BARRETT

Despite the somewhat unfocussed guitar playing and 'off' vocals, Barrett's second solo album is filled with flashes of genius. Barrett remains his unique enigmatic self here and invites us for a fascinating 38 minutes visit into his erratic brainwaves and his almost childlike fantasy, engaging us all the way with his capricious song writing.

The guest musicians have been given a bit more space and Richard Wright especially charms me a lot. As I have come to understand, the crew had to play their parts on top of whatever Barrett had put to tape. Given his constantly varying tempos (unsteady some would say), his abrupt transgression and rhythmical hiccups, that really can't have been easy.

The songwriting strikes me as more consistent then Barret's first album. It's not that I have an outspoken preference between both, but Baby Lemonade, Rats, the creepy blues of Maisie, Gigolo Aunt and the touching Wined And Dined are all little masterpieces of songwriting in my ears. They probably won't appeal to you if you expect shimmering musicianship and dazzling compositions, but there's a disarming sincerity to these recordings that is equally relevant to me. It's just not something that can be measured by prog standards; it requires an entirely different frame of mind.

For me this is a most satisfying testimony to this man's genius. I know I am almost on my own with my preference for Barrett's solo albums over PF's Piper, but despite some of the stellar tracks on that album, I simply feel like we get the real deal on Barrett's solo output, the pure Barrett, untainted by the psychedelic flourishes that distracted from the essence.