Interesting and Informative
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Well written book about the madcap genius - virtually read it in one day. Well researched by the authors and updated recently with more facts about Syd I would say this is the best Roger Keith Barrett biography.
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Syd Barrett: Descent Into Madness
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"Crazy Diamond" is in my opinion from the five or six other bio's I've read on Syd and early Floyd pretty accurate. If nothing else it's an interesting read! Many people who knew Syd back in the day were interviewed. Everyone's story was a little different. One constant however, was that Syd still would have ended up in the Lost And Found even if he didn't ingest so much LSD. There are numerous rumors and myths brought to light in "Crazy Diamond". If you've read " Madcap", or any of the other Syd material, you would see just how much contradiction there is about Syd's life and exploits. He is definitely a very colorful character! I won't spoil your fun by giving away any of the juice! You'll just have to make the investment and read the book.
I will tell you that the book begins with Syd's early years then rather quickly moves on to his intro to the other founding members of "The Pink Floyd Sound" as they were initially called. It continues from his early writing and success "The Piper At The Gates of Dawn", to his extremes and expulsion from the band, his self inposed seclusion, and finally, his early demise.
Recommended for die-hard Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd fans! Although the casual Floyd reader may enjoy it also!
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Syd Barrett: Descent Into Madness
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I was expecting something very much like the title states- "Crazy Diamond". I wasn't disappointed. The book begins with Syd's youth and then jumps into the early Floyd. If you enjoy any of syd's small body of work,you will begin to feel sorry for this music icon. Syd's fall from grace and early demise are very disturbing. As felt by Roger and David, Syd would have still have ended up in a world of his own even with the amount of LSD he ingested over the years. Probably not as soon, but he would still have had his meltdown. Several rumors-myths are discussed in the book,one was about the reason for the title of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". It had already been written and was being recorded even before Syd made his unscheduled appearance at the Abby Road Studios [which I might add, no one even recognized their former founder] during the "Wish You Were Here" sessions. The other rumors and myths I'll leave to the reader to discover.
All that being said, I personally enjoyed this sad but informative book and do recommend it to any diehard Syd Barrett fans.
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Lost hero
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this book gives you a glimpse of the very early days of Pink Floyd and the slow tragic decline into despair that plagued Syd Barrett. Interesting and a great read. I would definitely recommend this book.
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Yes There Is Something New After All
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Having read most of what's available on the Barrett saga this well researched volume did in fact offer some new tantalising glimpses of the exit of the great man from his band. Long suspected, and seldom recorded fact is the Floyd hated him towards the end and assisted Syd's exit/decline when they were in danger of losing the gravy train. There is an incident that is recalled in the book during the Hendrix tour when Syd (out of it) bought a lot of sandwiches and stuffed them into his gob encouraged by Mr Nasty (Waters). The rest of the Floyd allegedly joining in the ensuing on bus piss take. I find it hard to believe that Wright was in on this, one thing the book brings across very strongly is the Wright-Barrett connection which was the Pink Floyd Sound as it were. Rog just played bass and couldn't even tune it. Taken as a whole the book leaves one with a profound sense of sadness concerning the demise of possibly the most original talent (outside Lennon and McCartney) of the psychedelic era. No wonder so many post Syd Floyd albums can be viewed as cathartic. Roger needs to make a long overdue visit to Cambridge in this writers opinion.
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