd fans would go, ‘That’s terrible, sacrilege!’, so I don’t know.

Petition David Gilmour

Well perhaps we should form some sort of petition to show support for David Gilmour to do something with the Syd Barrett material he has! A good starting point would be to vote on the NPF Poll on the issue on the forum here.

[zag]

Release original & processed versions together and everybody is very happy, including Alan.

[Keith Jordan]

It is a shame everything in the big world of music has to be album orientated. He could just make a ten minute clip of his work weaved together with some overdubs of his own playing and make that available to download on his website. Perhaps do what Radiohead did and let people make a voluntary payment to Syd Barrett's estate and perhaps a small % to him for his bits. Could be a fun project for him and keep him out of trouble for a few days!

The cover CD on the MOJO mag is really good stuff. Some very interesting interpretations of Barrett's songs. Well worth getting the magazine for the CD alone. Haven't read all the 15 pages of Barrett content yet. Will do at the weekend I think. Looks good though from my skim reading earlier today.

[Wolfpack]

Release original & processed versions together and everybody is very happy

Agreed. If only just both the original & processed versions of the outtakes that haven't been released yet. For example, 'Living Alone'.

But why would Gilmour only process outtakes?
Why not include intakes, the ones that were released? They can also be processed and remixed.

I'd love to hear Gilmour and Barrett playing together again, by Gilmour overdubbing. Gilmour could make a great version of 'Opel'. (Even though that one is recorded by Malcolm Jones and not by him.)

[my breakfast.]

I really hate those tribute albums they stick on Mojo. So yes REM and Hitchcock are famous, but I bet past track 5 on that CD you will not even recognise the artists, it will be a bunch of random indie bands whose management just managed to grease the right palms.

With the exception of Gilmour, who atleast knew Syd personally and 'got' him, I don't see why anybody feels they can touch the Syd stuff. REM certainly cannot. They grew up out of a completely different scene, and can cover Syd's songs in gigs, but to actually try and sell a CD on a magazine? Its a bit tasteless.

Plus those Mojo articles are like Starbucks cappucinos, a lot of froth and some really milky coffee underneath. They might as well be written by machines. Maybe dig out some rarer Mick Rock photos or interview somebody slightly related to the whole Syd scene (such as Mick Rock or Kevin Ayres), re-tell a few tired old stories... yawn yawn.

[wiped]

I kind of agree with My Breakfast on this one ... there's only so many times/ways you can tell the same story. Its like Classic Rock Magazine having at least 4 Led Zeppelin Covers per year !! I mean FFS - who doesn't know the Led Zeppelin story at this stage !!! or needs reminding every fuckin 3 months !!

[Wolfpack]

What about the petition to show support for David Gilmour to do something with the Syd Barrett material he has?
That is a new story.

Maybe Gilmour could also clean up the outtakes 'Scream Thy Last Scream' and 'Vegetable Man'? Don't those those exist in multi-track? (Didn't Malcolm Jones do remixes in 1987, intended but not used on the CD 'Opel'?)
And there's also 'In the Beechwoods', though instrumental.

But hey, now I think of it: Why would Gilmour bother with Barrett outtakes if there are Pink Floyd outtakes from his own time, like 'Seabirds' (excluded from 'More'). Only Barrett's solo work seems to be a safe harbour when it comes to compiling outtakes. And even Barrett's Pink Floyd-outtakes remain locked in a vault. A bit weird, isn't it?

[oldperfume]

Wolfpack is right about the Syd Era's Floyd stuffed being locked in a vault @ EMI. What the hell?!?! Syd left us a few years ago; DRAG it out....all of his stuff. Dave & Rog,quit all the boo-hooing about Syd's lyrics being too personal. It's what writers do!! Put it out so people can make their OWN decisions; I Mean what are they waiting for?!

[Wolfpack]

In the Mojo issue, Gilmour tells that he doesn't have the master tape of 'Bob Dylan's Blues', but only a copy he made at the time.
Could this mean that 'Living Alone' (from the same session) is LOST? Or did Gilmour copy that recording, too?

[strangebuttrue]

I scanned my issue.

here's the article:http://www.mediafire.com/file/yxmzmeqmw ... 0scans.zip
here's the CD: http://www.mediafire.com/file/mtomyjful ... Again!.zip

[mags]

I scanned my issue.

here's the article:http://www.mediafire.com/file/yxmzmeqmw ... 0scans.zip
here's the CD: http://www.mediafire.com/file/mtomyjful ... Again!.zip

Your url to the article is immediately blocked by NOD32, as malware website.

[crofloyd]

can someone please repost it, please?

[Felix Atagong]

The article can be legally downloaded and for free at the official (but very crappy, the webmaster wouldn't recognise a Syd Barrett tune if you'd stick it up his...) Syd Barrett website, that is www dot sydbarrett dot com.

[professor frogmorton]

Gilmour should do it. He is the only one who can make it happen.

[Idisaffect]

David Gilmour said: "I have got half a mind to try to improve it..... and make something that’s a little bit prettier".

Maybe after Gilmour is dead someone can try to improve On An Island. Perhaps they could make it less pretty.

And I'm definitely not some ardent Barrett fan who thinks it's sacrilege for Gilmour to do this.

I'm just saying.