Customer Reviews

Syd Barrett - Under Review

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Is this DVD any good? Is there any new Syd Barrett news? Is it another re-hash? Yes on all counts. If you are at Amazon reading this review, then buy the DVD. If you are enough of a fan to get this far, you should own Under Review. If you are a Floyd fan just getting to know Syd's work, then you should also buy this DVD. Syd was much more than a founder of Floyd. A history lesson will only deepen your appreciation of the band. This is a good companion to the previous DVD release, but much more objective. Of special value is the timeline of his story. You get a better sense of how Syd and his music changed over the short period of time he was musically productive. You get perspective on just how precarious things were as early as Arnold Lane. You also get perspective on how functional he was as late as Barrett. The clips are historic and the analysis is pretty solid. In my humble opinion, there was never anything on Earth like Syd's music. It irresistibly pulls you in to a foreign place that you've always been.

This DVD is a slightly above average look at Syd's work, with some genuine insight provided by Chris Welch and others. Especially interesting are Hugh Hopper's recollections of recording sessions for "The Madcap Laughs" and his descriptions of the music are the most thoughtful and worthwhile -- if for no other reason than we get to see the reaction of a genuine musician to the work of an artist using music. His comments and those of a few others directly affected by Barrett's work add some first- and second-hand accounts which are sorely lacking from the typical voice-over documentaries designed to do little more than feed off of the fan base (kinda sorta like this very DVD?). That said, this short documentary is also a good complement to the books "Random Precision" and "Madcap" by Tim Willis, and better and somewhat more thoughtful than the shorter still "The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story" DVD.

While all these sources tend to speculate on what went wrong, not a single one mentions what might also be a contributing reason for Syd's disappearance -- his general lack of interest in the commercial aspects of the music business. Referred to indirectly as "pressure" it's really more about deadlines like "Pink Floyd needs a follow-up single" and "Pink Floyd needs an American Tour", all of which translate as "Harvest Needs More Revenue" in the universal language of money. It's worth rehashing all the pre-existing mental states, the drugs, but all these factors seem exacerbated by the siren call of commerce which Syd either can't or won't acknowledge. Perhaps this point can't be discussed in public given the business demands of the music industry are treated as sacrosanct. Best example: funny how we continue to think of these individuals as artists while to the industry they must surely be little more than "industrial workers". But also given the tenor and tone of much of Syd's work and the broader context of the summer of love, addressing the corrupting commercial element and its profoundly negative effect on any number of artists needs to be addressed with greater frankness -- here and elsewhere.

But for those who have followed and made a study of Syd's short career the real value here resides in some rare footage that also offers good sound quality. To take matters back into the world of commerce, for the money, this is a decent enough addition to the Barrett canon. But the work and the life still deserve more.

I just finished watching this all too brief documentary on the late Syd Barrett. The first half was really good.. with a lot of footage I had never seen.. but I was disappointed in all the footage I've heard about that wasn't included. It focused mostly on his music and didn't touch his decline much, so stuff like "Vegetable Man" and "Scream Thy Last Scream" isn't mentioned. They spend more time on Madcap than Piper, but it is a very interesting and informative look at the man's musical legacy.. I was just looking for more on what happened to him.. and all the footage/interviews of him acting strange toward the end of his time with the band. It's glossed over pretty quickly. For the price, it could have been longer.

There seems to be a cottage industry now of these "unofficial independent critical review" DVD's. Seems like an easy way to make a buck: grab some live footage of a band from European TV, make sure to only play a snippet of each song lest you wind up getting sued and then interview a bunch of no-name rock journalists and "friends" who evidently have little or no knowledge of the artists being profiled. With all that said, this Syd Barrett entry bucks the trend by being reasonably entertaining and informative as well as actually having vintage clips of Syd and Pink Floyd (some even lasting more than 30 seconds!). I was also surprised to hear the actual released recordings of familiar Pink Floyd songs. Apparantly someone somewhere went the extra mile and secured the rights to these songs for this DVD.
There's another DVD available called "The Syd Barret And Pink Floyd Story" which is much better than this (as it has the blessings of Pink Floyd) but this DVD delves deeper into Syd's solo career. Of all the cheapo "Under Review/Rock Milestones/Independent Critical Blah Blah" DVD's out there, this one at least had a little time and effort spent on it.

This "Ultimate Review and Critical Analysis" of Syd Barrett has some interesting moments and seems to have heart-felt genuine praise and critical analysis from the persons interviewed in this documentary, but seems to fall short of grasping the listener's attention. I was expecting to see more about the formation of the band and many more reviews of the songs he wrote. For example, the only two songs they review from Pink Floyd's debut album "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn", are "Bike" and "Interstellar Overdrive", when actually the eleven songs contained on that record were written mostly by Syd and also deserve some mention as well. There is some good mention about his first two solo albums "The Madcap Laughs" and "Barrett", but once again, only several songs are reviewed, rather than focusing on each album as an entity.

It is interesting to note the disclaimer on the back of the dvd sleeve, stating that "the opinions on this dvd are completely independent" and that the dvd "is not authorized by Syd Barrett or members of his family, his legal or personal representatives, Pink Floyd or any of its members" and so on. With that being said, yes, the six or seven critics presented in this documentary do give the listener a good idea of who Syd Barrett is and let one appreciate his contributions, both within Pink Floyd and as a solo artist, but I found the reviews to be one-dimensional, in that they just review only a handful of his songs and drag out their discussions about them. What appears to be lacking here is a well-rounded representation of both his greatness as a very unique and gifted artist, but also a major hindrance to both Pink Floyd and even to his own solo career. I was hoping, for example, that some footage of Syd spacing-out while the band was performing live might help to drive home the fact of why Syd was drifting away from the band, rather than just mentioning a few words about that subject.

Ultimately, I feel this dvd drags on way too long and quite honestly, I felt it was somewhat boring, not because Syd only contributed one full album and several singles with Pink Floyd and two official solo studio albums and other recordings released years later, but because the critics spend too much time over-analyzing a few worthy points and neglecting to really capture the listener's imagination overall. There is a good element of truth here in this dvd I feel is worthy of mention; the critics do seem to know a lot of information about him and what they say about him seems to set the record straight about some common misconceptions about Syd. For example, after apparently interviewing many persons close to him, he was not strung out on drugs the entire time of 1967, but less times than one can count on both hands. It is also suggested that he may have had mental issues prior to his extensive drug use, but that the drugs may have accentuated his mental illness. I don't want to persuade people from purchasing this dvd, but more to be aware that one may not get entirely what they are hoping for in the 66 minutes contained within.

if you are looking for interviews with syd, or live footage (other than an over-dubbed concert and some excerpts of "videos" for see emily play and arnold layne), then you had better give this one a miss.

it consists chiefly of a handful of "reviewers" (how does one become "qualified" to be a "reviewer" anyway??) bloviating endlessly about all the stuff you ALREADY KNOW about syd.

save your money, brothers and sisters.

If you have an elementary knowledge of Barrett, you will be no wiser by the end of this dvd. In fact, you might feel a little miffed.

With the exception of the fleeting Hugh Hopper, the cast of critics has nothing to say that hasn't already been flogged to death, and not one of them seems perceptive enough to take accepted views of Barrett to a new level. The superficial and cliched tags on Barrett & his songs are all here: "child-like", "dreamy", "experimental", "mad genius". Spare me! Not one of these critics ('enthusiasts' is a better word) seems to have an inkling about music-making and are clueless when it comes to cultural studies. If you were to ask yourself why Barrett's musically interesting, they will answer that he's "quirky" or perhaps "seemingly random". And one of them goes so far as to say that he used "interesting chords"! His name, by the way, is Mark Sturdy, "an acknowledged expert" (!!!) on Barrett the credits tell us, although he looks like he might still be in high school. "Interesting chords"! Penetrating insight. The older ones aren't any sharper. You'd expect more from the renowned Chris Welch, for example, but he probably made up the Barrett cliches 40 years ago and is quite happy to recite them again. And as for Nigel Williamson, the less that is said about his contribution the better.

You may also ask yourself, why is Barrett's work so unique? You will be told that it's very "English" and "airy-fairy" like "Alice In Wonderland". But don't ask what makes it so. In other words, what about "Alice In Wonderland" strikes a chord with English culture? Why is this fascination a part of English tastes, or what makes it so appealing and even transgressive in Barrett's case? Far be it from these lads to discuss anything beyond the brick wall in front of them.

What irks me is the utter sloppiness and underpreparedness of these people, how complacent and disengaged they are from their 'area of expertise'. It's as if they haven't examined this any more in 30-odd years. (Although the barely nubile Sturdy could be excused). It boils down to poor professionalism in some and sheer inexperience in others, both of which add up to hollow product.

Could the producers not have gotten serious and devoted individuals who can truly contribute rather than parrot opinions?

And it's not as if there's isn't good work out there. The Under Review dvd on Nick Drake, for example, is fabulous, discussing technique, how he arrived at his style, observations on his place in English culture, both at the time and in terms of his lasting appeal. The other Barrett dvd available is infinitely superior, not only because of the participation of Floyd members (Gilmour especially), but also due to some clever, insightful, and genuine analysis -- as well as relevant, interesting, and articulate speakers, precisely the opposite of what we have here.

Do yourself a favor and let this one gather dust on the store shelves. That's where my copy is going back to.

Good video.A must for all Syd Barrett fans!
Also very informative and well produced.
Take the Barrett quiz and see if you know Syd
as well as you thought?

I always wondered about why they kept those studio bloopers of Syd singing off key. I laugh every time I hear it. And now I see he was messing with the listener in a strange way. The mad cap laughs at us. You would think he wouldn't keep that bit on the recording.
This DVD has some classic TV footage of Syd performing like a vegetable man. You can see black holes in the sky when you look at his eyes. If your into Syd buy the DVD, its worth it.

very disappointed as i watched it. very few footages, just 3 or 4 being interviewed, filling up the videos with ridiculous, stupid, low budget pictures to fill the gaps between interviews (i can do this on my own!!! just simple editting and visual effects!!!). i think what syd's fans want to see most is first hand materials, not all these meaningless craps just to fill up the screen. what a shame! it's like using syd's fame to earn money by producing such a poor quality product.