Crazy Diamond: Syd Barrett and the Dawn of Pink Floyd

Crazy Diamond: Syd Barrett and the Dawn of Pink Floyd PDF Author: Pete Anderson
Publisher: Omnibus Press
ISBN: 0857121227
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
A revealing investigation into the life of a reclusive cult genius. Syd Barrett was Pink Floyd's founder, singer, guitarist and principal composer, who left the group in 1968 amidst tales of acid-induced madness. Barrett's brief flash of erratic brilliance is now the stuff of rock legend, and his post-Floyd recordings have become cult classics. Revised in 2006, this book draws on years on research to relate the story of an epic rock tragedy.

Crazy Diamond: Syd Barrett and the Dawn of Pink Floyd

Crazy Diamond: Syd Barrett and the Dawn of Pink Floyd PDF Author: Pete Anderson
Publisher: Omnibus Press
ISBN: 0857121227
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
A revealing investigation into the life of a reclusive cult genius. Syd Barrett was Pink Floyd's founder, singer, guitarist and principal composer, who left the group in 1968 amidst tales of acid-induced madness. Barrett's brief flash of erratic brilliance is now the stuff of rock legend, and his post-Floyd recordings have become cult classics. Revised in 2006, this book draws on years on research to relate the story of an epic rock tragedy.

Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd

Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd PDF Author: Julian Palacios
Publisher: Plexus Publishing
ISBN: 0859658821
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 841

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Book Description
Syd Barrett was an English composer and purveyor of some of the most intriguing music ever written. Famous before his twentieth birthday, Barrett led the charge of psychedelia onstage at London's famed UFO club. With a Fender Telecaster and a primitive Binson echo unit, Barrett liberated the guitar from being, in critic Simon Reynolds' words, 'a riff machine, and turned it into a texture and timbre generator.' His inspired celestial flights of improvisation, and his more structured and whimsical short songs indicated a mind of unusual inventiveness. Chief in Barrett's mind was a Zen-like insistence on spontaneity; each performance had to be unique, and Barrett strived to push his music farther and farther out into the zone of complete abstraction. This in-depth analysis of Pink Floyd founding member Syd Barrett's life and work is the product of years of extensive research. Lost in the Woods traces Syd's swift evolution from precocious young art student to acid-fuelled psychedelic rock star, and examines the myriad musical and literary influences that he utilised in composing his hypnotic, groundbreaking songs. A never-forgotten casualty of the excesses, innovations, and idealism of the 1960s, Syd Barrett is one of the most heavily mythologized men in rock, and Lost in the Woods offers a rare portrayal of a unique spirit in freefall.

A Very Irregular Head

A Very Irregular Head PDF Author: Rob Chapman
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 0306819368
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description
“I don't think I'm easy to talk about. I've got a very irregular head. And I'm not anything that you think I am anyway.”—Syd Barrett’s last interview, Rolling Stone, 1971 Roger Keith “Syd” Barrett (1946–2006) was, by all accounts, the very definition of a golden boy. Blessed with good looks and a natural aptitude for painting and music, he was a charismatic, elfin child beloved by all, who fast became a teenage leader in Cambridge, England, where a burgeoning bohemian scene was flourishing in the early 1960s. Along with three friends and collaborators—Roger Waters, Richard Wright, and Nick Mason—he formed what would soon become Pink Floyd, and rock ’n’ roll was never the same. Starting as a typical British cover band aping approximations of American rhythm ’n’ blues, they soon pioneered an entirely new sound, and British psychedelic rock was born. With early, trippy, Barrett-penned pop hits such as “Arnold Layne” (about a clothesline-thieving cross-dresser) and “See Emily Play” (written specifically for the epochal “Games For May” concert), Pink Floyd, with Syd Barrett as their main creative visionary, captured the zeitgeist of “Swinging” London in all its Technicolor glory. But there was a dark side to all this new-found freedom. Barrett, like so many around him, began ingesting large quantities of a revolutionary new drug, LSD, and his already-fragile mental state—coupled with a personality inherently unsuited to the life of a pop star—began to unravel. The once bright-eyed lad was quickly replaced, seemingly overnight, by a glowering, sinister, dead-eyed shadow of his former self, given to erratic, highly eccentric, reclusive, and sometimes violent behavior. Inevitably sacked from the band, Barrett retreated from London to his mother’s house in Cambridge, where he would remain until his death, only rarely seen or heard, further fueling the mystery. In the meantime, Pink Floyd emerged from the underground to become one of the biggest international rock bands of all time, releasing multi-platinum albums, many that dealt thematically with the loss of their friend Syd Barrett: The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall are all, on many levels, about him. In A Very Irregular Head, journalist Rob Chapman lifts the veil of secrecy that has surrounded the legend of Syd Barrett for nearly four decades, drawing on exclusive access to family, friends, archives, journals, letters, and artwork to create the definitive portrait of a brilliant and tragic artist. Besides capturing all the promise of Barrett’s youthful years, Chapman challenges the oft-held notion that Barrett was a hopelessly lost recluse in his later years, and creates a portrait of a true British eccentric who is rightfully placed within a rich literary lineage that stretches through Kenneth Graham, Hilaire Belloc, Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll, John Lennon, David Bowie, and on up to the pioneers of Britpop. A tragic, affectionate, and compelling portrait of a singular artist, A Very Irregular Head will stand as the authoritative word on this very English genius for years to come.

Madcap

Madcap PDF Author: Tim Willis
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781904095248
Category : Rock musicians
Languages : en
Pages : 174

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Book Description
Beautiful, charismatic, prodigiously talented, Syd Barrett in 1966 invented the British psychedelic scene - founding Pink Floyd, writing and singing on the band's first album - before collapsing into madness two years later.

Reinventing Pink Floyd

Reinventing Pink Floyd PDF Author: Bill Kopp
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538108283
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
In celebration of the 45th anniversary of The Dark Side of the Moon, Bill Kopp explores the ingenuity with which Pink Floyd rebranded itself following the 1968 departure of Syd Barrett. Not only did the band survive Barrett’s departure, but it went on to release landmark albums that continue to influence generations of musicians and fans. Reinventing Pink Floyd follows the path taken by the remaining band members to establish a musical identity, develop a songwriting style, and create a new template for the manner in which albums are made and even enjoyed by listeners. As veteran music journalist Bill Kopp illustrates, that path was filled with failed experiments, creative blind alleys, one-off musical excursions, abortive collaborations, general restlessness, and—most importantly—a dedicated search for a distinctive musical personality. This exciting guide to the works of 1968 through 1973 highlights key innovations and musical breakthroughs of lasting influence. Kopp places Pink Floyd in its historical, cultural, and musical contexts while celebrating the test of fire that took the band from the brink of demise to enduring superstardom.

The Lyrics of Syd Barrett

The Lyrics of Syd Barrett PDF Author: Syd Barrett
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781787602564
Category : Rock music
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description
Featuring 56 songs and a foreword by Pink Floyd's first manager, Peter Jenner, and an introduction by Rob Chapman (author of Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head), this beautifully illustrated and official book compiles Syd's extraordinary lyrics together for the very first time.

Psychedelic Renegades

Psychedelic Renegades PDF Author: Mick Rock
Publisher: Rebel Arts
ISBN: 9781934471005
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
When he passed permanently into the next dimension in 2006, Syd Barretts life had developed into something far more significant than he could ever have imagined. The man who turned his back on probable fame, fortune and the entire rock music scene over thirty years ago had become an involuntary legend. Was he a genius or just a madman? The definitive answer to this question will never be known. But Psychedelic Renegades goes a long way towards unraveling the enigma that was Syds personality. Mick Rocks extraordinary images and frank text expose a man with enormous natural charisma, whose moods could be dark and brooding as well as buoyant with madcap laughter. This superbly produced book covers the period 1969-71, and features the photo session in and around Syd's London flat that produced the cover for his first solo album, The Madcap Laughs; it also features images Mick shot for the now famous Rolling Stone interview in 1971, which became the last photos Syd ever posed for.

Random Precision

Random Precision PDF Author: David Parker
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
Few people in rock music are as fascinating to their fans as Syd Barrett, the legendary lead guitarist and founder of the band Pink Floyd. This new book, prepared in a diary format, provides for the first time the full details of all his recording sessions together with exclusive interviews with many of the producers and engineers involved. This is the most comprehensive, accurate and detailed account yet published of the background to the creation of Syd Barrett's musical legacy and will be essential reading for all fans. Illustrated with B/W photos.

Barrett

Barrett PDF Author: William Shutes
Publisher: Rocket 88
ISBN: 9781910978566
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Barrett is the only official Syd Barrett book and was made in conjunction with the Barrett family. This large format book is the definitive visual companion to Syd's life. Full of unseen and rare images of Syd and Pink Floyd, the book also collects and catalogues for the first time artworks and photographs by Syd himself.

Barrett, Signature Edition

Barrett, Signature Edition PDF Author: William Shutes
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781906615116
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
Barrett, Signature Edition is a boxed set of two leather bound books presented in a cloth covered clamshell case. The edition is limited to 500 numbered sets each signed by the authors and by one of Syd Barrett's siblings. Volume 1272 page book bound in dark green leather and embossed with tortoise logo and foiled with Barrett signature.The book splits into three sections:Syd’s life in photographs – from growing up through to working and performing with Pink Floyd and his life as a solo artist.Unseen and unpublished illustrated letters sent to Libby Gausden-Chisman and Jenny Spires between 1962-1965, as Syd was finding himself as a painter and a musician.All of Syd’s existing work as a visual artist from 1962 until his death.The book contains over 250 images. These include:Over 100 completely unseen images and many more reproduced in fine art quality for the first time.Over 40 artworks including: paintings, drawings, mosaics, collages, and sculptures.Over 50 unseen photographs taken by Syd of his artworks, including: images of his “destroyed” works seen here for the first time, studies in preparation for his artworks, images of his work area.The Art section also includes:An extensive commentary on Syd’s artworks by Barrett art expert Will Shutes.Notes on Syd’s diaries, notebooks, scrapbooks, and his History of Art project.The Catalogue Raisonné of Syd’s art – listing and dating all the artwork known to have existed.Volume 272 page book bound in tan leather, embossed with tortoise logo and foiled with Barrett signaturePresents for the first time 30 newly restored large format photographic prints taken by Irene Winsby. There are shots of Pink Floyd in rehearsal, as well as both candid and posed publicity pictures. They were taken over two sessions in January 1967 at the offices of Pink Floyd’s managers, Blackhill Enterprises. Almost all are unseen, and none have ever been reproduced in this quality.Interview with Irene Winsby, giving the full story of this legendary shoot for the first timeThe book has been made in conjunction with the Barrett family and access to the family art and photograph archive, and their recollections have combined to show a new picture of Syd the creative, revealing a man who was a dedicated, practising artist throughout his life.