The Madcap Laughs

Depends on my mood. I'll be generous and give it a 3.

Sorry, aber für mich klingt das nach einer unfertigen DEMO-Platte. Als Zeitdokument vielleicht für eingefleischte Fans brauchbar.

Not quite as batshit crazy as his later self-titled but definitely heading in that direction.

Not for me.

Yes. Crazy. Sad

Liked a lot

Couldn't get into this one, found his voice too much.

Oli aika vaikea kuunneltava. Keskittyminen herpaantui pahasti. Tajusin etten oo tainnut koskaan kuunnella Pink Floydin ekaa levyä, tämä ei tosin hirveästi kannusta siihen.

Tough to get through. Still stuck on Piper at the Gates of Dawn when Pink Floyd had already moved on.

“Wouldn’t you miss me at all” Shame to hear how unfinished this is, while also knowing that Syd was quickly being consumed. Credit where it is due, he changed RnR forever, but it quickly left him behind.

There are a few pleasant moments to be had here, but its mostly a deeply unpleasant look at a man falling apart due to drug addiction, and not in a cool edgy way, but in a "everyone's laughing at him" kind of way. Depressing.

Having firmly sunk his toes in the deep end of the river, Syd Barrett unfurled his scattershot, erratic, often strange yet cautious great snapshot of a man clinging onto sanity with just one finger on the ledge. The Madcap Laughs, for all of its icky dwellings into lost grasps of reality by a plethora of listeners since the album's release, is a symbol of what was, what could have been and what had to be left behind. Favorites: Terrapin, No Good Trying, Love You, Dark Globe, Here I Go, Octopus, Golden Hair, Long Gone, She Took a Long Cold Look.

The Madcap Laughs is a pretty solid album. Syd Barrett was apparently an ex-Pink Floyd member (the singer to be exact) and it seems he brought a lot of Pink Floyd's style to this album (as that is my assumption, i have not heard Piper At The Gates Of Dawn yet). It did feel like at a fair bit of points that Barrett was not really taking this album too seriously as this album included a lot of his pre-recorded takes which does feel kinda odd since this album doesn't appear to be satirical. Regardless, the typical psych-rock quirks are here and do make this album enjoyable to listen to and it does have a lot of stand-out tracks. I enjoyed my time with this album and can't wait to see his work with Pink Floyd. Best Song: Octopus Worst Song: If It's in You Best Song:

Oh wow I’m speechless because there was nothing interesting about this album

Now then, I fear I'm going to go a bit po-faced here, because really, this just feels a bit like a level of intrusion into mental collapse that shouldn't be allowed really. Syd, one of the true greats, can barely keep it together for a song here, never mind an album. I understand why it's so fascinating and important, but it sits uncomfortably. There's an argument that you could say the same about (for instance) The Holy Bible and Richie's state when he wrote the lyrics to that, but at least that went through the band process. This just feels so personal and sad.

This guy was nuts.

Some great moments.

Not bad, Syd.

Intime, dépouillé, imparfait.

4/5

I have always liked me some Pink Floyd (even though there are always some songs on their albums that are just a lot of noise that you have to sift through). Still, I had never heard any of the band’s work while they were led by Syd Barrett, so I was eager to give this one a listen. Although I enjoyed the first few songs, it went on and degraded down to something sounding more like a demo tape. It ends up with 2 stars from me.

Woof. I'd kick him out of Pink Floyd, too.

It was a bit boring, up until If It's In You, where it sounded like a bad X Factor audition. That took it from 2 to 1 stars.

This is a weird one, as expected. It sounds like the last incoherent ramblings of a man slowly slipping into psychosis.....which is exactly what it is. There are some gems though amid the chaos of this album. Favorite songs: Love You, Octopus Least favorite songs: Dark Globe, Golden Hair, She Took a Long Cold Look, If It's In You, Late Night 2/5

3.5

This was interesting. I was expecting garbled nonsense but this was pretty easy to listen to - got a bit wacky towards the end but there were some touching lyrics and this wasn’t bad at all. David Gilmore took Pink Floyd to new heights but Sid did write astronmy domine. Every Floyd fan should listen to this Barrett record.

"Wouldn't you miss me at all?" Occasionally brilliant, sometimes difficult, overall kind of a bummer given its context. His ear for melody is unique and I did enjoy a lot of it. It eventually becomes a document of a musician's unraveling. The songs towards the end in particular border on unfinished. It does have a kind of proto-outsider music energy going for it. The outtakes included in the extended edition (which is the only one available on Spotify for some reason) do it absolutely no favors, and I recommend skipping them in favor of the standard tracklist.

A mix of fun, jaunty tunes like Here I Go and No Good Trying, hippie psychadelic stuff, and boring like Terrapin. No, I didn't listen to the extra outtakes.

Not my type of music.

Some songs capture early Pink Floyd in a great way. Other songs, Barrett is on the wrong side of acid burn - his mind is not what it was. The octopus song is good.

Had never listened to this. Very English, in its melodic, idiosyncratic sadness, with echoes of the Kinks and the Beatles. Get why it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but loved it.

This album feels exploitative. Syd barely feels present here. It gives me the ick.

The brilliant, but uneven solo debut is great at times! But always a solid listen, especially on a rainy day as I did this time around.

Honestly didn’t enjoy this. As a Pink Floyd fan it’s hard to rate this low but I just did not enjoy it

For what it is, the last writings of a mentally ill man in the throes of addiction, it’s necessarily of variable quality, but when it hits it hits. Surreal psychedelic folk- it goes down nice. Pink Floyd was a lesser ban without him.

Die hard Floyd fans may love this, but while I love Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall and maybe Wish you were here, this album is a little liminal for me. There are some decent moments, but it's not something that really shines like a crazy diamond, pun intended. Late Night is maybe the most interesting track for me. 2/5

Music taste is very subjective, with us all influenced by the characteristics that make us an individual. For every album on here, there will be someone who loves it and someone who hates it. Critics however seem to be in general more aligned to a collective consciousness , and certain acts are more lauded, maybe because they are good and I just don’t understand? Know it’s almost blasphemy but I just don’t get the love in for Pink Floyd. I’ve tried, because have always been told how good they are,I really have tried from multiple angles, the big album, the 1st album the later ones and no I just don’t get it personally , just leaves me cold asking and… So I entered this with some trepidation. The solo album from the guy who left because of a mental breakdown. And I got and felt exactly what I expected. I don’t ever want or need to hear this again. I found it a real drag to get through, after 2 tracks had to turn off and came back later, and then the 3rd track made me want to switch straight off again, what whimsical bs. Just really not my thing, but ok on Wiki look at all those top lists it’s on, again I must not be intellectual enough to get it, maybe?? Do think it’s a case of the critic knowing what happened to this guy so it’s the “enlightened work” of a person with mental health issues. A very questionable view, insight into his condition yes, enlightened genius? To me it’s like a supposedly renowned chef serving up a tin of dog food, it’s still just dog food. The lyrical content isn’t exactly exacting, and musically it’s somewhat basic without any interest, nothing wrong with simple lyrics and basic instrumentation, some of my favourite music is both, but what I consider interesting. Oh what do I know well I just don’t care. It’s finished now so can stop writing to distract myself 1 Star

One of those albums that I had to stop and check the reviews first because I just know there's more to it than meets the eye. I can't in good faith rate this well, because it's definitely a mess, but I gave it an extra star because there does seem to be some merit here and there, and I can understand what Syd was going through. Tough album to get through.

Very boring

Fairly inoffensive but nothing exciting

For a brief moment, in the 1960s and 70s, the word «genius» was mistakingly made synonymous with being a drug addict with mental health issues. We still deal with the horrible aftermath of this linguistic mishap. Anyways, I'll stick with post-Barrett Pink Floyd.

The best thing that ever happened to Pink Floyd was Syd Barrett's departure.

Trying to figure out what exactly I'm supposed to be getting out of this.

Pink Floyd is my favorite band, so I picked up The Madcap Laughs many years ago(before you could just stream whatever you wanted) hoping to discover something special. Unfortunately, I was disappointed then and I’m still disappointed now. I guess it makes sense though, Piper at the Gates of Dawn is probably my least favorite Pink Floyd album, and this has a lot of that same scattered, chaotic energy without the polish or cohesion. An interesting piece of history, but disappointing at every visit.

I guess this “matters” because of who it is and the context…very forgettable other than maybe “Here I Go” and Octopus”

Très plaisant

I actually had no idea the legendary pink Floyd founder had a solo album after leaving . I wanted to like it , and I did it in parts , it’s intimate emotional but it doesn’t hit the mark much for me musically. Still a fascinating listen considering the context

I know but I prefer later pink floyd after he left anyway. just not for me

Dull dull dull

Hate to say it, but everything Pink Floyd touches turns to bland.

Whimsical psychedelia from ejected Floyd acid casualty. Lightweight and a bit sad.

sad crazy man plays weird rock

Whimsical lo-fi folk psychedelia that's mostly famous for the mythology surrounding it, as a haunting document of a psyche on the cusp of descent. Even so, it stands up as a singular expression of his creative impulse, and an exploration of the singer songwriter genre, drawing on the dark drones and fuzz of the velvet underground, the sing songy melodies of kids music, the jangly guitars of the 60s and the eccentricity of English acid psych. His voice is frail and fragile, pushed beyond itself into adolescent cracking but open and earnest and incredibly charismatic. This is a key precursor of the shaggy slacker rock, bedroom lofi, and outsider art that would flourish in the 90s.

Liked the overall vibe of the album, but the "gimmick" runs out in the middle of the album.

Just OK.

Хороший альбом. Переслушать

Mostly uninteresting late 60s psych rock. I think this one's mainly going to be of interest to people who are invested in the history of that era, who care about these personalities. So, not for me.

This one was pretty rough

I just read part of the wikipedia page for this album, which I rarely do before writing a review. Because this album is very bad. It's just a weird mishmash of 60s psychedelia cliches that sounds very much like all the other albums of this genre I've listened to from this era. Look, I'm not going to go in on it too hard. I don't think it's special AT ALL, and if this album wasn't created by the original Pink Floyd singer, I cannot imagine it would be on this list.

Although the Syd Barrett era of Pink Floyd isn't my favorite part of their discography, one of those albums would be better suited on this list than his solo work.

Here I Go was the best track here in my opinion. This album just isn't my cup of tea, it's just sort of successive acoustic ramblings. I'm not giving it a 1 out of sympathy for Syd, cause his story is really tragic.

Worst case scenario Paul McCartney

Not knowing anything about the background of this album it just sounds like unfinished edits and outtakes, parts of songs that had potential but these are just the shit recordings of them. Not really enjoyable. Sounds very generic early British grunge.

es triste, es grandioso, un pedido de ayuda de una mente cada vez más devorada que incluso así siguió siendo explotada, todo con una capa de nostalgia por encima. es clara su influencia musical, pero no es nada fácil de escuchar. creo que syd es uno de los casos más claros de un talento increíble que acabó muy pronto, es triste pensar en hasta dónde podría haber llegado si su mente no lo hubiera traicionado antes de tiempo.

Do people genuinely love this album or have they just romanticised the idea of the troubled genius? I’m not convinced that anyone hearing this without knowing who Syd Barrett was would understand what the fuss was about.

Pretty much unfinished. Glad I listened to it and can appreciate his genius but not sure I’ll listen to solo Syd again

i more like instrumental in this album that singer. Drums and guitar is exceptional.

Crap

Okay

you hate to hear that an album was made during a mental lapse, but why do they always sound so good?

It's alright. Wouldn't listen to it again. No stand out song

This is not an album crafted by a genius at the peak of his craft. This is an album stitched together by a set of producere and a clearly unwell artist. We did not need the outtakes or the coughing. Honestly I'm not sure we needed any of this.

Sorry

singer songwrighter, 1970 -> 2

Favorite Track: Octopus

Who knows what Syd Barrett could have achieved, had his mental state not prohibited him from ever fully manifesting his huge talents. Probably he would have been as big as Bowie. But as it is we are left with the early Pink Floyd oeuvre and his somewhat spotty but super-influential solo work of psychedelic folk rock songwriting. Given the lack of half-star ratings „Madcap...“ and its successor „Syd Barrett“ get full 5 out of 5 stars on a list like this from me. A larger than life artist like Syd Barrett could have maybe gone to 6 (or 11) though. As charming as unfinished works are or can be, in Syd Barrett’s case there remains the empty feeling of unfulfilled desire to hear what could have been. Then again, maybe this is part of Barret’s mystical allure.

Sloppy, unengaging writing and performance.

Jeesus mitä paskaa

Muszę ocenić ten album bez sugerowania się stanem artysty. Słucham go w próżni, udając że nie wiem, w jakim był wtedy stanie. No i… to nie jest dobry album. Jest niedojrzały, momentami dziecinny. Chaotyczny i niespójny. Są na nim dobre utwory radosne i z Beatlesowkimi ciągotami, ale przeważającą większość jest naiwna i pozbawiona struktury. Wokal chociaż o ciekawej barwie momentami zmierza w stronę bełkotu i fałszu. Daję 4.5 i zaokrąglam w górę ze względu na to, że naprawdę było tam kilka dobrych piosenek o przyjemnej energii

British rambling at its worst. A bit sloppy and undefended. 2/10

Saying somebodies artistic creation sucks is usually inappropriate, but i will tell you why I didn’t like this album at all. The howling caterwauling vocals that weren’t any particular melody. The off tempo and inconsistent chord changes and beats. The lyrics seemed hackneyed and cliche.

This was a hard listen. It feels like it wasn’t all the way finished. I think if the production was better, and maybe the playing at times too, this would be a really great album. Sadly it isn’t. None of the songs could keep my attention for the whole run.

1 stern

Is Barrett getting chucked out of Pink Floyd a sin? Maybe. But it's hard to see that he would do experimental acid folk and acid blues like this when still in the band. So in that respect, it's good that Barrett could do his own thing. Not everything is great but lots of it is starting with the great opening track of a delirium lover declaring his love. We all know those kinds.

Great discovery

Yawn

It's been years since I listened to this. I like it a lot more now. But my appreciation for Floyd and psychedelic music has grown over time. Shine on Syd. Without you I wouldn't have some of my favorite music. 5 stars all day.

It isn't an essential listen but I liked it front to back.

This is not a good album, not even close. If it was anyone other than Syd Barrett I very much doubt it would even have been released, let alone made its way on to the list. I like Pink Floyd, but only after Barrett was no longer involved.

I am utterly surprised at this, but... honestly didn't care for this. It felt sad - I know his other music is better and it sounded too much like someone not in a good place. :/ Kind of saddened my brain a little. Nice chords and pretty songwriting at times though

Love it!

There is some hope to this album, but it is a bit too rambly most of the time. Will I listen to again: 5%

More listensble than I expected, but wouldn’t listen again

Suckt, sehr nervig

I wanted to like this, but it was a mess.

A drab and depressing assortment of demos by a man who was very unwell.

As a long time Floyd fan, I give credit to says Barrett for his role getting them started and influencing their work. I can go without his solo work, even with help from friends.

what a strange album. its good but im not too crazy about it Its pretty hit or miss. if its in you is terrible, might be one of the most dreadful songs i've heard in a while

It would be interesting to hear this album not knowing anything about who Syd Barrett is. Being able to strip away his past with Pink Floyd, his drug and mental health battles, the fraught recording sessions, the Soft Machine participants, and so on. I always try to listen to the records on this list from that viewpoint as much as possible, as that's how these records will be heard a hundred years from now, but when I have any history with a record, it's hard to do. Hard in this case because I'm reminded that I long ago grabbed my favorites from this and "Opal" and a couple from Floyd's 1st album and made a kind of Syd Best Of. A few of the tracks on "Madcap Laughs" seem to me like attempts to encourage Syd to flesh out a full LP of songs, but his mental state just wasn't quite there. The makers of the record could have, I suppose, released a pretty remarkable EP, but they went with the more difficult full LP with a few raw and demo-sounding tracks that maybe only the super-fan can fully dial into for repeated listenings. Is it exploitative? Again, staying away from any backstory, it doesn't matter, and it's not my call to make. It's fascinating and worth hearing and I remember why I cherry-picked a few songs and forgot the rest.

I'm disinclined. The general sound is folk-rock and I often get behind that. I liked the first couple of songs: Terrapin and No Good Trying. But the rest of the album was either "meh" or kind of annoying (the outtakes on If It's In You).

It's like Syd heard "Octopus's Garden" and decided "I'll make a whole album like that, but twice as random and half as charming."

Drunk Beatles vibes. Not bad, but not really good either.

"Hi, Syd. Just stopping by for a visit. Oh sure, I'll be happy to back you up on a few tracks." - a bunch of guys, probably. It's semi-psychedelic with some pretty twee lyrics. Honestly, I found it to be a little tiresome, but it's Syd. Floyd was much more than the sum of its parts.

It is, unsurprisingly, quite weird. I personally like it, but I can't make a case that it is something you must hear before you die.

Geez, the Pink Floyd guys dodged a bullet when this guy quit. 1.61

Wow, that was tough. He may have been a Genius, maybe, but by this time in his life, someone should have just said no.

Feels like a rough collection of half baked songs. There are definitely some shining moments but by and large it sounds very slapdash. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to a Syd era Pink Floyd album - perhaps that context would help. But I did not find this very enjoyable and I don’t think it does a good job convincing me.

I had to listen to this like 3 times and every time I listened I enjoyed it a little more. The first half has some rippers on it for sure. Very solid. But then the second half sounds like someone making a psych album but their only reference is Norwegian Wood and they couldn’t even be bothered to get past the guitar part, to the point I forgot the first half even had drums. That being said, I didn’t HATE the acoustic stuff. It just felt very disjointed start to finish. I think criticisms that they sound like demos is valid (they have a more raw feeling with page turning and speaking that isn’t in the first half?) and wish Syd either fleshed them out a little more as acoustic tracks or kept them off of the album. Overall the songs are either great or are good bones of a great song. Good lyrics, fun songs, just half baked and not fully thought out.

Not a huge fan of this. Good at its best but it's too long. Some of this could have been left out

To be honest, I didn't mind this album. Sure, the lyrics are pretty weird, but I like Barrett's voice and the musicianship was good. Not bad for a guy who was apparently mentally incapacitated.

br*tish made it to if its in you and that was hard enough

Disappointed

It's hard to separate the tragedy of Syd Barrett from the quality of his post-Pink Floyd work, but by this point, sadly his best years were clearly behind him already.

Interesting one. Not much that engages me with the record, but I'm not turned off by it, per se. Has some decent melodies and vocals throughout, but on the whole, I don't think I'd visit this record again or remember to. It's mostly drab, but I appreciate the artist's effort and attempt on the solo front.

Não me pegou muito. Uma vozinha um violão, acho que precisava de mais. Dito isso, gostei de Octopus.

Not bad background music

A bizarre album that put me in a jovial mood. Revisited NO GOOD TRYING and OCTOPUS to listen to the composition. Favorite track: LONG GONE.

Took me half way through the album to realize it’s the guy from Pink Floyd. Nowhere near the peaks of Pink Floyd but worth revisiting

Listening to this album was depressing. Except for a couple of nice moments it just highlights the deterioration of a talented musician. I should give it 1 star, but since it's Barrett, I'll give it 2.

I’ve been fascinated to learn a bit about the mythical Sid Barrett via the generator, first through Pipers at the Gates of Dawn and now this. I do wonder if this might be considered a ‘must-hear’ purely because of the artist in question and his mental state...? However, while I don’t think it’s a work of genius it does have a kind of ramshackle, surrealist charm that goes beyond the obvious disregard for music or technical perfection. Or, to put it another way, it’s an engaging listen in it’s own right - not *just* because it sounds like the ramblings of a ‘madcap’. When Syd sings ‘I woke this morning and remembered this song - kinda catchy’ I'm inclined to agree.

1. terrapin - 1.5 2. trying - 1 3. love you - 1 4. land - 1 5. globe - 1 6. here - 1 7. octopuz - 1 8. golden - 1.5 9. gone - 1 10. cold - 1 11. feel - 1.5 12. you - 1 13. night - 1

Weird and whimsical but not in a good way

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would - a sad farewell to a significant talent who fell into the abyss of too much LSD.

Syd Barrett of early-Pink Floyd fame roles out a folksy, psychedelic record just as the other Floyd boys were tip-toeing towards progressive rock. This sounds a lot like Pipers at the Gates of Dawn, which shouldn’t be too much a surprise considering that was Syd’s baby as well. There are a couple of great tracks (Octopus, Here I Go), a couple good tracks, and a few mid songs as well. I remember thinking this was a masterpiece back in my early-20s, but my more experienced and subjective brain is now able and capable of admitting its faults. 3.8/5

Interesting but not essential

weird psychedelia stuff

Meh

meh

I get the importance of this album but it's a hard listen.

I thought it would sound more like Pink Floyd, but it's actually closer to something like Herman's Hermits or Hunky Dory era Bowie. It's just Syd and his guitar. Each song sounds very similar. Some bits are very off key! 😆 I couldn't wait for this one to be over after a few songs.

Insanity distilled.

Not my jam

Terrapin 3 No Good Trying 3.2 Love You 3.2 No Man's Land 3.3 Dark Globe 3 Here I Go 3.1 Octopus 3.2 Golden Hair 3 Long Gone 3.1 She Took a Long Cold Look 3 Feel 3.1 If It's in You 2.8 Late Night 3.1 Score: 3.084615385

More fun than I expected. Kept a couple as favorites.

Nah

I didn't think much of this. I understand Barrett was a genius in his own very unique way, but that didn't make this collection of tracks any more appealing to me.

Boring and dull, not much to listen here

Sometimes madness has a method. And sometimes, it doesn't, as in here. This is a fascinating album, if not always an easy listen. See also Alexander 'Skip' Pence for that sort of artistic endeavor where mental health issues seem to bring something new on the table. Hints of (post)punk can be found here. But what we mostly have here, are hints of a genius mind slowly sinking into its own solipsistic world. Shine on you, crazy diamond. 3.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 4 8.5/10 for more general purposes (4/5 for musical competency + 3.5/5 for the artistry + 1 rare bonus point for the contextual aspect and "mythos" around this record). Number of albums left to review: the 80-ish extra LPs listed on this app, included because different past editions of the book have mentioned albums that have since been dropped in subsequent editions. Number of albums I'll keep in my own list: half, approximately Number of albums I *might* keep: a small quarter, approximately (including this one) Number of albums I won't keep: a large quarter

2.5 ok stripped down psychedelic

this was decent, reminded me of david bowie a bit

Every 60s brit musician wanted to do Vaudeville

mehh

The Good: The album cover. Great color, great lines… The Bad: There isn’t much color or lines in the album. The Ugly: Totally removing any fondness I might have had for Syd B Is the only reason that Syd is on this list due to him being the co-founder of one of the greatest bands ever? Then again, IMHO, Pink Floyd really became great when Syd had already been replaced. So we have some psychedelic music, some incoherent singing, and a lot of acoustic strumming. Kudo’s to those who can find joy in this album! I won’t be able to listen to this album again… 1*

Floaty, odd, and twee.

I've listened to this a lot throughout my life. For some reason, I strongly relate to Syd's music. This album is heartbreaking, and listening to this during the challenge made me notice masterpieces I'd never noticed before, such as 'Dark Globe'. The transition from it to 'Here I Go' is one of the highlights of Barrett's career.

frábærar melódíur en geðklofinn þvælist fyrir. er samt í frekar miklu uppáhaldi. fær 4,5.

I didn't love it. To me it sounded like the generic soundtrack to some forgettable 60's movie. It's not a sound I'm into. That being said, my wife really did enjoy it. Your mileage may vary.

Surprisingly pedestrian.

Zzzzzzzz! Self indulgence at its worst.

There was a fifth Beatle!? Just kidding. He's way worse.

I'm a Pink Floyd fan, even an early PF fan and knew of some of the stories of Syd Barrett but never have listened to his albums. I had heard of Golden Hair, and did enjoy that song, there was a cover of that song done really well by Slowdive. The rest of the album wasn't my favorite, I'm going to go with 2 star I think.

This was a rough listen. Nothing here that I'd want to hear again. 1 star.

Not sure what I’m supposed to do with this. I suppose you have to listen to it to understand that Pink Floyd didn’t work except as a sum of its parts. Not punishing to listen to, but rather thin and not something I’d ever revisit.

Meh

meh.

Not a lot of dynamics to this album. The raw feeling of the album is there, but verges into amatuerish at times. I like the effects he does to his voice. Psychedelic country music. The are a couple interesting songs, but it is mostly a slog to get through the while album to be honest.

Not horrible, not good. I didn’t turn it off but wouldn’t care to listen to it again.

I liked this just enough. Poor Syd and his struggles.

I just could not get into this.

Terrible. All sounded the same. One extra star for Pink Floyd.

It was kind of interesting. Could have been a 3.5, but Tim did not particularly enjoy it.

Didn’t enjoy it. The only reason it was even released was that his name was Syd Barrett.

“You took too much man, too much, too much.”

Syd has a cool reputation, but this was just like a less talented Donovan.

Practically a sketchbook of loose ideas and concepts that could have been massive or impactful, had he only the chance to develop them more in detail.

Fav: Terrapin Least Fav: No Good Trying These feel like demos to actual songs that resurface on YouTube, just very messy

Feels so early and this album is just as you would expect. Filled with quirkly lyrics and bouncy little instrumental moments. Seems familiar and foreign at the same time. Such a fascinating change in music as it entered into the psychedelic era.

Sometimes it's hard to grasp reality when you're tripping everyday. Tho, I'm not much of a Pink Floyd historian, I do understand that this is the album that Syd Barrett made after Floyd gave him the boot. And, based on this album, I think we can all agree the band made the right decision.

I managed to not pay close attention to this album for most of its duration, successfully avoiding its annoyances. But near the end “If It’s In You” made those annoyances undeniable.

Dark Globe is terrible and what is happening during If It's In You? The remaining songs are fine but clearly Pink Floyd was better off without Syd.

Like many things drugged out, psychedelic music, there are snippets of good music. But ultimately this is an incoherent mess.

This is a hard listen. I want to like it. I wonder how much of that desire is due to the tragedy that Syd's life became. The album may be more important for the influences it had on other artists; at times you could be forgiven for thinking you were listening to "Hunky Dory" period David Bowie. Perhaps that makes it "important" and so something I should listen to. It doesn't make it "enjoyable", though. I've heard it, I am unlikely to listen to it again. This doesn't work for me, unlike "Piper". Syd's songs need the rest of Floyd. 2/5.

Pretty meh album. I was thinking about giving it a 3, then the song "If It's in You" came on...

I know that this album will be unfairly judged. It may seem indulgent, pretentious and just silly. It may also seem like people were taking advantage of Syd in the editing and recording of the album. It also speaks volumes about drug induced mental illness. However it also peeps behind the curtain of an extremely influential and respected singer songwriter without whom there would be no pink Floyd, as it is today, or even at all. I love this album and I love syd Barrett This album definitely belongs on this list.

I can appreciate the Syd Barrett was an integral part of music history. This was a bit of a mess and meandered around the place, some of those places were interesting, but a fair few were sad and hard to listen to.

It's... what you would have expected from a Syd Barrett album, completely out there. But somehow it works.

I've never liked listening to this record; for, what I think are, obvious reasons. It's very difficult to get enjoyment or satisfaction out of it on purely sonic level. But I've always been extremely fascinated by it; the real-time deterioration of a genius' mind as he tries to keep doing what he loves. It's an important piece of history, and a peak behind the curtain for anyone who wants to further understand Pink Floyd. Syd Barrett as a human is a tragedy. And I will say this in favor of the album; the production makes you feel like you're in the room with the band. There are tracks here where we're just waiting for Barrett to get it right before the take starts, we hear missed chords and flubbed vocal notes, and the mixing is far from what you'd consider a "done" album. And it's unfair in so many ways how the world would go on to admire PF as a band, when the founding member and primary driver of their sound would go mostly uncredited and uncared about for decades. Anyway, I don't have any idea what an appropriate rating would be for this, because it's the equivalent to an Outsider Music record to me. Syd, take 5 stars from me. You are responsible for the band that gave me the most of any band, so here you go. Shine on you crazy diamond.

There are few moments of random precision and even fewer worn-out welcomes in this shining diamond's solo debut.

Talented guy, and sad story, but this album, while creative, is super uneven. I guess when your brain fragments into itty bitty pieces you have a lot of ideas. Definitely an album you should hear before you die, but not because it's a screamin' classic. I admittedly don't care for this kind of psych but there's enough here to keep me interested even if I don't think it's good. You know who I bet loved this shit? Jeff Mangum.

I have always loved this album since I discovered it.

Ok

01) Terrapin - 6,0 02) No Good Trying - 5,5 03) Love You - 5,5 04) No Man's Land - 5,5 05) Dark Globe - 4,0 06) Here I Go - 5,5 07) Octopus - 6,0 08) Golden Hair - 5,0 09) Long Gone - 5,0 10) She Took a Long Cold Look - 5,0 11) Feel - 4,0 12) If It's in You - 2,0 13) Late Night - 4,0 TOTAL: 4,85 (49/100) Current ranking: 368/387

After being squeezed out of Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett continued his downward trajectory of mental health. For this (and it's follow-up Barrett), former bandmates did their best to coax actual songs out of Barrett, and of those two albums, this is the better. The version I have has a load of out-takes which don't serve the album well and are best ignored. This is a collection of psych-inflected songs with a dose of English whimsey, and it's an album I really like. Whether it's a game changer, I doubt. I don't think that the music press and industry (and, let's face it, music fans) did Barrett a great service by over-egging his legend. There are loads of compilations that frankly scrape the bottom of the barrel, which is a bit of a shame really.

First half better than second half. No Good Trying was my favourite track. Overall was just okay, not really a fan.

Kinda sad to listen to tbh. Syd clearly wasn’t in a good place during this. Still has a couple of good tracks but with his talent that is inevitable.

This is a tough album, both to listen to and to review. It sounds like he’s making up many of the songs as he’s playing them. There’s no production value to speak of, and it’s obvious that Syd’s not well. Still, there are some good tracks here. No Good Trying and No Man’s Land are in some ways predecessors to Sonic Youth’s noise pop, and are quiet interesting. Octopus is maybe the best song, with a nice chord progression and a catchy chorus, kind of réminiscent of The Beatles. From thereon it’s all downhill, outtakes recorded and released for profit.

it was more enjoyable to listen then i tought. almost entire songs on acoustic guitar. The melodys are enjoyable to listen too.

I found this fairly uninspired. Not super familiar with Syd Barrett but from other reviews it seems like this is a complicated album to understand. I'm not going to try and just go based on the sound.

Blind album, knew 1 song and know him from Pink Floyd. So I totally see the influences and how it relates to PF, but this is not, and it's different, and some songs were rough, and the hits aren't huge in my mind either...

i fit in this world

Cool album

If he didn't have the association with Pink Floyd then he'd be nowhere near this list. These sounds like demos. They're quite flat and tedious, and the timing and delivery is really strange and disconcerting.

Terrible stuff. I'm not really a huge fan of Piper at the Gates of Dawn, but surely that is enough of a legacy for Syd Barrett. I feel like this album tarnishes his name, even if the circumstances are interesting from a music history point of view. Don't think I'll ever listen to this again due to the terrible singing and lyrics, but I guess I see why it's in the book.

Interesting album. Not what I expected. Lent itself more to Harry Nilsson than PF.

Bizarre and occasionally super interesting. Definitely influenced some '90s musicians.

The sound of a man suffering from mental illness and cognitive deterioration. Such a shame.

I don't quite get it. 2.5/5

Like fortune telling but backwards.

i'm glad he had fun, anyway

Please stop singing. +1 star because of the guitar

The first track made me expect another average, forgettable album but I turned out to love almost everything that came after. Almost.

Album opens on a surprisingly minimal note with Terrapin. Just a few layered guitars and Barrett's haunting/detached (as always) vocals. The effect is both absolutely beautiful and incredibly bleak. No Good Trying turns in a decidedly upbeat/poppy direction, but is equally unhinged in its layering of elements; just wonderful. Octopus stands in the middle of the album as the most full-bodied sounding song. Given that this was the albums only single, I wonder how many fans were confused/disappointed by the rest of the album that surrounds it. Long Gone stands out from the second side. Its simple, but so well done -- especially like the super distant background vocal layers near the conclusion. Kind of weird how raw the production on Feel and If It's In You sound (complete with studio banter). But reading the wiki page, it seems this album's construction was a bit ramshackle and drawn out. Album closes on Late Night, which features suppressed drums and whining guitars in a similar vein to some tracks from Pipers at the Gates of Dawn. After a single listen I'm left a little unsure how to feel about this one. I really loved the intro and outro tracks, but found the midsection to be pretty spotty. I appreciate Barrett's early work with Floyd, but don't think I'll be back soon to listen to this again. For me this rests at a high 3.

Interesting Syd ablum. Have not listened to this. I enjoyed it because I'm a Pink Floyd band but the album isn't earth shattering. Overall I give it a 4 stars but I'm being pink floyd impartial

Didn't really like this. It feels like The Beatles but with no depth. I think it was fine at best, and headache inducing at worst. Maybe this album caught me at a bad time.

Syd sounded like he wanted to be in the Beatles rather than Pink Floyd, this was some weird shit but in a fun way. Alright I changed my mind throughout that album, that was just straight up weird and not very fun.

This one reminds me of the Robery Wyatt album where it's super psychedelic in nature but something just doesn't flow right with it. Front half is much better than the second half. Seems like a lot of them aren't even remotely finished. Definitely some of the later songs are from a crazed man as he had already been kicked out of Pink Floyd at this time, and like early Floyd it's good, but doesn't even come close to scratching the itch that the middle albums do. Just wish some of these songs were fleshed out a bit and produced even seemingly at all.

Strange

I had high expectations, after all Syd Barrett is an original Pink Floyd! But, I was sorely disappointed. Some of the songs are fundamentally good but the album sounds like a demo tape cobbled together on a drunken evening (drugs, more likely). Is it too much to ask for a retake if the vocals are way off ("Dark Globe") or the guitar isn't even tuned ("Octopus")? Some songs are psychedelic Pink Floyd'ish but not nearly as good, and some songs are jus too Monty Pythonesque (but again not quite as good or with the necessary sense of parody). A pity.

quite the interesting listen today, it's definitely a rock pop album but it doesn't sound like any other i've listened to, especially from this time period. barrett's voice is tired and almost delightfully deadpan as he sings, invoking a certain emotion that he most certainly felt after leaving pink floyd. it's simple and doesn't have too much going on in terms of instrumentation and production. you can feel exactly how exhausted he felt, being a musician and all. i fuck with it. imagine making a typical "perky" rock album when you're tired of making music in the first place.

I liked it a lot, not particularly original but good

Typical Syd

Complete waste of time.

Suckt, sehr nervig

This is bad. Not the worst thing ever, but actually kind of obnoxious. I had never heard of Syd Barrett and maybe that's for a reason. Trying to give me Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Beatles vibes, but just missing the mark.

Why is this on this list? 2.

Mental illness is no joke. Personal enjoyment: 2/5 Relevance to this list: 3/5

It was fine. The scaled back raw vibe has never been my thing, especially without lyrics that feel arrestingly honest. This felt pedestrian.

This was truly bizarre and not really in a good way. Every time I thought I'd find myself getting into it, it would end, or change or some lyrical content was zap me straight back, I don't think this is very good

Hawk tooey

I kind of feel like the myth of syd barrett might outweigh the reality.

"The Madcap Laughs" is the debut solo album by English singer-songwriter, musician and former Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett. The music can be categorized by mixing and matching any of the four genres: pop, rock, pyschedelic and folk. The recording process was long and appears to have various tedious given Barrett's state of mind over that time. Five different producers were used including Barrett, Peter Jenner, Malcolm Jones, David Gilmore and Roger Waters. Barrett sang lead vocals and played guitars. Other musicians included members from the Soft Machine, Joker's Wild and David Gilmore. The album was well-received critically and, commercially, hit #40 in the UK. Acoustic vocals and clear vocals by Barrett open the album in "Terrapin." An underlying electric guitar guitar. Interesting lyrics as he talks about two fish in love. Barrett brings the pyschedelic rock in "No Man's Land." Layered 60's-sounding electric guitars. Bass, drums. Barrett is talking fast. About WWI, I'm guessing. "Here I Go" is a nice acoustic song with bouncey drums. Barrett in a deadpan voice. The sole single was "Octopus." A hard strumming acoustic guitar. Soft drums. Echoing vocals. Pyschedelic pop. A man at the border... of madness? He talks about octopus rides too. The last four songs are short and acoustic. "She Took a Long Cold Look" caught my attention with lyrics thst appear to be about taking drugs and being in Pink Floyd. This album mostly worked work for me. Short, acoustic, catchy songs in the pyschedelic pop category. As one would imagine, the lyrics are all over the place. Some of these songs probably didn't need to be on an album but, hey, they are a documentation of Barrett at this time. It's an album that early Pink Floyd fans should like. I'm not sure about anyone else.

Only really interesting for inside baseball reasons, and I still wouldn’t exactly call this essential listening for those reasons either

Indeed. Founder of Pink Floyd, musical genius, whimsical psychedelic, free spirit (as in unhinged), and certifiably psychotic. Syd Barrett was notorious for being too strung out and deranged to deal with professionally, as well as incalculable in his endeavors. With that in mind, I feel a kind of pity, where it's readily perceptible that he's traversing into psychosis; I should not be listening to this mental meltdown.

joo hulluus. he just went insane - roger waters. kammottava virne kasvoilla. painajaismainen hymy... "hahahahaahhahaha" - syd barret... ja kävelee nurmikolle...oliko hän hullu? vai olemmeko me kaikki hulluja? emme ole. vittu mikä kaheli kaveri "hahahahahahha bit of dark humor.. bit of anarchy..." -syd baretti.. kuka VITTU antoi hänelle luvan käyttää äänitysstudiota..eikus odota.. voimme takoa rahaa tällä heh.. kukas teistä on syd? u guys are superstar now hehe... no good trying

Similar to magnetic fields in that there is likely a very good like 8/9 track album in here, but different in that the extra tracks don't really expand the palette, they're just more of the same.

A confusing one. I understand the lore around the album, the cry from the soul of a tortured artist once brimming with creativity and losing their weak grip on reality amongst a battle against psycadelics and mental health. Also it's the sound of the death of the sixties hippie ideal. I get all that but also some of it is just a bit crap. Flashes of beauty, flashes of greatness, flashes of unabashed and unburdened individuality but also flashes of rambling and shouldn't have been released. There's some 5s here and some 1s so it gets a 3

boring and slow 2 stars.

Couldn’t get through it.

Meh

This was a big ol' fat disappointment. For such an interesting title, the Madcap Laughs was lackluster, just like how a lot of folk is. And damn, those vocals were doing too much and it was very yikes. The reason singers that lack good voices (Alice Cooper, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits) do so well is that they don't strain their voices like Syd Barrett does.

Yikes. I can't believe Barrett would essentially be ousted from Pink Floyd due to failing mental health and someone decided that meant it was time to capitalize on him with a solo album. This album really just reflects that mental state: it's scattered, messy, and incoherent at times. Sonically, it is pretty boring especially when compared to similar material that The Beatles were putting out. And the longer the album goes on, the more it seems to reflect these negative traits. I really can't tell you why the author saw fit to include this on the project. This album was not much of a success and Barrett's solo career (as well as his music career overall) ended just a couple of years later without much further fanfare.

Decent

I feel like I objectively didn’t love it but subjectively I like it does that make sense

3/10 - I do not like his singing like at all. The songs without his singing are quite boring. There are multiple times that he starts and then has to re-record and its a part of the song? I just do not get it, it does not sound good.

mid and weird

Frickin' great.

Good example of psychedelic rock. But not a great one.

This one was so weird and out there that it was impossible to enjoy. Then reading the background behind the album made it even more sad and depressing.

Ooooh na.

Definitely the best of Syd’s solo works. That said, it’s not as great as anything on Piper at the Gates of Dawn which is a shame. Terrapin, Octopus, No Man’s Land, Here I Go, Long Gone and Dark Globe are probably my favorites. Some sound a lot like hits by later bands but with less production. The album definitely gets weird and some songs are very nonsensical but there is a charm to that. Like nursery rhymes being sung by someone on acid. Which is basically what this was. Fun, but not something I would put in regular rotation

Yep I’m hard

A fun enough and whimsical album that falls a part a bit at the end

Charmingly depraved is the best way I can describe this. The songs vary from sounding freshly hungover to freshly high. Octopus is definitely the best track but nothing was unenjoyable to me.4/5

That was not pleasant, nor is it supposed to be but I’d be happy to die without hearing this tbh

Kind of depressing but... a little too much psychedelia for me in an album dose that is.

Kinda got Pink Floyd vibes from this

Really came around to this at the end. I especially liked the last 2 songs.

I really liked this!! excited for this list to force me to listen to a lot more floyd !!

I have always loved this album for its whimsical nature and interesting lyrics. Sadly, Syd was somewhat of a mad genius and the architect of early Pink Floyd. It is a shame that he succumbed to mental illness. His predicament influenced many classic Pink Floyd albums to come. With an unfiltered and raw production, this album is a lot of fun to listen to and can elicit many emotional responses. RIP Syd!

Yes, schizophrenic musicians are interest. But the Piper at the Gates of Dawn gives any music fan a full taste of Syd Barrett AND is actually an album; and a really intriguing, cohesive one at that. This? This comes across as a basket of basement tapes.

Easygoing charm

I find this one difficult to rate. While I did enjoy a large portion of the album it felt overshadowed by his work on Pink Floyd which I much prefer to this solo project. I also am not a fan of how the Apple Music links always pull up some deluxe version of the album and I forgot to check before playing this one and heard the same song about 6 different times. I can definitely hear how this may have influenced certain sounds that I really enjoy like Neutral Milk Hotel or even the Mountain Goats. This album crawled so those groups could soar.

it's not very pretty or even particularly good but there is something affecting and tragic about the whole thing, both in the story behind its recording and musically. octopus does actually kind of slap though

Do not want. This is purely fan service for Pink Floyd fans.

Was alright

This was terrible. It almost felt like this guy was tricking everyone into believing that since he came from a famous band that he could do whatever he wanted and they'd eat it up.

Aight

boring ahh album

Sounds like if John Lennon took too much heroin and just noodled around with some half baked song ideas.

Dude was so unwell, would make such a crazy double listen with Wish You Were Here. Such a sad tale really, like what the hell happened to this poor dude?

Shine on you quirky fella.

Another great Brit album

Eh. Thought I was going to like this more.

Awful

Absolute sack of shit. What a waste of my time.

Two stars because although it reminds me of early Floyd (obviously!), it is very definitely not Floyd. It sounds like a poor imitation. No slight to Barrett is intended: he was an important part of the band, but his solo work, if this is typical, is not up to the same standard.

This is worth knowing, though mainly for historical purposes, and for reference to "mad genius" mythos. It's interesting, but not necessarily enjoyable or ultimately that impactful. Does get tedious after a time.

There's a couple decent songs here but it's mostly not great listening. It's certainly odd and tragic in about equal doses.

I was kinda of excited about this one as I do love me some Pink Floyd. But then I was quickly reminded that I don't love all of Pink Floyd's work, least of all some of the early, uncomfortable psychedelic material. Seems like Syd Barrett was pretty much the early, uncomfortable, and psychedelic part of Pink Floyd, both musically and on a human level. While this album did have its good sides, this was rather disappointing.

not to sure about this one

Oh god this was intolerable. This voice is so horrible and mopey and just drags on like it doesn’t matter. I really hated this and I just can’t see why it’s on this list: it sounds like he gave up trying immediately. Boring, gross.

Weird - this album sounds like someone ushered a sad, mentally ill, doped up dude off the street into a small room, gave him an untuned guitar, then turned on an old tape recorder and said GO! Oh wait... "....informing the music press that Barrett was suffering from nervous exhaustion..." -wiki Nervous exhaustion? I've got nervous exhaustion every damn day - who doesn't? I didn't get a major label release. It would be a far fking sight better than this tripe. Sorrynotsorryabit to sound unsympathetic but the excuses made for Syd Barrett and this pile of dog shit recording can get real tiring to read about. I've no patience for this twaddle - guy couldn't sing, couldn't play, had trouble putting shit together to make even somewhat of a cohesive song - SHOCKING that Pink Floyd took off after his dismissal... That was sarcasm. This is awful. 1/10 1 star.

This is a very weird record, equally horrible and amazing. At times it felt like listening to the unloved, disfigured child of David Bowie and Nick Drake. I take consolation in knowing that Syd Barrett from Pink Floyd sucked on the guitar as much as I do, but if I have to listen to fucking Love You again, I swear to David Bowie I'll revive Syd and stab him myself. 2.5/5.

Acoustic Psychedelia! I'm giving this one a 3 because I am a big fan of Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd. My favorite song off of this album was and has been Octopus. I feel like he tried to achieve the similar results with the rest of the songs but wasn't able to find the magic and they ended up sounded jumbled up.

Was going to give it a 2 because I just couldn't get into it, then after hearing Late Night it had to drop to a 1.

This was a bit painful. Started with some good stuff. Devolved into not so good stuff. Knowing a small bit of the personal troubles of Syd during this time, especially, it didn't help me find the good in the bad. 2

This didn't do much for me. It's another one where I assume the lyrics are significant part of the draw. 2.2

I need a lot more time with this one.

Nothing to shout about.

I like psych music and was under the impression Syd Barrett was cool so I thought I’d like this. I didn’t, in fact it bored me quite a bit. The girl referenced on the track, Here I Go was right to dislike Syd’s songs. 2 stars

Day267 - if you told me this was an early pink floyd album i wouldn’t argue

This runs runs the gamut from uninteresting to pretty awful. Kept waiting for the finely written tune - never heard it.

Inget speciellt.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this album. I love Pink Floyd but I find their earliest stuff to be a bit of a challenge. And I’ve heard lots of stories about the eccentricities of Barrett. So, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy this record. There are moments that produced genuine emotional reactions. Most especially “Dark Globe”. https://richcain.substack.com/p/project-1001-the-madcap-laughs-by?r=4ztyq

I'm honestly a little shocked how much I enjoy this, as I not only am not that big of a fan of Syd Barrett's contributions to Pink Floyd, but I'm not the biggest Floyd fan in general, but the folky, amateur style of this album feels just quirky enough to come off completely earnestly, and oddly charming. Syd Barrett's voice isn't the strongest, the compositions aren't the most enthralling, and the instrumentation is usually pretty simple, but because of all of that this just feels like predicting the sound of 90s twee twenty years in advance, and comes off as in tandem with Nick Drake's discography to create an all new sound in folk, something light and breezy but still oppressing in their lyrics and under the surface oddities. This album has some great moments, and while sometimes I think Syd lets that strong songwriting get away from him at times, most of the album is surprisingly concise and well-written, and in turn I find myself enjoying a lot of this album.

Beautifully damaged music from a beautifully damaged genius. "Golden Hair" is such a jam

Jesus this was a long 37 minutes. I mean, what exactly is supposed to be good or interesting about this? This just sounds like every other guy with an acoustic guitar who can’t sing (I should know, I am one). No wonder Pink Floyd didn’t become successful until after this guy left.

Sorry Syd, not for me lad. I’d have kicked you out of Pink Floyd as well tbf. Simpsons: I don’t think Pink Floyd references count?

This was actually awful. Why on earth is it regarded as one of the 1001 albums I must hear before I die? Is it because it's so notably bad it must be heard to demonstrate how bad music can be? Nothing personal against Syd, I reckon if I were to record an album it would be similar to this. Just as horrific. To make matters worse, I'm pretty sure I listened to this album a while ago and forgot to leave a review, so have had to endure it for a second time.

this wasn't good but I'm not sure it's bad enough for a one.

There's something interesting about this I guess but in a bit of a dull way. I'm happy for Syd that he managed to make his art but I don't love it. It's kind of awkward that the best bit of art related to him is Wish You Were Here which he had nothing to do with apart from being missed.

Seemed mostly like it was just being weird for weirdness' sake. I kinda liked "Octopus" but otherwise I just waiting for it to be over.

I don’t get it

Very nice album

5/5

Respect the hurmuri syd 3< >3 <3 <3<3

Pink Floydin perustajajäsen ja entinen keulahahmo. Erikoista folkkia. Parhaat: Long Gone, Late Night

This is what they mean when they scream ‘inject it into my veins.’ This guitar tone is fucking enticing. Had to go back and immediately listen to the first song again. Can’t get enough.

Semi-psychedelic

Some of this is interesting. Some of its quite bad. If Its You sucks a lot. Waste of time Its one of those things that is hard to listen to, because it's bad, but clearly Barrett is not right.