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A review by greenpete
A Very Irregular Head: The Life of Syd Barrett by Rob Chapman
4.0
Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour was once quoted as saying Syd Barrett's story isn't romantic, but sad, and that it's "now over." He's right about it being sad and, now, finally over (Barrett died in 2006). But it's also romantic. How can it not be? Barrett is the only music personage I know who fronted a band, gave it its name, wrote almost all its material, was its most gifted, most artistic, and most magnetic member... and then who deteriorated (assisted by hallucinogens, mental illness, and a refusal to play the music biz game) to the point of living like a mute hermit for several decades...part of the time in his mother's basement...while the band he once fronted went on to massive international fame. That story alone is worth biographical treatment. But as Chapman reveals in this very thorough, affectionate, and painstakingly researched bio, Barrett's musical ideas were fairly revolutionary, and his lyrical gifts - although snuffed out early - used meter, rhythm, assonance, and imagery on a scale with the best English writers and poets.
Criticisms: the book (like its subject) is very "English." For example, educational terms like A- and O-levels and sixth forms are alien to an American like me. There's a lot of name-dropping of fairly obscure (to me) cultural figures without explanation. (Although I've heard of pop artist Richard Hamilton, I wonder how many other readers have.) There are minor errors: producer Joe Boyd attended Harvard, not Princeton; it's Dick Clark's AMERICAN Bandstand; John Cale brought to England the early Velvet Underground demos, not Kate Heliczer; and the index is often inaccurate.
My biggest criticism is that - and it's probably no fault of Chapman's - Syd's bandmates (excluding Rick Wright, who died in 2008) didn't want to be interviewed for the book. Their reticence is confusing and frustrating. It not only left large gaps in Syd's bio, especially during the crucial year of 1966, it also forced Chapman to go way outside his subject and to belabor discussion of Sixties cultural environment and to speculate on Barrett's influences and artistic peers. For example, other than where Syd dwelled and when/where his band performed, the entirety of Chapter 3 has very little of him at all.
Chapman's coup, however, was soliciting involvement of Syd's family. Toward the end Syd was closest to his sister Rosemary, who looked after him till his death of pancreatic cancer at age 60. Her recollections, as well as nephew Ian's and even a neighbor girl's, provide a fascinating if not dispiriting window into the Madcap's final years. The Barrett family has always been very guarded and protective of "Roger" - I tried to interview Rosemary and her husband for my blog, unsuccessfully, a few years ago -so it's to Chapman's credit that he was able to crack that formidable ice. The fact that he was a fan before Syd's disappearing act, and even contributed to a very early Syd Barrett "fanzine," gives him credibility even beyond his obvious writing skills.
Lastly...rest in peace, Roger Keith Barrett. And thank you for your inspired music and singular integrity.
Criticisms: the book (like its subject) is very "English." For example, educational terms like A- and O-levels and sixth forms are alien to an American like me. There's a lot of name-dropping of fairly obscure (to me) cultural figures without explanation. (Although I've heard of pop artist Richard Hamilton, I wonder how many other readers have.) There are minor errors: producer Joe Boyd attended Harvard, not Princeton; it's Dick Clark's AMERICAN Bandstand; John Cale brought to England the early Velvet Underground demos, not Kate Heliczer; and the index is often inaccurate.
My biggest criticism is that - and it's probably no fault of Chapman's - Syd's bandmates (excluding Rick Wright, who died in 2008) didn't want to be interviewed for the book. Their reticence is confusing and frustrating. It not only left large gaps in Syd's bio, especially during the crucial year of 1966, it also forced Chapman to go way outside his subject and to belabor discussion of Sixties cultural environment and to speculate on Barrett's influences and artistic peers. For example, other than where Syd dwelled and when/where his band performed, the entirety of Chapter 3 has very little of him at all.
Chapman's coup, however, was soliciting involvement of Syd's family. Toward the end Syd was closest to his sister Rosemary, who looked after him till his death of pancreatic cancer at age 60. Her recollections, as well as nephew Ian's and even a neighbor girl's, provide a fascinating if not dispiriting window into the Madcap's final years. The Barrett family has always been very guarded and protective of "Roger" - I tried to interview Rosemary and her husband for my blog, unsuccessfully, a few years ago -so it's to Chapman's credit that he was able to crack that formidable ice. The fact that he was a fan before Syd's disappearing act, and even contributed to a very early Syd Barrett "fanzine," gives him credibility even beyond his obvious writing skills.
Lastly...rest in peace, Roger Keith Barrett. And thank you for your inspired music and singular integrity.