Syd Barrett: Real Genius or Real Hype?

Komandant Shamal wrote: My question was just rhetorical. IMO, Syd Barrett wasnt an artist able to survive that revolution made by Hendrix. And he wasnt only one who wasnt able for that adaptation. In fact Gilmour was that bridge that made possible for Pink Floyd to survive that dramatical change. Without David Gilmour, i think the band could have been disbanded only  - no Gilmour, no Floyd 70s stuff at all.

Of course.  I missed the irony, sorry.  But there are too many people around who seriously think that firing Syd was the worst decision Pink Floyd ever made.  Of course, those people usually dislike the Pink Floyd of the 70s and prog in general ...

I'm glad this thread was opened because I was wondering myself not long ago what other PA members thought of him. I don't like his pop songs. They never fit in cohesively with extended pieces like Interstellar Overdive and such. I'm not sure Syd liked them either given how he would de-emphasize them live. Syd brought forward a different manner of playing slide and an enthusiastic use of delay (echo-like sound). This was cutting edge for the time in the truest Prog sense. That sound seemed to influence Amon Düül II (who influenced in turn all of Krautrock) and early Nektar. I read once, however, in a David Gilmour interview decades ago in which he claimed to have shown Syd that slide technique. He was chafing a bit at accusations that he was plundering the technique from Syd. I have no idea where to find that article now unfortunately.

Finnforest wrote: Anyone think there are parallels between Syd and Brian Jones in terms of the band relationships?

i dont think there are any parallels cause nobody killed Syd.

Anyone think there are parallels between Syd and Brian Jones in terms of the band relationships?

And what effect would Jones have had on the 70s Stones had he lived and decided he wanted to continue to contribute more regularly to their albums?

I've said before - contraversially perhaps - that the term 'genius' is bandered around too generously with regard to any brand of non classical music artist.

Barrett wasn't a genius IMO. He was a unique talent, and a very entertaining character nonetheless, but for me Floyd were a far better and more interesting band without him.

It's probably fair to say that he was an 'important' figure in rock music at the time, and I would have liked to have been around to experience the band at that stage of their career, but based on Piper I don't think they would have appealed to me quite as much as say The Doors or Hendrix at the time. Btw, I don't consider Jim Morrison to have been a genius either.

Komandant Shamal wrote: Dellinger wrote: I think Gilmour was much more talented, and I don't think Floyd would have reached the heights they did with Syd instead. Exactly my thoughts.

I concur with this.  With Syd in the band, Pink Floyd would never have had even a chance to become the prog "dinosaur" they became.  There simply was no way going on when his problems went out of hand.  There were just two options for Pink Floyd at that point: 1. Fire Barrett.  2. Fold it.  We would have missed a lot of great music if they had chosen option 2.

Syd Barrett had his streaks of genius, but overall, David Gilmour was the better musician.  No contest.

To me Floyd didn't really come together until Meddle so I'm not a huge fan of his but some interesting work on the first Floyd record.  Never listened to his solo stuff.

I enjoy the man's musical output of course, but I'm uncomfortable with the cult of personality around Barrett considering how much he shunned publicity. According to the biography of him A Very Irregular Head by Rob Chapman, the mental breakdown that caused Barrett to leave PF was caused as much by touring stress and discomfort with being famous as by his mental health and substance abuse issues.

To me, Syd was a gifted artist with a fragile mind. He is not a 'genius' per se, though highly creative and unique.
I enjoy most of his stuff, though some moments really scream at you about the dangers of LSD. I guess that qualifies as in-between. And most of us hear about his alleged, 'crazy' behaviour, but never his 'regular' day-to-day life. No-one cares whether he made coffee for his mother or tried to carry on as a 'regular Joe', only that he was a 'Burnt out Rock Legend'.

Dellinger wrote: I think Gilmour was much more talented, and I don't think Floyd would have reached the heights they did with Syd instead.

Exactly my thoughts.