Syd Barrett Legend book by Bob Cairns

[Keith Jordan]

The publisher sent me a copy of the Syd Barrett Legend book by Bob Cairns for the purpose of review. Well... I cant bring myself to say anything good about it. It is a badly made and badly written book.

[*]It has factual errors.
[*]The photos look like they were copied from the internet and pasted straight into MS Word. The photos are shocking. How a publisher would publish photos of this amateurish nature in their name I just dont know. Shame on them.
[*]There are many many many many pages of song lyrics. So what???
[*]A LOT of paragraphs have the first letter in BOLD for no apparent reason. Some paragraphs have the bold first letter missing which is inconsistent.

It is a very poor effort indeed. The only one thing I like about the book is the front cover.

Right, I am going to have to say it. I tried to resist and be nice. The book is SHIT!

syd_barrett_legend.jpg

[snifferdog]

I take it you didn't like it so

[PinkFloyd69]

Out of curiosity, what were the major factual errors?

[Keith Jordan]

Dates and things. I think it would have benefited from being fact checked.

[Damn!t]

From Brain Damage

Seems like a very sloppy written book.

[GilmourGirl]

" 'Lucy Leave' and 'Let's Roll Another One' were never recorded"

Shit so we've all been hallucinating these songs?? Barrett would've loved our acid, man!


Why do some continue to think that Barrett's sister will actually tell family business?

[oldperfume]

Man, read any of the books or magazine articles on Syd & they ALL screw up somewhere or other with some fact or Facts.I think a bunch of us Syd freaks could do better. Tom Willis' book I think is the best because it de-bunked alot of the BS written about Syd. "Lost in the Woods" is good for thereason that the author tries to give some insight into Barrett's mind, whether he's right or wrong, it does make for good reading. I read ANYTHING I can about Syd, whether it's true or not I don't think we'll ever know. Doubt his family will shed any light either. I'll buy this book regardless & if it's as bad as you all say it is , I'll let you know.

[Keith Jordan]

A reasonable point about other books containing errors. But this book is very poorly written and put together. It looks like a 7 year old wrote it as an English project. This Bob Cairns character is not a professional writer. A great proportion of the book was lyrics just reproduced there on the page without comment, criticism or anything useful. One of the worst books out of all the books I have ever read or seen.

[GilmourGirl]

Well a lot of people wanna profit from Barretts death by writing crap. I think we've heard everything there is about his life. I've never seen a guy so picked apart like they pick Barrett apart. No wonder he stayed to himself! HE was the sane one!

[Idisaffect]

Right on, GG.

Pick, pick, pick. That's something people are really good at. Picking away at others. Picking the scab 'till it bleeds and then digging down deeper for the bone.

But when you examine their own lives what do you find? Slim pickings. You pick at them and they have nothing to reveal. Shallow. Empty. Not even a scab. But they still think they are qualified to pick apart a man like Syd Barrett.

[oldperfume]

I agree with GG. The only new things we'll ever know about Syd is what his family might say & we all know they aren't saying ANYTHING. It's one thing if someone writes about Syd because they liked his music or his paintings. Unfortunately, alot of these books are retread bullshit with no redeeming value. And after all tese books come out , they STILL fuck up the facts. I mean, there are articles & websites that can't even spell his NAME right. What the #$@!$%?
Syd's music means everything to me but I find more & more crap written about him & this "urban legend" bullshit that I'm sick & tired of,i.e SYD WAS NOT SCHIZOPHRENIC. Can we all just throw this theory out!?! Sorry, I'm getting P.O.'d. I have an article at home by a doctor that I think everyone should read, especially these so called "authors". I'll put it on here tomorrow. It REALLY sheds some light on Syd, tragically. GG was right; no wonder he walked away from everyone. They either wanted to pimp off him or make up shit about him. I'd have walked away too!!

[Wolfpack]

Details of the solo album recording sessions are discussed, and the full lyrics to his solo material are reproduced for the first time within the body of any work. [...] "Syd Barrett: Legend" is a book that won't be for everyone, and much of the material within will be familiar to many visitors to this site. However, with the inclusion of the lyrics for the first time (officially), the track-by-track analysis, and the input of Syd's family to bring the story up-to-date, it's a book some will definitely consider adding to their no-doubt bulging Floyd bookshelves.

source: http://www.brain-damage.co.uk/books/syd ... airns.html

Are officially all solo lyrics included? Could this mean they're finally correct, without hear-say errors?
Are the "fangs around the clam" in 'Terrapin', or still erroneously around the "clown"? I believe this was even printed wrong in the 'Crazy Diamond' CD-box. Syd clearly sings "clam" the second time. And Gilmour is even more clear when covering this song.
And does fairground song 'Octopus' refer to a "ghost tower" or simply a "coaster"?

If at least the lyrics are correct, I must have this book. I want to have Syd's real words.
I'm living, I'm giving, to find them!

[Keith Jordan]

Can you not have Syds real words without the book? The book is a "child's scrapbook" of nonsense.

Has anybody actually bought the book that thinks it is good?

[oldperfume]

I've gone to my local Borders & Barnes & Noble & it hasn't been there. I think it comes out in May.

[Wolfpack]

Can you not have Syds real words without the book? The book is a "child's scrapbook" of nonsense.

Can you have Syd's real words, just by listening to his records?
I've seen the weirdest misheard transcriptions on internet. Notably 'Scream Thy Last Scream'.
I would like to know if any lyrics survived on paper, and if such lyrics can be found in the book.

In the 'Crazy Diamond'-boxset, I think the lyrics are from hearsay. Which makes me wonder if any of Syd's solo lyrics survived. And I would like to know what the source is for his lyrics printed in Pink Floyd CD-booklets.
I guess I should make a new topic?