No 1960s songwriter discussion is complete without addressing Syd Barrett’s prodigious work. Barrett led Pink Floyd, a lesser-known British rock band, and was a complicated character with a musical mind. The composer swiftly established Floyd as one of Britain’s top groups, releasing legendary compositions like Piper at the Gates of Dawn, before being removed due to drug use and mental illness. Pink Floyd fired Syd Barrett, a rock genius, in one of the most contentious moves. Many admirers say the group’s songwriting plummeted after the departure. As his health worsened, the songwriter knew he could no longer play with Pink Floyd. The former Pink Floyd frontman’s solo work is brilliant, regardless of your opinion on the band.
After Barrett was fired from Pink Floyd, his bandmates supported him. Roger Waters and David Gilmour produced his solo debut, The Madcap Laughs. Barrett’s songwriting was obviously appreciated by the couple, regardless of Pink Floyd membership. Waters always admired his close friend’s songwriting. Barrett writes brilliant songs on Floyd albums like Piper at the Gates of Dawn and ‘Jugband Blues’ from A Saucerful of Secrets, but his solo work is as impressive. Waters said, “It seemed to me to be a direct continuation of the songs he wrote when he was still in the band,” but Barrett was already psychotic and experiencing terrible estrangement from everyone.
In a 2001 conversation with John Edginton, Waters raved about Barrett’s work. According to Waters, one of his solo songs sticks out. “For me, that period – the gem in all of that was ‘Dark Globe’,” he remarked. “I still find myself sitting, I can be driving along in the car and I’ll certainly sing it”. Barrett’s ‘Dark Globe’, featured on The Madcap Laughs, inspired R.E.M. and Soundgarden. The song is dark and dramatic, as expected from a composer struggling with his identity. However, Barrett expresses these gloomy ideas and psychological battles via irreverent imagery and psychedelic motifs, making it gut-wrenching but not self-pitying.
“It was so weird and crazy,” Waters, who produced the song, says, “but I get chills just talking about it.” “Of course, so do a lot of people”. It is hard to listen to ‘Dark Globe’ without seeing Syd Barrett’s sad tribulations. Nobody should know it better than Roger Waters.
