The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me?

The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me?
Greatest hits album by Syd Barrett
Released	16 April 2001
Recorded	Abbey Road May 1968 – July 1970
Genre	Rock
Length	73:21
Label	Harvest (UK) Capitol (US)
Producer	Syd Barrett, Peter Jenner, Malcolm Jones, Roger Waters and David Gilmour
Syd Barrett chronology
Crazy Diamond (1993) The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me? (2001) Syd Barrett: The Radio One Sessions (2004)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
The Guardian	[3]
NME	[4]
OndaRock	7/10 [5]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]
Pitchfork	8.5/10 [7]

The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me? is a compilation album by Syd Barrett released in 2001 that spans Barrett's entire solo career. It was released on 16 April 2001 in the UK and 11 September 2001 in the US.

Content

Comprising highlights from Syd Barrett's two 1970 albums The Madcap Laughs (seven songs), ^[1] Barrett (nine songs), ^[1] and the 1988 out-takes collection Opel (four songs), ^[1] the album was issued to service casual Barrett fans who presumably would only require one disc of his music.

As a bonus to dedicated Barrett followers, The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me? includes "Two of a Kind", from Barrett's John Peel radio show performance in February 1970, ^[1] and, courtesy of David Gilmour's personal collection, ^[8] Barrett's previously-unreleased "Bob Dylan Blues", ^[1] an original recorded a few days after "Two of a Kind", ^{[8] [9]} that before this release was a very rare and sought-after song.

Track listing

All songs by Syd Barrett, except where noted.

The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me? track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original album	Length
1.	"Octopus"		The Madcap Laughs	3:48
2.	"Late Night"		The Madcap Laughs	3:14
3.	"Terrapin"		The Madcap Laughs	5:03
4.	"Swan Lee (Silas Lang)"		Opel	3:14
5.	"Wolfpack"		Barrett	3:45
6.	"Golden Hair"	Barrett, James Joyce	The Madcap Laughs	1:59
7.	"Here I Go"		The Madcap Laughs	3:11
8.	"Long Gone"		The Madcap Laughs	2:49
9.	"No Good Trying"		The Madcap Laughs	3:25
10.	"Opel"		Opel	6:26
11.	"Baby Lemonade"		Barrett	4:10
12.	"Gigolo Aunt"		Barrett	5:45
13.	"Dominoes"		Barrett	4:06
14.	"Wouldn't You Miss Me (Dark Globe)"		Opel	3:00
15.	"Wined and Dined"		Barrett	2:56
16.	"Effervescing Elephant"		Barrett	1:53
17.	"Waving My Arms in the Air"		Barrett	2:07
18.	"I Never Lied to You"		Barrett	1:49
19.	"Love Song"		Barrett	3:02
20.	"Two of a Kind"	†	The Peel Session	2:35
21.	"Bob Dylan Blues"		Previously unreleased	3:14
22.	"Golden Hair" (Instrumental)		Opel	1:50
Total length:				73:21

^† — Possibly written by Richard Wright (according to David Gilmour), though Barrett insisted it was his own composition. ^[10]

Production

• Syd Barrett – producer
• Tim Chacksfield – project coordinator
• David Gilmour – producer
• Peter Jenner – producer
• Malcolm Jones – producer, overdub producer
• Peter Mew  – transfers, remastering
• Mark Paytress – liner notes
• Nigel Reeve – project coordinator
• Phil Smee – package design

References

1. Kellman, Andy. "Wouldn't You Miss Me?: The Best of Syd Barrett – Syd Barrett : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic . Retrieved 2 August 2012.
2. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0-85712-595-8.
3. Sweeting, Adam (13 April 2001). "Pop CD releases". The Guardian .
4. Oldham, James (10 April 2001). "NME Album Reviews – Syd Barrett : Wouldn't You Miss Me? (The Best Of...)". Nme.com. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
5. "Syd Barrett - biografia, recensioni, streaming, discografia, foto". OndaRock.it. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
6. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). Syd Barrett. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   9780743201698 . Retrieved 15 April 2020.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
7. "Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me: The Best of... | Album Reviews". Pitchfork . 12 November 2002.
8. Jones, Malcolm (2003). The Making of The Madcap Laughs (21 ed.). Brain Damage. pp. 13–14.
9. Barrett (booklet). Syd Barrett. EMI. p. 2.
10. Watkinson, Mike; Pete Anderson. Crazy Diamond: Syd Barrett & the Dawn of Pink Floyd. p. 92.