Customer Reviews

In Search of Syd: MOJO Presents 15 Mind-Bending Freak-Outs!

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This fifteen track tribute to the late great Pink Floyd founder, Syd Barrett might be tough to find without paying a pretty penny. Personally, I got a lot out of this various artists CD. Cuts I found to be most astounding were Spacemen 3's "Things'll Never Be The Same", the Flaming Lips happening tune "She Is Death", Gong's contribution of "5 And 20 School Girls" (off their 1970 'Magick Brothers' lp), Hawkwind's cover of Pink Floyd's "Cymbaline", Amm's wailing "Ailantus Glandulosa" and perhaps the CD's best track, the 18-minute Acid Mothers Temple real head-tripper "Crystal Rainbow Pyramid". Good luck with locating a copy. A great find.

I actually got this from the cover of the Mojo when it was issued. It veers wildly from total freakery (Ailantus Glandulosa #%!?) to the rather gorgeous ('She is Death' by Flaming Lips).

As I said, it's a very eclectic album; the styles ranging from Krautrock - 'Things will Never be the Same', 'SOL 07 pt1' and 'Chrystal Rainbow Pyramid' none of which would be far out of place on an Amon Duul album to vintage 'CC&O Blues' and 'If You Don't Give Me What I Want'.

The other theme is more authentic Syd including my stand-out favourites 'Cymbeline' and 'Portabello Man' which are so evocative of the late 60s as are the whimsical 'Humanoid Boogie', 'O What a Dream' and 'Take My Hand'. As for '5&20 Schoolgirls' what to say except the lyrics are toe-curlingly embarrassing for this 21st century listener!

It's a similar sort of compilation to the John Peel tribute CD - and incidentally it's a neat reference to have included tracks by Pink Anderson and The Floyd Council - reputedly how Syd's band came to be called Pink Floyd.

There are better compilations out there but this is a cracking CD especially as it was originally a magazine freebie.

Well, as far as acid rock goes this is a mediocre collection, as far as a collection of "freak-outs" it's pretty tame too. I like the idea (wouldn't have plunked down the couple of bucks otherwise), but maybe I just don't know enough about Syd Barrett to hone in on his sound, and so I'm left thinking there is an ocean of Psycho-delic debris floating around in CD land that is better. Tellingly, and savingly, my favorite cuts are the old blues numbers from Blind Boy Fuller and Floyd Council and Pink Anderson (I'd never heard them, or of them before,and they make great authentic music). The only real freak-outs are Frank Zappa's Who Are the Brain Police (truely unique and revolutionary mid 60's recording) and Amm's Ailantus Glandulosa which sounds quite a bit like the Beatle's Revolution #9 (but comes almost 40 years later - hum?)...... My favorite spacey tune is the Acid Mother's Temple's Crystal Rainbow Pyramid, which sounds alot like a good long old Gong jam crossed with Steve Hillage's Rainbow Dome Music concert (recent, but again not much different than those classics from 30 yrs ago)....In the end I'm left wanting to hear more Blind Boy Fuller, or dig out my old Gong and Traffic recordings...and I'm reminded how glad I am to have no interest in doing more LSD. Rest in Peace Syd, Long Live FZ!