The Madcap Laughs

by Syd Barrett

Overview

Wisely, The Madcap Laughs doesn't even try to sound like a consistent record. Half the album was recorded by Barrett's former bandmates Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour, and the other half by Harvest Records head Malcolm Jones. Surprisingly, Jones' tracks are song for song much stronger than the more-lauded Floyd entries. The opening "Terrapin" seems to go on three times as long as its five-minute length, creating a hypnotic effect through Barrett's simple, repetitive guitar figure and stream of consciousness lyrics. The much bouncier "Love You" sounds like a sunny little Carnaby Street pop song along the lines of an early Move single, complete with music hall piano, until the listener tries to parse the lyrics and realizes that they make no sense at all. The downright Kinksy "Here I Go" is in the same style, although it's both more lyrically direct and musically freaky, speeding up and slowing down seemingly at random. Like many of the "band" tracks, "Here I Go" is a Barrett solo performance with overdubs by Mike Ratledge, Hugh Hopper, and Robert Wyatt of the Soft Machine; the combination doesn't always particularly work, as the Softs' jazzy, improvisational style is hemmed in by having to follow Barrett's predetermined lead, so on several tracks, like "No Good Trying," they content themselves with simply making weird noises in the background. The solo tracks are what made the album's reputation, though, particularly the horrifying "Dark Globe," a first-person portrait of schizophrenia that's seemingly the most self-aware song this normally whimsical songwriter ever created. Honestly, however, the other solo tracks are the album's weakest tracks, with the exception of the plain gorgeous "Golden Hair," a musical setting of a James Joyce poem that's simply spellbinding. The album falls apart with the appalling "Feel." Frankly, the inclusion of false starts and studio chatter, not to mention some simply horrible off-key singing by Barrett, makes this already marginal track feel disgustingly exploitative. But for that misstep, however, The Madcap Laughs is a surprisingly effective record that holds up better than its "ooh, lookit the scary crazy person" reputation suggests. ~ Stewart Mason

Product Details

Release Date:	07/08/2014
Label:	Harvest / Parlophone / Rhino
UPC:	0825646310791

Tracks

1. Terrapin
2. No Good Trying
3. Love You
4. No Man's Land
5. Dark Globe
6. Here I Go
7. Octopus
8. Golden Hair
9. Long Gone
10. She Took a Long Cold Look
11. Feel
12. If It's In You
13. Late Night

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Syd Barrett   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Lead Vocals,Guitar (Electric)
Vic Saywell   Tuba
Roger Waters   Guest Artist,Bass
David Gilmour   Guest Artist,Bass,Drums,Guitar,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (12 String)
John Wilson   Drums
Hugh Hopper   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Robert Wyatt   Drums
Mike Ratledge   Keyboards
Jerry Shirley   Drums
Vic Seywell   Horn

Technical Credits

Malcolm Jones   Audio Production,Producer
Roger Waters   Audio Production,Producer
David Gilmour   Audio Production,Producer
Tony Clark   Engineer
Syd Barrett   Composer,Producer
Gareth Cousins   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Jeff Jarratt   Engineer
Jerry Garcia   Composer
Peter Jenner   Producer
Phil McDonald   Engineer
Peter Mew   Engineer
Michael Sheady   Engineer
Phil Smee   Mixing,Package Design
James Joyce   Composer,Lyricist
Toshikazu Ohtaka   Liner Notes
Hipgnosis   Photography,Cover Design
Tim Chacksfield   Project Coordinator