Customer Reviews

The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A good (if not interstellar) overview of Roger "Syd" Barrett and the early days of Pink Floyd. The DVD tells the story of Barrett's brilliant rise with the band, and his subsequent acid-fueled fall into schizophrenia.

The main drawback is a maddening lack of supporting video and pictures. (Several years ago, VH1 ran a similar documentary that included a treasure trove of video, including the legendary "American Bandstand" appearance in 1967.) In fact, much of the vintage footage appears to come from the "Syd's First Trip" video, the "Arnold Layne" promotional film, and a performance of "Astronomy Domine." Besides a glimpse of the unreleased "Vegetable Man" film (with the soundtrack clearly using audio from the bootleg version) there is little of unique historical value.

The interviews are the high point of the DVD, particularly the observations by Roger Waters. His comments are by turns poignant, funny, and sad, and are obviously heartfelt. The other members of the band also share their memories (although Nick Mason seems less than fond of Syd).

The extras are a bit thin, incorporating expanded interviews with Waters and David Gilmour, and three acoustic performances of Barrett songs by Robyn Hitchcock and Graham Coxon. A digital collection of posters and other memorabilia is a nice touch, but (at least on my player) cannot be paused. Sadly, the extras do not include any of the promotional films or performances.

Any serious Barrett or Pink Floyd fan will want to own this DVD, if only for the interviews, and the great cover art. It's also a nice introduction for anyone curious about the subject. But I will continue to hope for a more detailed and comprehensive overview of Syd Barrett and the early Floyd.

For those of us in America, this was the original documentary chopped up into the version shown on VH1. This documentary is infinitely superior to the US for a few key reasons. Mostly because it is more detailed about the later history of Syd's life and music and because it allows for the possibility that Syd wasn't just an acid casualty, but something more interesting. Perhaps he deliberately used his "breakdown" as an excuse. If so, his continued silence has probably gotten him more than if he'd broken it. As a Syd Barrett fan, it is important that something about the man should appear, beyond the rip-offs like "Syd's First Trip".

The story is told in chronological order with interesting interviews with every member of the band, apart from Syd, of course. Roger "Syd" Barrett has basically turned his back on the world of music for 30 years, despite the underground cult he seems to feed by doing so. It is ironic that his absence should be the cause of his continued fascination. No doubt if he turned up on an interview, now a much older man (as are the rest of Pink Floyd) it would be a pin in the balloon.

This documentary is really both for fans and non-fans alike. It glosses over periods, while expounds on others. The music is inter-cut throughout, with some nice emphasis on the later solo work. The major inaccuracy that seems to occur because of editing, is the one that comes up all the time. It's a question of timeline. Syd was ousted from the band in 1968, though they did record a few of his songs (some are still unreleased, one appeared on the 1968 Saucerful of Secrets album.) Syd's solo recordings began in 1968 and were carried into 1969. Much of the first solo LP was recorded in that period, but wasn't released until 1970. The second solo album was recorded quickly in 1970 and released at the end of that same year. It was then, and only then, that Syd really stopped.

The documentary is good. I recommend it. For the fan, its essential. For the casual watcher, its really interesting stuff. It certainly gives perspective on everything Pink Floyd did afterward.

This is a decent history of Syd and the Pink Floyd (the narration could have been better written and delivered), but there should be more footage, more interviews, more analysis, better graphics, etc. This DVD is about an hour long. Which is maddening. It's like getting a single bite from a fantastic piece of cake on a buffet table filled with gastronomic riches, and then being shuffled out of the eatery. I don't understand why there isn't a 9 or 10 DVD set on the history of Pink Floyd with at least 6 hours on just Syd? Where are all the TV show performances? They are one of the biggest bands of all time, and this is the only DVD history of the band in its early days? We've got a lousy biography (Saucerful of Secrets) written by the wrong author (thank god Nick Mason has a book coming out)--and a couple of compilations of old clippings. With the Beatles there are literally hundreds of books to read. We've got the "ANTHOLOGY" DVD set. But with the Floyd we get these measly little crumbs. What are they thinking? David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Richard Wright and Nick Mason should put together a big DVD history of their band, before everyone worth interviewing dies out. The people from their generation are beginning to drop like flies. There's little time left to put something together. And what's up with the cover picture on this DVD? It's low-budget horrible!

Being a huge Syd Barrett/early Floyd fan I was VERY eager to see this and I must say I was not disappointed. It is amazing in many ways, the most obvious ways being it is the FIRST official Syd/early Floyd documentary (I've never seen the VH-1 Floyd Behind the Music episode) and it has recent in depth interviews with Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Rick Wright, and David Gilmour as well as close friends of Syd's like Bob Klose. You really get a feel of how each member feels toward Syd and his breakdown, the most touching one from Roger! There is some great early performance footage of Floyd with Syd and even a brief clip of an interview with Syd himself (when will they release ALL of it???). The DVD never gets boring and even spices things up a bit with interviews with modern day artists like Robyn Hitchcock (a self-professed Syd-head!). Another great thing about this DVD is the fact that they don't really delve into what Floyd did after Syd left and instead it focuses on Syd's all too brief solo career. It's definitely a fitting tribute to Syd and the only thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars was the fact that they didn't include more bonus features of the full length early footage and interviews with Syd. So please, whomever has the rights to that footage, PLEEEASE, PLEEEEASE lift a hand and RELEASE IT!!! ; )

I was never too into Pink Floyd outside of Piper at the Gates of Dawn (I very much enjoy Pink Floyd's other albums, though), and I was also a longtime fan of Syd Barrett (being one of my personal favorites - next to the Beach Boys, Love, and the Zombies)... I saw this title at my local Circuit City for $14.99 and purchased it instantly.

I watched it, having not really known the whole Syd Barrett story before, only knowing that he screwed himself up with LSD and then disappeared into obscurity... this tells it all, from the Pink Floyd members and friends/fans/acquaintances of his from that era (Robyn Hitchcock, Humble Pie, the guitarist of Blur, old room mates, etc).

They tell it very well. There is some good footage on here and they explain alot of the writing process of earlier songs and Syd's solo stuff, even his shortlived stint with the band "The Stars".

The best thing about this documentary is that it really respects Syd and you can see how much Roger, David, & co. really loved him and how they were changed by what happened to Syd. It's a sad film, in a way. They shy away from taking any low blows and making Syd's mental instability a spectacle... which I thought was in very good taste.

I have a greater appreciation for Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd having seen this, having seen who they are and (somewhat) understanding the story now.

Vegetable man where you..?

The main feature: There are so many awful faux-documentaries out there and it really makes me sad. Prog or any other music are not well-served by these attempts to cash in on sensationalism or place entertainment above informing. This is not one of the really bad ones and in fact it has the advantage of actually involving the members of the Floyd and some friends of Syd. But speaking of the main documentary there are still multiple problems. First is length. This is Pink Floyd, arguably one of the most important rock bands of our lives. Given the importance of the band and the boatloads of information to be discussed, why is the feature a scant 50 minutes long? Has that now become the maximum amount of time that viewers can sit still in our zero attention-span world? Yes, I realize there are "bonus" features that make the package longer but they should integrate the important factual material into one cohesive longer film. There is time only to gloss over things briefly and not really delve into anything at length. Second, content choice. Rather than substantive analysis of the music that should be the first concern of any proper documentary, we get much the same old fixations on Syd's recreational chemistry habits and descriptions of his tragedy to the appropriate SOYCD lines. Third, the ridiculous production of the video itself with all of these annoying fast motion edits and psychish effects, as if they need to pretend it's 1967 and we're tripping in order to dispense information.
Lets look at the glass half-full. There are some nice moments such as Roger explaining what made the "Bike" lyrics special to him ("the unpredictability.") There was Robin Hitchcock playing "Dominoes." They actually spoke to Jerry Shirley who had some interesting thoughts about the "Barrett" sessions. Mick Rock was an interesting guest. They just needed to take the time to expand on these good parts, get more in depth, and drop some of the nonsense. With everyone so used to soundbite journalism it seems almost impossible to get past the surface in this format and that's a real shame. Documentary filmmaking can be so much more. You've got all these esteemed people who knew Syd and no time to get beyond the tabloid stories everyone has read in rock mags. I realize disc 2 offers some of this but you need these moments in the feature, not in the extras. It is depth that makes a documentary special, not the artsy visual work and melodrama. And as others have mentioned here and elsewhere, a proper documentary will feature some complete songs without constant interruption. It will also bother to obtain rarer clips of both audio and video that do exist but may take a little work to get rights to.

The 2nd disc: This second disc is what saves things a bit, and keeps me from giving this two stars. But just barely. Again, blown opportunities abound. This guy has all four members of the Floyd for a good long chat and he is just dreadful as an interviewer, slow, without all the facts, and boring. I feel a bit bad roasting the chap, nothing personal, but I could have done a much better job interviewing these guys than he did, I even found myself correcting the memories of Floyd members in one or two places....scary, I know. He gets very little of substance out of them about Syd. He lets them linger uncomfortably long after some responses and misses the most obvious follow-up questions. What saves the day is the Hitchcock segment. He understands why the real Barrett fans appreciate Syd. He was the one to talk in some depth about Barrett's music and what makes it special, the songwriting, the playing, the observational style of Syd's songs and how in Syd's creative mind "nothing was filtered out," and it was simply recording like a camera. He also did a fair job at cracking "Dominoes" and "Baby Lemonade," covering Syd is never easy to get right. He imposed some relevant discussion on Barrett as an artist instead of more talk of his oddities. Giving credit where it's due, it was a great choice to include Robin Hitchcock here.

Childhood, wind, and willows: I read a Barrett skeptic recently pondering what the hell we fans see in this man who was there for but a flash, 4 decades ago, why we are so passionate about him. Speaking for myself, it is not because he started Pink Floyd, not because he was part of "swinging London," and not because I think doing acid is cool. It really is something hard to describe but a bit of the Peter Pan thing. Within Syd's best work is a very pure, sometimes innocent and other times mischievous, hearkening to childhood. I'm not talking about the literal subject matter of lyrics necessarily but the feeling of some of the music, melodies, and vocals. There is a longing for something lost in the adult world: a certain kind of adventure, security, freedom, and time for imagination (especially in idyllic Cambridge.) There is pressure to conform. Mick Rock touched on this during his '71 interview with Syd when Barrett spoke of "the backward path" and Rock noted Syd feeling comfortable finally being home surrounded by family photos, etc. Another important moment occurred when an exhausted Syd was dreading being dragged out with Floyd again, he asked a Cambridge friend if she was going home for the weekend and when she said yes, Syd wearily replied "that's really all I want to do. I just want to go home." I can sense those feelings in his music regarding the simpler time of youth and because they are sincere I am touched by them. So there you go...one reason why Syd fanatics love him and it has nothing to do with flowery shirts, psychedelics, or "black holes in the sky." I really hope someday the family will offer a bit more of his later life and that someone will record their story with respect.

Sorry...back to the DVD. Perhaps I expect too much but if these musicians can create great works of musical art, why can there not be truly great documentaries to analyze them. It's mostly fluff, I'm sorry, though not without any merit. The story of Syd Barrett and early Floyd is out there but you have to find it by reading books. Forget the magazines and the videos and find the many books available, some of which are quite good. By reading several of them you begin to get a clearer picture of the Floyd story, which really is a fascinating one. Of course no book is perfect and some are downright awful but reading many you begin to understand some things. Roger Barrett was a great artist and deserves more than a fast-food bio like this one. I am hopeful that someday he will have one!

Those interested in Barrett's post-Floyd existence will find the best information in an article called "My lovably ordinary brother Syd" by Tim Willis, culled from conversation with his sister Rosemary, the one who knew him best in those years. She challenges the convenient diagnosis and assumptions of Syd that others place on him. Check it out by doing a websearch of the the title name, you'll find it quite easily.

(...)having seen the flower-power-cover on the edition here on the amazon.com I think I preffer mine -not that it matters much, it's a minor detail considering what's "inside".

I will start by saying that this documentary answered many of my questions about the mysterious Syd, and the origin of one of my favorite bands, and even "The Wall" that now has got a whole new meaning to me. I did not know (though I had expected it) that much of the Pink-character was inspired by the life (and fate) of Syd Barrett. I had never heard that coming from Roger Waters' mouth until now, and of course; It makes sence having always thought that it was mainly inspired from the life of Roger himself (which it also partly is), but as mentioned the Pink-character has always reminded more to me of Syd. So now the "bricks seem more fit" (though to many Floyd-fans this might be old news, I don't know..?)

What the about 45 minutes documentary is missing is actually more of Syd. Ironically it does being mainly a tribute to him, and his genious. We see tiny bits of an interview he and Roger once did, I wanted to hear more. We see tiny bits of some rare consert-footage with Syd in the lead, but I wanted to see more. We see plenty of old photographs of Syd, which is great (many of those photos are great, and say so much about his condition by looking at the captured expressions on his face becoming more and more unrecognizable), but all in all I was still "hungry" after watching it the first time. And I still am. Much of what lies out on the internet are rumours and lies when it comes to facts about Syd -so I can't help feeling a bit let down by an otherwise so great documentary about one of the most peculiar personalities in the history of rock'n roll.

So if you are interested in Floyd, this one's a "must"!

Just a few comments. Rick Wright's rather startling revelation that Syd broke down over the course of one weekend isn't supported by the facts. Rick says that Syd didn't show up for a BBC radio spot - this was on the final Friday of July '67. Rick then states that Syd didn't turn up again until "Sunday or Monday" and the Floyd's management told him that "something had happened to Syd."

Problem is, every other source for the "BBC breakdown" say that Syd DID turn up for the spot but "freaked out" during it, and the piece was never aired. Furthermore, the Floyd played 2 shows that very evening at the UFO and 2 more on Saturday, including an all-nite rave "Love-In." so for Rick to state that Syd disappeared for the weekend doesn't seem possible. How could they play 4 shows during Syd's disappearance? The radio show that Rick refers to has got to be the BBC Saturday Club taping to which I'm referring, as there were no other Friday radio tapings during this entire period when Syd was breaking down.

I'd also like to comment on Jerry Shirley's point that Syd seemed to be faking his illness. I've always wondered about that too. By December '67 we all know Syd looked fried, EMI was refusing to release his singles because they were supposedly no good, Syd couldn't play anymore and couldn't function in a band, etc. etc. etc.

Thing is, the footage here of the Floyd on Tomorrow's World shows the band playing an excellent space-blues tune and Syd's playing is excellent. Add in the second BBC session, also from December, and it's pretty clear that Syd COULD still play, and quite well. That Tomorrow's World footage is some of the best playing I've heard from him. And the songs that EMI was rejecting - Vegetable Man and Scream thy last Scream, are two of his best songs! Given all of this evidence, literally weeks after the disasterous US Tour, the American Bandstand meltdown etc. makes me wonder if Jerry Shirley might be right. Food for thought anyway.

As for the DVD, the Astronomy Domine footage is the best quality I've ever seen, and the aforementioned Tomorrow's World footage is priceless...but why in God's name do they insist on showing only a few seconds-cut to some vapid interview - cut back to the footage - etc.? And where's the American Bandstand footage and the Jugband Blues promo? The Syd Barrett Under Review DVD has those, but they also insisted on showing us only isolated clips from the footage. This historic and rare footage should at LEAST have been included uncut as bonus material instead of pointless cover versions of Syd's songs.

The interviews with the band members and friends are great, and the Vegetable Man promo was fantastic to finally see, even if once again they didn't let us see ALL of it. This DVD is great, but could have been better with uncut footage from Look of the Week, Tomorrow's World, the promo vids, etc.

It was good to see so much information from people who were around first-hand during the early days with Syd. This DVD is an excellent source of information about Pink Floyd's original inspiration, and doesn't get mired down in a lot of gossip or diagnosis...just personal accounts by the ones who knew Syd best and who can therefore provide the rest of us with a detail that's often overlooked when appreciating Pink Floyd's genuis as a band.

The DVD starts out with footage from a vintage Pink Floyd concert fronted by (of course) Syd Barrett. That only lasts a few seconds, like most of the concert footage.

This DVD is a documentary of the Syd Barrett years and a very entertaining one at that. It's well worth adding to your collection if you're a Floyd fan.

The bonus features are interesting, but could have been much better. Concert footage (featuring entire songs, not snippets) from the early days of Floyd would have been perfect to add, and would make this DVD a 5-star masterpiece. I know there's footage of Syd & Floyd in concert performing Astronomy Domine - why not add that instead of cover versions of Barrett & Floyd songs?

Oh well, it gets four stars anyhow. Very well done, despite the flaws.