Topic: Syd Barrett =(

[Garnee]

Syd Barrett (Pink Floyd, 1965 - 1968) died on the seventh.  Post all lamentings here.  

[Svevan]

Dear Syd: Wish you were here.

[Renny]

I don't have any words of value, except what might be perceived as ill words against post-Barrett Floyd. Well, I'll just say that I think Pink Floyd would've been a more interesting band with him than without. Of course subsequent Pink Floyd is still one of my favorites, at least with Roger Waters.

Anyway, wish you were here and shine on, Syd. I'm glad you were allowed to lead a quiet life away from publicity and legal battles and whatnot.

[Garnee]

Quote
Originally posted by: Renny
I don't have any words of value, except what might be perceived as ill words against post-Barrett Floyd. Well, I'll just say that I think Pink Floyd would've been a more interesting band with him than without. Of course subsequent Pink Floyd is still one of my favorites, at least with Roger Waters.

Anyway, wish you were here and shine on, Syd. I'm glad you were allowed to lead a quiet life away from publicity and legal battles and whatnot.

I have to disagree.  Pink Floyd's signature sound (which I consider present in Echoes and The Dark Side of the Moon, my two favorite pieves of music of all time) wouldn't have developed if Syd had still written their songs.  The spacier "soundscapes" would have just been individual songs on an album.  I love the material Syd wrote, don't get me wrong, but I just consider Roger's earlier work (before he went off bitching about the government and so forth in Animals and later) to be some of the most quality music in existence.  Syd Barrett would have most likely continued the band in a similar direction to having more of the same Piper-goodness if he'd had further control.  

Gilmour, moreover, is essential to the Pink Floyd sound, especially in guitar driven efforts like Animals and The Wall.  Waters' true intent for the band was, more or less, shown in The Final Cut, in which Gilmour basically layed down and took a nap.  I'll always think that Pink Floyd was the best when everybody just got along.  

[Renny]

They definitely peaked when their power struggle maintained balance. For me that would be either Dark Side of the Moon or Wish You Were Here. I like Gilmour for brining his sound, but I don't respect anything they did after Waters. They tried their damnedest to be mainstream and lacked as a result; in a parallel manner Waters's solo work stayed neatly outside the charts and lacked the hook of Pink Floyd (as much as I like it).

I like to think Barrett and Waters could've made an incomparable lyrical team, with Gilmour doing his part. But I doubt they all could've gotten on together. I suppose I'm just pining for what could have been, but wasn't meant to be.