''The Madcap Laughs'' is the debut solo album by the English singer-songwriter
Syd Barrett
Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...
. It was recorded after Barrett had left
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
in April 1968. The album had a chequered recording history, with work beginning in mid-1968, but the bulk of the sessions taking place between April and July 1969, for which five different producers were credited − including Barrett,
Peter Jenner
Peter Julian Jenner (born 3 March 1943) is a British music manager and a record producer. Jenner, Andrew King and the original four members of Pink Floyd were partners in Blackhill Enterprises.
Early career
Peter Jenner is the son of Willia ...
(1968 sessions), Malcolm Jones (early-to-mid-1969 sessions), and fellow Pink Floyd members
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...
and
Roger Waters
George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...
(mid-1969 sessions). Among the guest musicians are
Willie Wilson from Gilmour's old band
Jokers Wild and several members of
Soft Machine
Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...
.
''The Madcap Laughs'', released in January 1970 on
Harvest
Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...
in the UK but not released in the US until 1974, enjoyed minimal commercial success on release, reaching number 40 on the UK's official albums chart. It was re-released in 1974 as part of ''
Syd Barrett
Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...
'' (which contained ''The Madcap Laughs'' and ''
Barrett''), which saw the first US issue of the two LPs. The album was remastered and reissued in 1993, along with Barrett's other albums, ''Barrett'' (1970) and ''
Opel
Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...
'' (1988), independently and as part of the ''
Crazy Diamond
''Crazy Diamond'' is a 1993 triple-CD boxed set of Syd Barrett's two 1970 albums ''The Madcap Laughs'' and '' Barrett'', and '' Opel'', an out-takes compilation from 1988. All discs are further augmented by various alternate takes.
"Our main ...
'' box set. A newly remastered version was released in 2010.
Background
In the second half of 1967 and through to early 1968, when still part of
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
, Barrett's behaviour became increasingly erratic and unpredictable.
Many report having seen him on stage with the group during this period, strumming on one chord through an entire concert or not playing at all.
In August 1967, Pink Floyd were forced to cancel their appearance at the prestigious
National Jazz and Blues Festival
The National Jazz and Blues Festival was the precursor to the Reading Rock Festival and was the brainchild of Harold Pendleton, the founder of the prestigious Marquee Club in Soho.
History
Initially called The National Jazz Festival, it was ...
, informing the music press that Barrett was suffering from nervous exhaustion. Band manager
Peter Jenner
Peter Julian Jenner (born 3 March 1943) is a British music manager and a record producer. Jenner, Andrew King and the original four members of Pink Floyd were partners in Blackhill Enterprises.
Early career
Peter Jenner is the son of Willia ...
and bassist
Roger Waters
George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...
arranged for Barrett to see a psychiatrist (an appointment he failed to attend), while a stay on the Spanish island of
Formentera
Formentera (, ) is the smallest and most southerly island of the Pityusic Islands group (comprising Ibiza and Formentera, as well as various small islets), which belongs to the Balearic Islands autonomous community (Spain). It covers an area of ...
with
Sam Hutt
Samuel Hutt, known by the stage name Hank Wangford (born 15 November 1940), is an English country and western songwriter.
"Hank is a good smoke screen. He can do things I can't do. He's my clown," says Dr. Hutt, who has been struggling to bala ...
, a doctor well established in the underground music scene, led to no visible improvement in Barrett's behaviour. A few dates in September were followed by the band's first tour of the United States.
At this point, Barrett's condition grew steadily worse.
At a show at
The Fillmore
The Fillmore is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California.
Built in 1912 and originally named the Majestic Hall, it became the Fillmore Auditorium in 1954. It is in Western Addition, on the edge of the Fillmore District and Upper Fil ...
in San Francisco, during a performance of "
Interstellar Overdrive
"Interstellar Overdrive" is an instrumental composition written and performed by Pink Floyd. The song was written in 1966 and is on their 1967 debut album, ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'', clocking in at almost ten minutes in length.
The son ...
", Barrett slowly detuned his guitar; the audience seemed to enjoy such antics, unaware of the rest of the band's consternation. Sometime in October, Jenner transferred tapes of "In the Beechwoods", two takes of "
Vegetable Man
"Vegetable Man" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, written by the frontman, Syd Barrett, and recorded in 1967. It was considered for a release as a single or for inclusion on their second album, ''A Saucerful of Secrets'', but went unr ...
", and a 5-minute backing track called "No Title", which Jenner hoped Barrett would finish eventually.
Around Christmas 1967, guitarist
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...
, an old friend of Barrett's from
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, was asked by the other members of Pink Floyd to join as a second guitarist,
initially not to replace Barrett, but cover for him, because his unpredictable behaviour prevented him from performing. For several shows Gilmour sang and played guitar while Barrett wandered around on stage, every now and then deciding to join in playing guitar and singing. Waters and fellow band members keyboardist
Richard Wright and drummer
Nick Mason
Nicholas Berkeley Mason, (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation in ...
soon grew weary of Barrett's on-stage antics and, on 26 January 1968, when Waters was driving his bandmates from London to a show at
Southampton University
, mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour
, type = Public research university
, established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...
, they all agreed to go without Barrett: according to Gilmour's recollection, one person asked, "Shall we pick Syd up?" and another said, "Let's not bother."
Since Barrett had written or co-written 10 of the 11 songs on their debut album, ''
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 5 August 1967 by EMI Columbia. It is the only Pink Floyd album made under the leadership of founding member Syd Barrett (lead vocals, g ...
'', as well as the band's three singles up to this point, the original plan was to keep him in the group as a non-touring member − in a similar arrangement to what
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
had done with
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...
− but this soon proved to be unworkable.
At his last rehearsal with the band, he presented a new song entitled "Have You Got It Yet?", which proved to be deliberately unplayable as the others attempted to join in, until they realised the joke of the title. On 6 April, the group officially announced that Barrett was no longer a member of Pink Floyd. Upon leaving the band, Barrett said to Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
: "I suppose it was really just a matter of being a little offhand about things".[
]
Recording
Peter Jenner sessions
After Barrett left Pink Floyd in April 1968, Peter Jenner and Andrew King, from the band's management, followed suit. In May, Jenner led Barrett into EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...
, on Abbey Road in northwest London, to record some solo material, only part of which would later appear on ''The Madcap Laughs''. Jenner thought Barrett would like to finish the tracks that Jenner transferred the previous October; Barrett on the other hand, had other plans.[ During these first, tentative sessions, Jenner failed to properly record any vocals at all for the tracks "Golden Hair", "Late Night", "Clowns and Jugglers" (later retitled "]Octopus
An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...
"), "Silas Lang", or "Lanky (Parts One and Two)".[ After recording had resumed in June and July, progress continued on these tracks, especially "Swan Lee", and a new, improved version of "Clowns and Jugglers" was taped at this point also.] Barrett wouldn't commit to recording the track "Rhamadam" (sic) to tape properly, however.
Although Jenner claims he got on well with the singer, he would also state that the 1968 sessions had not gone smoothly, admitting: "I had seriously underestimated the difficulties of working with him ..." Shortly after the July dates, Barrett abruptly stopped recording, breaking up with girlfriend Lindsay Corner and then going off on a drive around Britain in his Mini
The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
; he ended up in psychiatric care in Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
.
By the start of 1969, a somewhat recovered Barrett decided to return to his musical career and revisit the Jenner-produced recordings. He contacted EMI, and was passed on to Malcolm Jones, then-head of EMI's new prog rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initi ...
label, Harvest
Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...
.[ After both Jenner and Norman Smith, Pink Floyd's producer at the time, declined to work on the album, Jones agreed to take on the role.]
Malcolm Jones sessions
Jones had little difficulty in persuading his boss, Roy Featherstone, and Ron White, authoriser of EMI recordings, to allow Barrett to record with the company again.[ In April 1969, the young executive took over the project and Barrett began working on newer material, while reworking the 1968 recordings.] Jones would later explain the rationale behind EMI letting Barrett record again: "What was decided was to see what was the strength of Syd's new material, and plan accordingly. If it worked, then, O.K. we'd do an album. If not, we'd call it a day ..."[ In a meeting at Barrett's flat in ]Earls Court
Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...
, unsure of Jenner's production technique, Jones asked to hear some of the previous year's tapes; Barrett played him "Swan Lee", "Late Night", "Rhamadam", "Lanky (Parts One and Two)" and "Golden Hair". Of these, "Swan Lee" had no vocals, but Jones saw potential in the song; "Late Night" did have vocals and, Jones remarked, "a certain charm"; while "Golden Hair" was "great".[ After the playbacks, Barrett performed several songs on guitar for Jones: "Opel" and "Clowns and Jugglers" (both attempted during the sessions with Peter Jenner), and the newly written "]Terrapin
Terrapins are one of several small species of turtle (order Testudines) living in fresh or brackish water. Terrapins do not form a taxonomic unit and may not be closely related. Many belong to the families Geoemydidae and Emydidae.
The name ...
" and "Love You".[
The Jones-produced sessions commenced on 10 April 1969 at EMI's Studio 3,][ with that day being dedicated to going through the 1968 tapes again to see what could be improved upon.] The first track to be worked on was "Swan Lee", which received vocal overdubs
Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...
and a new guitar track, and several ideas for "Clowns and Jugglers" were considered; Barrett and Jones both felt that the results were superior to the previous versions.[ The following day, in about five hours, Barrett recorded vocal and guitar tracks for four recently recorded songs, starting with "Opel",][ and two old ones.][ Barrett and his new producer were in agreement that "Opel" was among the best of the new recordings at this time;][ only two complete takes of the song were taped, though, after multiple false starts.][ The next song attempted was "Love You", the first take of which featured a faster ]tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...
than the officially released take 2.[ After "Love You", they recorded "It's No Good Trying", which was similarly completed in just a few takes.][ Barrett was in "great form, and very happy", Jones recalled, and "very together".][ During the lunch break that day, they talked about improving some of the other songs from the Jenner sessions, particularly "Golden Hair" and "Late Night", the last of which was just a backing track at this point.] After returning to the studio, they worked on "Terrapin", with Barrett requiring just a single take,[ and added ]slide guitar
Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...
and vocals to "Late Night".[
]
The following session took place on 17 April, in Studio 2 at EMI. Jones arrived there to find that Barrett had brought in friends of his as support musicians: Jerry Shirley, drummer with Humble Pie, and Willie Wilson, Jokers Wild's drummer, although for this occasion he was playing bass. The problem with this new set-up, though, was that the songs were recorded as Barrett played them live in the studio;[ on the released versions, a number of them have false starts and commentaries from Barrett.] The first track Barrett and his fellow musicians worked on was "No Man's Land",[ after Barrett had played through the song several times, to allow Shirley and Wilson to pick up the segments.][ Once the rehearsal was through, they went for a take, to check how the band sounded and to test the equipment from within the control room.][ After these tests, the band recorded three takes, the last of which became the master take for "No Man's Land"; the bass, however, was re-recorded at a later date.][ Playing along with Barrett wasn't easy, according to Jones: "It was a case of following him, not playing with him. They were seeing and then playing so they were always a note behind ..."] Shirley said of Barrett: "He gave the impression he knew something you didn't. He had this music sort of giggle ..."
Next, they recorded a song that Barrett had written in a few minutes, " Here I Go", which required no overdubs at all.[ This session for "No Man's Land" and "Here I Go" lasted just three hours. When asked if he had any new songs for the following week's session, on 23 April, Barrett replied that he had "a weird idea I want to try out" and that other musicians would not be required.][ Afterwards, Barrett mentioned that he was interested in revisiting one of the Jenner tracks − "Rhamadam".] On the morning of the 23rd, Barrett arrived at the studio with a cassette player
A cassette deck is a type of tape machine for playing and recording audio cassettes that does not have a built-in power amplifier or speakers, and serves primarily as a transport. It can be a part of an automotive entertainment system, a part of a ...
, on which he had recorded motorbike sounds; these, he told Jones, were "all ready to eput onto the 'Rhamadam' four track".[ The producer described the sound quality as "terrible", an opinion that was confirmed once Barrett's player had been hooked up to a 4-track machine.][ Instead it was decided that Barrett should source the motorbike sounds from EMI's large ]sound effects
A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. Traditi ...
library. The selection process took up to an hour, at which point Jones started to lose faith in Barrett. Later on, Barrett changed his mind and abandoned the idea.[
The session on 25 April was almost cancelled, due to Jones becoming ill from ]colitis
Colitis is swelling or inflammation of the large intestine ( colon). Colitis may be acute and self-limited or long-term. It broadly fits into the category of digestive diseases.
In a medical context, the label ''colitis'' (without qualification) ...
.[ Beforehand, it had been agreed that this session would be dedicated to transferring their previously recorded, 4-track recordings onto Studio 3's newer 8-track machine, for further overdubs in later sessions.][ At Jones' suggestion, and despite warnings the producer had received that Barrett should not be in the studio unaccompanied,][ Barrett went in on his own to carry out the mixing.][ It had been decided that nearly all of the tracks that were recorded up to that point needed further overdubbing][ except for "No Man's Land" and "Here I Go".][ At this point, Barrett considered placing "Opel" on the album,][ Jones calls it among Barrett's "best and most haunting" songs.][ On the session for 3 May, three tracks on the album were overdubbed by ]Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...
, Hugh Hopper
Hugh Colin Hopper (29 April 1945 – 7 June 2009) was a British progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and other bands.
Biography
Early career
Starting in ...
and Mike Ratledge
Michael Roland Ratledge (born 6 May 1943) is a British musician. A part of the Canterbury scene, he was a founding member of Soft Machine. He was the last founding member to leave the group, doing so in 1976.
Biography and career
Ratledge was ...
, all members of the band Soft Machine
Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...
: The three songs were "Love You", (now dropping "It's") "No Good Trying",[ and "Clowns and Jugglers".][ Even after the Soft Machine members added overdubs to "Clowns and Jugglers", Barrett wished to add bass and drums to it.][
Robert Wyatt had said that the musicians would ask "What ]key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
is that in, Syd?", to which Barrett would simply reply "Yeah" or "That's funny". During this time, Barrett also played guitar on the sessions for Soft Machine founder Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely assoc ...
' debut LP, ''Joy of a Toy
''Joy of a Toy'' is the debut solo album of Kevin Ayers, a founding member of Soft Machine. He is accompanied on the LP by pianist and arranger David Bedford as well as his erstwhile Soft Machine colleagues Robert Wyatt and Mike Ratledge, and ...
'', although his performance on "Religious Experience" was not released until the album was reissued in 2003.[ The next day's session had Barrett adding backwards guitar to "No Good Trying", and lead to "Terrapin" and "No Man's Land".] It was around this time that Jones' involvement came to an end – during these last few sessions, Gilmour had started taking an interest in how Barrett was getting along with his album.[ Although Barrett had told his flatmate that he was going off "for an afternoon drive", he instead followed Pink Floyd out to ]Ibiza
Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...
. During the trip, he asked David Gilmour for his help on the album, and, at the end of May, Malcolm Jones abandoned his production responsibilities.
David Gilmour and Roger Waters sessions
In his book ''The Making of the Madcap Laughs'', Jones states that "when Dave came to me and said that Syd wanted him and Roger to do the remaining parts of the album, I acquiesced".[ ]Roger Waters
George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...
and David Gilmour were in the process of completing Pink Floyd's ''Ummagumma
''Ummagumma'' is the fourth album by English rock band Pink Floyd. It is a double album and it was released on 7 November 1969 by Harvest Records. The first disc consists of live recordings from concerts at Mothers Club in Birmingham and the C ...
'' album[ when they got involved with ''The Madcap Laughs'' that July and helped Barrett finish his album − "in a two-day sprint", according to ''Pink Floyd'' biographer Rick Sanders. "We had very little time," Gilmour recalled in a May 2003 interview. "Syd was very difficult, we got that very frustrated feeling: Look, it's your fucking career, mate. Why don't you get your finger out and do something? The guy was in trouble, and was a close friend for many years before then, so it really was the least one could do."
After the first session with new producers Gilmour and Waters,] on 12 June, they had remade "Clowns and Jugglers" into "Octopus
An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...
",[ from the Soft Machine's overdubbed version; then, they re-recorded "Golden Hair",] and recorded "Long Gone"[ and "]Dark Globe
"Dark Globe" (also known as "Wouldn't You Miss Me") is a song by Syd Barrett, released on his first solo album ''The Madcap Laughs''.
Recording
Syd Barrett recorded "Dark Globe" and other songs during a session held on 12 June 1969, with pr ...
".[ As the following day's session was dedicated to overdubbing "Octopus",] this became Barrett's final session for over a month,[ due to a temporary halt while Gilmour and Waters mixed ''Ummagumma'', to Barrett's dismay,][ and a Floyd tour in the Netherlands.][ However, towards the end of July, on the 26th,] they managed to record "She Took a Long Cold Look at Me",[ "Feel",][ "If It's in You",][ another version of "Long Gone",][ an attempt at a re-make of "Dark Globe",][ and even a medley of "She Took" / "Feel" / "If It's in You".] Barrett would not allow the musicians to rehearse or to re-record their overdubs, insisting that they sounded fine. After several months of intermittent recording, the album was finally deemed complete. After the final recording sessions for the album had been completed, Gilmour and Waters mixed not just the tracks they had produced, but also the Jones tracks,[ in a matter of two days.][ Five tracks were mixed on 5 August: "Long Gone", "She Took", "Feel", "If It's in You", and "Octopus".][ The following day, three tracks, "Golden Hair", "Dark Globe", and "Terrapin", were mixed in just three hours.][ The track order was sequenced by Barrett and Gilmour on 6 October.][
]
Release, reception, and aftermath
"Octopus
An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...
" was released as a single in November 1969 and ''The Madcap Laughs'' followed on 3 January 1970. The album was released by Harvest
Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...
in the UK,. It sold 6,000 copies in the first few months and reached number 40 in the UK and was fairly well-reviewed by music critics. ''Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...
'' critic Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
, reviewing the 1974 two-LP set which included ''The Madcap Laughs'', praised some of the music as "funny, charming, catchy – whimsy at its best. I love most of side one, especially 'Terrapin' and 'Here I Go,'" but opined that some of the material was "worthy of the wimp-turned-acid-casualty Barrett is." Initial sales and reaction were deemed sufficient by EMI to sanction a second solo album.
Upon release, Gilmour said: "Perhaps we were trying to show what Syd was really like. But perhaps we were trying to punish him ..." Barrett stated that "It's quite nice but I'd be very surprised if it did anything. If I were to drop dead, I don't think it would stand a stand as my last statement." Waters was more optimistic, declaring Barrett a "genius". Malcolm Jones was shocked by what he perceived as the substandard musicianship on the Gilmour and Waters-produced songs, however: "I felt angry. It's like dirty linen in public and very unnecessary and unkind ..." Barrett later said of the album: "I liked what came out, only it was released far too long after it was done. I wanted it to be a whole thing that people would listen to all the way through with everything related and balanced, the tempos and moods offsetting each other, and I hope that's what it sounds like." In a bid to increase sales, Jones wrote a letter to music magazine, Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
, under an alternate name, writing how great the album was.
On 6 June 1970, Barrett gave his one and only solo performance, held at the Kensington Olympia
Kensington (Olympia) is a combined rail and tube station in Kensington, on the edge of Central London. Services are provided by London Overground, who manage the station, along with Southern and London Underground. It is in Travelcard Zone 2. ...
, backed by Gilmour and Shirley. He baffled the audience (and Gilmour and Shirley) when he abruptly took off his guitar after the fourth number and walked off stage. They played "Terrapin", "Gigolo Aunt", "Effervescing Elephant", and "Octopus".[ From the start of the performance up to (but not including) "Octopus", the vocals were near-inaudible.][ The performance has been bootlegged.][
]
Accolades
Acclaimed Music
Acclaimed Music is a website created by Henrik Franzon, a statistician from Stockholm, Sweden in September 2001. Franzon has statistically aggregated hundreds of published lists that rank songs and albums into aggregated rankings by year, deca ...
finds the album to be the 766th most acclaimed of all time.[
:* designates unordered lists.
]
Legacy
Several notable musicians and bands have listed ''The Madcap Laughs'' as one of their favourite albums of all time: they include David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
, Genesis P-Orridge
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (born Neil Andrew Megson; 22 February 1950 – 14 March 2020) was a singer-songwriter, musician, poet, performance artist, visual artist, and occultist who rose to notoriety as the founder of the COUM Transmissions arti ...
, Kavus Torabi
Kavus Torabi ( fa, كاووس تورابى; born 5 December 1971) is a British-Iranian musician and composer, record label owner and broadcaster. A multi-instrumentalist, he is known for his work in the psychedelic, avant-garde rock field (prima ...
, Jennifer Herrema
Jennifer James Herrema is an American rock music singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and model best known for her work as one half of the rock band Royal Trux.
Career
Herrema formed Royal Trux with her partner Neil Hagerty and lived wi ...
, Viv Albertine
Viviane Katrina Louise Albertine (born 1 December 1954) is an Australian-born British musician, singer, songwriter and writer. She is best known as the guitarist for the punk band the Slits from 1977 until 1982, with whom she recorded two studio ...
, Cosey Fanni Tutti
Cosey Fanni Tutti (born Christine Carol Newby; 4 November 1951) is an English performance artist, musician and writer, best known for her time in the avant-garde groups Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey.
Tutti first performed under the name ...
, Hey Colossus
Hey Colossus is an English rock band formed in London in 2003. Since its inception, the band has undergone several lineup changes, revolving around founding members Joe Thompson and Robert Davis.
The band is characterised by its ‘heavy’ s ...
, Graham Coxon
Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Cox ...
, Pete Astor, King Buzzo
Roger "Buzz" Osborne (born March 25, 1964), also known as King Buzzo, is an American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He is a founding member of the rock band Melvins, as well as Fantômas and Venomous Concept.
Biography
Born in Morton, Wa ...
, John Frusciante
John Anthony Frusciante (; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers across three stints since 1988. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to e ...
, Will Hodgkinson
Will Hodgkinson is a journalist and author from London (born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne), England. He is the chief rock and pop critic for ''The Times'' newspaper and contributes to ''Mojo'' magazine. He has written for ''The Guardian'', ''The Indepen ...
, John Maus, and many others.
Many of the songs from the album have been widely covered since its release.
Cover artwork
For the album cover, Barrett painted the floor of his bedroom in Wetherby Mansions, orange and purple. with the help of the nude woman appearing on the back of the record sleeve, who was an acquaintance of his, Indian born, of English and Mizo parentage, Evelyn Rose, better known by the misnomers "Iggy the Eskimo" and "Iggy the Inuit". Photographer Mick Rock
Michael David Rock (born Michael Edward Chester Smith; 21 November 1948 – 18 November 2021) was a British photographer. He photographed rock music acts such as Queen, David Bowie, Waylon Jennings, T. Rex, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and ...
says, "When I arrived for ''The Madcap Laughs'' photo session, Syd was still in his underpants. His lady friend of two weeks, 'Iggy the Eskimo', was naked in the kitchen." Iggy met Barrett in March 1969, through Barrett's then-girlfriend, Jenny Spires. Barrett had moved into Wetherby Mansions, and Jenny took Iggy there one evening. Iggy stayed on at the flat when Jenny left for The States a couple of weeks later. Iggy didn't know who Barrett was or that he was previously in Pink Floyd. Iggy heard Barrett play several songs that would later appear on the album, one being "Terrapin
Terrapins are one of several small species of turtle (order Testudines) living in fresh or brackish water. Terrapins do not form a taxonomic unit and may not be closely related. Many belong to the families Geoemydidae and Emydidae.
The name ...
", which she called "quite catchy". In October 2010 she was interviewed, revealing that her name was Evelyn. The album was designed by Storm Thorgerson
Storm Elvin Thorgerson (28 February 1944 – 18 April 2013) was an English graphic designer and music video director. He is best known for closely working with the group Pink Floyd through most of their career, and also created album or other a ...
and Aubrey Powell Aubrey Powell may refer to:
*Aubrey Powell (designer)
Aubrey Powell (born 23 September 1946) is a British graphic designer. He co-founded the album cover design company Hipgnosis with Storm Thorgerson in 1967. The company ran for 15 years u ...
of Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis were an English art design group based in London, that specialised in creating album cover artwork for rock musicians and bands. Their commissions included work for Pink Floyd, T. Rex, the Pretty Things, Black Sabbath, UFO, 10cc, Ba ...
.[ The original sleeve featured no musician credits, barring producer credit;][ later issues contain musician credits. On the original release, track 10 is listed as "She Took a Long Cold Look", although on the 2010 remaster the track is re-titled to "She Took a Long Cool Look", in similar vein to '']An Introduction to Syd Barrett
''An Introduction to Syd Barrett'' is a 'best of' compilation featuring the work of Syd Barrett spanning the period 1967–1970, including both material written during his time with Pink Floyd and his post-band solo career.
Release
The album wa ...
''.
Reissues
As part of Harvest Records
Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969.
History
Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...
's "Harvest Heritage" series of reissues − and to capitalise on the breakthrough commercial success of Pink Floyd's ''The Dark Side of the Moon
''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. The album was primarily developed during live performances, and the band premiered an early version of ...
'' − ''The Madcap Laughs'' was re-released in September 1974 as record one of a double album,[ record two being Barrett's second and last solo album, '' Barrett''. (The cover of the double album was also designed by Storm Thorgerson.)] In 1993, ''The Madcap Laughs'' (along with ''Barrett'' and ''Opel
Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...
'') was reissued both independently and as part of the ''Crazy Diamond
''Crazy Diamond'' is a 1993 triple-CD boxed set of Syd Barrett's two 1970 albums ''The Madcap Laughs'' and '' Barrett'', and '' Opel'', an out-takes compilation from 1988. All discs are further augmented by various alternate takes.
"Our main ...
'' Barrett box set, on 26 April 1993. A remastered version was released in 2010. For release on ''An Introduction to Syd Barrett'' in 2010, Gilmour laid down a new bass track to "Here I Go", and remixed "Octopus" and "She Took a Long Cold Look".
Track listing
All songs written by Syd Barrett, except "Golden Hair" (music by Barrett, based on a poem by James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
). All track info taken from album booklet.
Original release
1993 reissue
2015 Japanese reissue
Personnel
* Syd Barrett
Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...
– acoustic and electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
, vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
, production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
* David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...
– bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
, 12-string acoustic guitar, drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
(on "Octopus"), production
* Jerry Shirley – drums (tracks 4, 6)
* Willie Wilson – bass (tracks 4, 6)
* Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...
– drums (tracks 2, 3)
* Hugh Hopper
Hugh Colin Hopper (29 April 1945 – 7 June 2009) was a British progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and other bands.
Biography
Early career
Starting in ...
– bass guitar (tracks 2, 3)
* Mike Ratledge
Michael Roland Ratledge (born 6 May 1943) is a British musician. A part of the Canterbury scene, he was a founding member of Soft Machine. He was the last founding member to leave the group, doing so in 1976.
Biography and career
Ratledge was ...
– keyboards (tracks 2, 3)
Production personnel
* Syd Barrett – producer (tracks 7, 8)
* David Gilmour – producer (tracks 5, 7–11)
* Peter Jenner
Peter Julian Jenner (born 3 March 1943) is a British music manager and a record producer. Jenner, Andrew King and the original four members of Pink Floyd were partners in Blackhill Enterprises.
Early career
Peter Jenner is the son of Willia ...
– producer (track 13)
* Malcolm Jones – producer (tracks 1–4, 6, 12, 13)
* Roger Waters
George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...
– producer (tracks 5, 9–11)
* Phil McDonald
Philip McDonald is an English recording studio audio engineer, best known as the engineer for EMI and later for Apple Records during the Beatles' The Beatles#Controversy.2C studio years and break-up .281966.E2.80.931970.29, studio years, along w ...
– engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
* Peter Mew
Peter Mew is a retired British music audio engineer. He worked at Abbey Road Studios, where he was the senior mastering engineer. He came to Abbey Road in 1965 as a tape operator and has since worked with many artists at the studio. Kevin Ayers of ...
– engineer
* Mike Sheady – engineer
* Jeff Jarratt – engineer
* Tony Clark – engineer
* Mick Rock
Michael David Rock (born Michael Edward Chester Smith; 21 November 1948 – 18 November 2021) was a British photographer. He photographed rock music acts such as Queen, David Bowie, Waylon Jennings, T. Rex, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and ...
– photography
* Storm Thorgerson
Storm Elvin Thorgerson (28 February 1944 – 18 April 2013) was an English graphic designer and music video director. He is best known for closely working with the group Pink Floyd through most of their career, and also created album or other a ...
and Aubrey Powell Aubrey Powell may refer to:
*Aubrey Powell (designer)
Aubrey Powell (born 23 September 1946) is a British graphic designer. He co-founded the album cover design company Hipgnosis with Storm Thorgerson in 1967. The company ran for 15 years u ...
of Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis were an English art design group based in London, that specialised in creating album cover artwork for rock musicians and bands. Their commissions included work for Pink Floyd, T. Rex, the Pretty Things, Black Sabbath, UFO, 10cc, Ba ...
– cover designs
Footnotes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madcap Laughs, The
Syd Barrett albums
1970 debut albums
Albums with cover art by Hipgnosis
Albums with cover art by Mick Rock
Harvest Records albums
EMI Records albums
Albums produced by David Gilmour
Albums produced by Roger Waters
Capitol Records albums