Side 2 begins with the album’s single - Octopus. Here I Go wraps up the first side, another of those charming almost novelty ones like Love You and, later, Effervescing Elephant. Its plaintive “Wouldn’t you miss me?” chorus is absolutely haunting. One of my favourites, and nicely covered by R.E.M. Then it’s Dark Globe, a magnificent, fragile Barrett song. I’ve always wanted to know what Barrett is saying in the barely audible spoken bit at the end, beginning with “tell me, tell me, tell me…” In this case that’s bassist Willie Wilson and drummer Jerry Shirley. Unlike Love You, this one really sounds like the band has been added afterwards. No Man’s Land is a bit weirder, darker and disjointed. Love You is a sweet, fun and very together romper featuring the same backing band. No easy feat, because the backing band was added afterward to the Barrett guitar/vocal bed track.

The band in this case is fellow Cambridge pals The Soft Machine. No Good Trying is perhaps the best example of a rarer kind of Barrett song - the band-backed rocker. It has all the hallmarks - audible pick strums, creative, endearing and original lyrics which have lines of child-like simplicity and others which are syncopated and psychedelic, sometimes sounding quite fragile, not terribly well-rehearsed and difficult to follow. It’s the song I would show anyone who was curious about what Barrett’s solo material sounds like. The Madcap Laughs begins with Terrapin, a song I’m reminded of every time I see a GMC Terrain in traffic. And then I’ll do something fun - reimagine the 1969-’70 Floyd albums as though Syd were still contributing to the band. Thirty years on, I intend to go through Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett’s two stark, beautiful solo albums with more sophisticated ears, a lot of life experience and heaps of perspective. The Madcap Laughs was a surefire way of ensuring Barrett’s creativity put to good use, with the help and grace showed by his former bandmates.Here are two albums I desperately wanted to define me at 17. It was recognized nonetheless, with varying reviews speaking of its avant-garde quality, while others speak of Barrett’s affliction with substance abuse. The Madcap Laughs failed to achieve Pink Floyd-level success, although it finally showed what Barrett was capable outside of the band format. “Long Gone” is probably the only radio-friendly track on the album, with a rich and southern vibe to it, with Barrett’s own twists in play. On side B is the “Octopus”, is the only single from the album, and features a rather light contrast to the overall theme of the catalog. Gilmour and Waters’ “Dark Globe” has Barrett narrating a seemingly personal account of his state of mind, with profound melancholy infused in the arrangement. “No Good” follows, with a full wall of sound due to a band ensemble in the mix, psychedelia overflowing, just as Barrett intended.

Barrett’s choice of arrangement stretched into a 5 minute jam, with acoustic and electric guitars interchanging with such irregularity, and his vocals aiding the “aberrant” track to conclusion. Opening the album is “Terrapin”, which was a teaser for what was to come. After a few overdubs and mixing tracks, The Madcap Laughs was deemed complete. Described by those involved in the sessions as hard to match and complicated, due to Barrett’s irregular timing and chord structures, Roger Waters and Gilmour volunteered to help the musician finish the catalog. The Madcap Laughs was initiated months afters his departure from Floyd, and Barrett was joined by several producers before ex-bandmate David Gilmour lent a hand in the production. His worsening condition led the band to boot Barrett out on April of 1968, and marked the beginning of his solo career. This was attributed to Barrett’s excessive use of psychedelic drugs, deeply affecting his mental faculties and social skills. Since late of 1967, Barrett started displaying erratic behavior during recording sessions, which eventually made its way in live performances. While everything seemed well with The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn’s production, A Saucerful Of Secrets was another story. Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett’s solo career was longer than his time in the band.

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