Syd Barrett was a founding member of Pink Floyd. He composed most of the songs from their first album, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, as well as those wonderful singles such as See Emily Play. Alas, while Sid was gifted with a musical genius he was also cursed with madness, and his hold on reality began to slip after that first album was released. While touring in North America, there were nights when he would refuse to bring his guitar on stage, and other nights when he would be oblivious to tuning or play the same chord over and over again. And so the rest of the band decided to bring in David Gilmour as the fifth member, while allowing Sid to continue writing songs and recording with the band.
At least that was the plan.
It didn't quite work out that way and the band finally split with Syd in 1968. Not that his former bandmates walked away from him. They did what they could. When he began working on a solo album, David Gilmour and Roger Waters stepped in to help him finish it. The album, titled The Madcap Laughs, was released in January, 1970, and received some good reviews. Syd even tried to play a few gigs following its release, although it seems that his performances were erratic at best... when he bothered to show up.
Following a brief stay in a psychiatric hospital, Barrett started work on a second album, this time with help from Gilmour, Richard Wright and Humble Pie's Jerry Shirley. The second album, titled Barrett, was released in November of 1970 and pretty much ignored until 1974, when both The Madcap Laughs and Barrett were released as a double album in the USA.
I discovered these gems in 1975. In a bargain bin.
Enjoy.
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