Customer Reviews

Psychedelic Renegades: With Photographs of Syd Barrett by Mick Rock

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Mick Rock has captured Syd Barrett in his prime, just before he left the fold of stardom. Those who love Barrett, early Floyd & Psych Rock in general are encouraged to check it out.

...Letting me make clear, my thoughts of the book aforementioned here.

I'm a huge fan of Pink Floyd, and growing up was never introduced to the work prior to Dark Side of the Moon, so naturally until my adult years, I never knew who he was. Which saddens me greatly, because from what I've learned over a course of time, as I've delved into the world that is Syd (or Roger if you'd prefer; he probably would) he was an amazing man that so many people will fail to see, since they've got it painted in their heads he was a druggie who could write and carry a tune.

This book, and many others like it, helps dispel that notion, and give the readers and fan's (both old and new alike) a different aspect of him to take into consideration.

The photographs are beautifully done, and capture moments that were quite fleeting in their intimacy. I highly recommend it, whether you've seen the photos online or elsewhere already; it makes for an excellent addition to any collection. It brings me great joy and sadness whenever I look through my copy. I wish I knew him as a person, I bet he would've made for excellent company.

only a few pictures i hadnt seen before, otherwise id seen most of the pics already so it was a disappointment for me. i should have waited and checked the book out at the library. new fans of barrett, you may enjoy the book.

Too bad for the bitter little monkey reviewer above who paid $400.00 for the 2002 edition of this book, but an affordable version was likely, and here it is! Clearly the best visual representation of the latter part of Syd's brief career.

I think its a good read - AND the photos are wonderful

I don't know if the text is the same as the earlier Genesis publication of Mick's, but I love the pictures in this book, and I like Mick talking about Syd, remembering his smile (and pointing out to specific photos wherein the madcap can be seen smiling!)

A beautiful book of photos, nice to remember Syd before the fall (before gaining weight, shaving his eyebrows and being memorialized in Rogers The Wall!)

The primary photo session covered in this book will be familiar to all Syd fans from the original "Madcap Laughs" album art. And some of the other photos have been reproduced here and there over the years. But this photo session has never, as far as I know, been seen in such completeness. It feels different when you see all these photos, from several sessions dated 1969-1971, together in one place. It feels quite intimate, a bit like looking through a family album. There is a teasing familiarity between Syd and his close friend Mick, the photographer; you can feel it. And you can feel that in certain photos Syd is playing up the "rock star" mode, and in others he's allowed Mick Rock to capture a resigned, dark, dissociative mood.

Rock's brief essays about his time knowing Syd are well-written and interesting, even if it seems at times that he still has rose-colored glasses on about Syd's state of mind. The famous "dust and guitars" interview he did with Syd in Syd's mother's house in 1971 is published here in its entirety, and it's hard to read that interview and not feel that Syd was mentally and emotionally devastated. I'm no psychiatrist, but the disconnected "word-salad" phrases Syd comes up with are not reassuring to those who think he may have been suffering from schizophrenia.

Interestingly, for those who've always wondered who the nude girl in the "Madcap Laughs" sessions was, Rock says she was one of the women who drifted in & out of Syd's life and apartment, she was called "Iggy," and she was an Eskimo. He offers a theory about what happened to her when she wandered back out of Syd's orbit. I did a bit of Googling, and someone out there has created a "Holy Church of Iggy" -- they've actually tracked her down, interviewed her, and even have current photos of her! It's nice that she's alive and well, but I almost feel sorry that a bit of the mystery was lost...

No Syd fan will be able to look at this book without feeling melancholy for the beautiful, deep and mischievous man the world lost when "Syd" went back to being Roger and withdrew from us forever. But I'm glad these intimate photos survive him; I'm not tired of him yet.

My problems with this book start with the cover. Why showcase your subject when he was so pharmaceutically compromised? Anyone who knows anything about Syd Barrett knows his drug of choice (aside from acid) was Mandrax. In photo, Syd's eyes are completely glazed over, so it's very obvious he's completely "Mandied" out. This was how the artist dealt with being cast adrift from The Floyd and the existential crisis that followed. Syd was a lovely creature, and so it pains me when people choose to highlight the drug-addled version over his formerly vibrant self.

Years before becoming a more than colorful presence during the Summer of Love on the scene in Swinging London, 1967, Syd Barrett had been a local celebrity. Aside from his musicality, he was known for his witty personality and fashion flair. In fact, he was the only person in Pink Floyd whoever had any charisma or stage presence. However, by the latter part of 1967, that side of Syd had dramatically diminished, and a gothic gloom had descended. All the evidence you need is right here in this book. Not much pictorially is available on Syd Barrett, and fans are hungry. And that has worked out just fine for photographer Mick Rock, who had been a friend of Syd's since their school days together in Cambridge. In 1969 (or thereabouts) Syd extended Mick Rock a huge opportunity by asking him to take pix for his first solo album after Floyd, "The Madcap Laughs."

Most of these pictures I've seen before, and for me, largely, they present Syd Barrett in decline, sometimes seriously so. At times, Syd made an effort for the camera w/ a smile, but the rain cloud remained. Looking at these photographs, you can't help but feel the gravity of his life. Mostly, Syd looks unkempt, uncombed and unshaven, and his London flat (where quite a few of these were taken) merely consisted of a mattress and record player. You can see Syd's rejection of rock stardom right there. Even so, Syd's magnetism shines through, and he was still fashion forward. However, some of these photographs are downright exploitive and unflattering. As a serious admirer of Syd's wonderful songbook and musicianship, I would have cut a number of these (at least 5) from publication. Grant the man some dignity. If your friend was completely out of it, would you shove a camera up close in his face and then show the results to the world? On the other hand, there are some interesting details to be gleaned from these photos. See Syd w/ long dusty Cadillac? It was parked across the street from his flat at Wetherby Mansions in London. He bought this car from Mickey Finn of T-Rex and never bothered driving it. You see the vehicle - totally neglected, dirty and dusty, with parking tickets pasted on the windows. In one shot, featured in the very beginning of the book, you can see Syd standing against the car, and someone had written a disclaimer into the thick layer of dirt on the trunk, something to the effect of "this car has been dumped on the street for two weeks." Obviously, the condition of Syd's car was in direct correlation to the state of Syd's mind. He was not taking care of himself or his car or anything else at this point. Every picture tells a story, and the arc of Syd's life can be traced through his photo history.

My other issues w/ this volume include poor exposure/contrast or printing. Yeah, I get that Syd had become DARK, but "Why does it all have to be so terribly dark?" The shadows are such that you can see the highlights in Syd's eyes have been burned in via photoshop. The effect is very unnatural, and that's not good photography IMO. Also, Mick Rock's "artwork" (more like photo distortions) is laughable at best. One picture is distorted to give Syd crossed-eyes, and that's just plain bad taste. It appears that Mick Rock has published every single picture of Syd he ever took. Was anything edited out at all? I suspect not, but I find it weird that one of Rock's better photos of Syd is not included here. Also, the format of the book is confusing. Mick Rock's introduction is in small print, then the print gets large, and pages past, the type gets ridiculously large. What's that about? Even so, any real Syd Barrett fan would want to see these pictures because they represent an unparalleled view into Mr. Barrett's "Twilight Years," which stunningly began when he was just 24 years old.

Being a fan of glitter and glam, I've long enjoyed Rock's Bowie and Iggy & the Stooges' Raw Power pix, but this book does not represent Mick Rock's best work. Mick Rock admits Syd Barrett was his first subject as a professional photographer and it shows. It saddens me to think that Syd signed 320 insert cards for the original publication (the two cut a deal). Thankfully, Syd Barrett never bothered to look through the book.

I have to say that I'm pretty pissed of to see this book being published in a cheap paperback format after paying $400 for a hardcover copy from Genesis Publications under the assumption that it would not be published otherwise. Shame on those involved in the decision to allow this cheap publication. I will never buy another book from Genesis, that's for sure.