source: http://www.sydbarrett.com/home.htmSydbarrett.com wrote:An addition to An Introduction To Syd Barrett is the previously-unreleased 20-minute instrumental 'Rhamadan'. Produced by former Pink Floyd and Syd co-manager Peter Jenner, the list of musicians is lost in the mists of time, though it's rumoured to include congas by Steve Peregrine Took of Tyrannosaurus Rex. It is to be offered as an extra downloadable track with the CD (via an auxiliary Website), and also the iTunes version of the album. Once again Damon Iddins and Andy Jackson mixed it in 2010.
So, 'Rhamadan' also is a 2010 mix.
Wolfpack wrote:You liked what you heard, didn't you? Wouldn't the mix be boring if they were excluded? All I remember reading is that Barrett wanted motorbike noises in the mix, but that it's not known where and how he wanted them. However, a release of 'Rhamadan' without any motorbike noises would be against his intentions and be "scandalous and most depressing" in its own way.
I'd also like to listen in an archeological way. But without the actual four-track tape, this is not really possible anyway. In a mix, choices have to be made. I guess the motorbike sound is taken from the tape listed in David Parker's 'Random Precision'. It was somehow intended to be somewhere in the mix. (Even though Barrett may have preferred his amateur recording.) From an archeological point of view, it's rather easy to imagine the motorbike sound not to be there. It's very brief. It starts at 7:42 and is gone at 7:54.larstangmark wrote:Hehe...depends on your point of view. I like the track, but I can't help but viewing this as archeology. I want to know exactly what was on that tape (and what wasn't).
Maybe the entire mix would have sounded different if it was made in 1969. It's hard to listen in an archeological way when only having a 2010 mix.
For example, I think that the two mixes of 'Clowns and Jugglers' on the expanded 'Opel' don't do the recordings justice and have a cold 1980s sound. On an excerpt of two old (rough?) mixes as found on a bootleg, an acoustic guitar can be heard and the background noises (like a keyboard) are more apparent, giving the song a fairground feeling. On 'Opel', the emphasis lies on Barrett's voice and an electric guitar that gives a upfront solo that, without being buried in the noises, sticks out like a sore thumb. The guitar only version (the bonus track) sounds very empty and cold without the acoustic guitar. I think those mixes sound awful.
I think that in comparison and also from an archeological view, the mix of 'Rhamadan' has an authentic sound. Iddins and Jackson could have forced up the track with Barrett's guitar, but it sounds rather buried in the mix. Just how I think it should be. I have a hard time finding where I can hear the guitar and what exactly could be the mellotron.
Imagine there was a sea sounds tape meant to be in 'Opel'. Wouldn't it be debatable if it wasn't included? And maybe the song was intended to end with a fade out. Listening to a mix and to multitracks are two different investigations. Unfortunately, the record market is hardly ready for releasing "Do It Yourself"-boxes, which give listeners the change to investigate and mix multitracks themselves.larstangmark wrote:I'm sure Syd would have added more instruments to a track like "Opel" too had he decided to go further with it.
Now my review of 'Rhamadan':
Having listened 'Rhamadan' about three times now, I think it sounds nice as a jazz inspired piece. Like 'Lanky part1', I think it's a bit comparable with 'Nick's Boogie'. It's a piece of music that doesn't have much structure. It starts, improvises and then ends. Just imagine 'Interstellar Overdive' without the guitar riffs at the beginning and the ending. Those riffs give a strong illusion that the piece goes somewhere, while it really doesn't. I remember reading that Barrett's Floyd used such a beginning and ending as a trick. Start a riff, go in all kinds of directions and then end with the riff.
When I began listening to 'Rhamadan', I expected a lot of weirdness and so the piece sounded boring at first. When relistening, it sounded less and less boring. I can enjoy this as much as 'Nick's Boogie'. It's an atmosheric piece and (unlike 'Nick's Boogie') it's unfinished. Just imagine what it would have been with an extra overdub.
People who expect hearing Barrett taking a lead role, will be disappointed. 'Rhamadan' is much more an effort of a group in which Barrett somewhere can be heard. I think the musicians are rather good. And if these musicians would have been Waters, Wright and Mason, I think a lot of Pink Floyd fans would instantly have found 'Rhamadan' very interesting.
The brief motorbike noise is overdubbed at a good moment. It's included at a point where little is happening, just before the piece builds up again.
I imagined 'Rhamadan' to be intended with lots of motorbike noises throughout the whole piece, running along with the music and giving a sound of an Arabian chant. That would give a connection with the title 'Rhamadan', which I now find unexplainable. However, such a sound can be made by anyone: just put up 'Rhamadan' when riding on a motorbike.
The brief motorbike noise sounds very much like the one in Pink Floyd's 'Atom Heart Mother': a motorbike starts and drives away. (The main difference is that the AHM-motobike sounds like a heavy motorbike: the type that can drive as fast as a car.)
It sounds like AHM simply reused a part of 'Rhamadan', but Iddins and Jackson may have been inspired by AHM. However, the sound of a motorbike itself (no matter the length) is clearly an inspiration for AHM. (Otherwise, the coincidence is very big.)
I have now heard 'Rhamadan' for the fourth time and certainly will relisten it. I think it's a nice atmopheric piece. Comparable with ambient music. I'm glad it is released.
But again, people who'd rather go for the names Barrett, Waters, Wright and Mason will not be as impressed as I am. I think the musicians who helped Barrett are very good, daring to take a lead role instead of letting Barrett do the work. Just listen to 'Rhamadan' as an idea initiated by Barrett, who has a guest role on the performance of it.
Especially for an unfinished piece, I'd say it's a rather nice experiment and very nice to listen to.