Opel is a 1988 album compiled from recordings made by former Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett between 1968 and 1970. The album is a compilation of unreleased material and alternate takes of recordings from sessions for Barrett's solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett. Before they were vetoed by Pink Floyd, the album was to include two unreleased tracks that Barrett had worked on while with Pink Floyd, "Scream Thy Last Scream" and "Vegetable Man".
The Madcap Laughs is the debut solo album by the English singer-songwriter Syd Barrett. It was recorded after Barrett had left Pink Floyd in April 1968. The album had a chequered recording history, with work beginning in mid-1968, but the bulk of the sessions taking place between April and July 1969, for which five different producers were credited − including Barrett, Peter Jenner, Malcolm Jones, and fellow Pink Floyd members David Gilmour and Roger Waters. Among the guest musicians are Willie Wilson from Gilmour's old band Jokers Wild and Robert Wyatt of the band Soft Machine.
Barrett is the second and final studio album of new material released by former Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett. Recording began at Abbey Road Studios on 26 February 1970, and lasted for 15 sessions until 21 July. The album was produced by Pink Floyd's guitarist David Gilmour and keyboardist Richard Wright, who also contributed on bass guitar and keyboards respectively, along with previous Madcap contributor Jerry Shirley on drums.
"See Emily Play" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, released as their second single in June 1967. Written by original frontman Syd Barrett and recorded on 23 May 1967, it has "The Scarecrow" as its B-side. It was released as a non-album single, but appeared as the opening track of the U.S. edition of the band's debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967).
The Peel Session is a collection of recordings by Syd Barrett released on 25 January 1987. This EP contains the five songs he performed for the John Peel Top Gear show, recorded on 24 February 1970 and broadcast shortly after.
Crazy Diamond is a 1993 triple-CD boxed set of Syd Barrett's two 1970 albums The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, and Opel, an out-takes compilation from 1988. All discs are further augmented by various alternate takes.
"Our main plan was to find Syd's acoustic takes, before the other musicians were drafted in to overdub them. But we stumbled across some fascinating material that sheds new light on Syd's working methods." — Phil Smee
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.
"Octopus" is a song by Syd Barrett. It appeared on his first solo album, The Madcap Laughs.
"Jugband Blues" is a song by the English psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd, and is featured on their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets, released in 1968. Written by Syd Barrett, it was his sole compositional contribution to the album, as well as his last published for the band. Barrett and Pink Floyd's management wanted the song to be released as a single, but were vetoed by the rest of the band and producer Norman Smith. "Jugband Blues" is directed towards anyone within Barrett's proximity.
"Remember a Day" is a song by the British rock band Pink Floyd, written and sung by their keyboardist Richard Wright, appearing on their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). It was performed by Pink Floyd only once, as an encore in May 1968; it was subsequently performed by David Gilmour in September 2008 in memory of Wright, who had recently died of cancer, on Later... with Jools Holland, and by Nick Mason during his Saucerful of Secrets tour. The dreamy, poetic lyrics are about nostalgia for the lost paradise of early childhood.
"Arnold Layne" is the debut single released by the English rock band Pink Floyd on 10 March 1967, written by Syd Barrett.
Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett was an English singer, songwriter, musician and painter who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett named the group and was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his English-accented singing, literary influences, and whimsical take on psychedelia. As a guitarist, he was influential for his free-form playing and for employing dissonance, distortion, echo, feedback, and other studio effects.
"Dark Globe" is a song by Syd Barrett, released on his first solo album The Madcap Laughs.
"Vegetable Man" is a song written by Syd Barrett for the English rock band Pink Floyd in 1967. It was considered for the band's third single or for inclusion on their second album A Saucerful of Secrets. Bootlegged for decades, the song did not have an official release until 2016, when it was included on the box set The Early Years 1965–1972.
"Terrapin" is the opening song on Syd Barrett's first solo album The Madcap Laughs. Its arrangement is sparse, like much of the album, and features only acoustic and electric guitar accompaniment to the vocals. This song, along with "Maisie" and "Bob Dylan Blues"; reflected Barrett's early interest in the blues. Iggy the Eskimo, one of Barrett's acquaintances, had called the song "quite catchy".
"Bob Dylan Blues" is a song written in 1965 by Syd Barrett, the founder of Pink Floyd. Recorded during sessions for Barrett, it was unreleased until it turned up in 2001. The song was included in The Best of Syd Barrett.
Syd Barrett (1946–2006) was an English musician who was best known as the original frontman and primary songwriter of the English rock band Pink Floyd. With the band, he recorded and wrote the majority of songs for their first album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and was credited for one song on their second album A Saucerful of Secrets. To this day, his Pink Floyd songs are used frequently on the band's various compilations.
"Baby Lemonade" is the opening track to Syd Barrett's second studio album, Barrett. "Baby Lemonade", and another song, "Gigolo Aunt", were recorded by Barrett playing and singing over a prerecorded backing track. The solo was performed by Barrett, not David Gilmour as is often noted. The intro was actually Barrett simply warming-up on guitar, that Gilmour had managed to record and placed it at the start of the album, making it seem like an intro to the song. It was included on the multi-artist Harvest compilation, A Breath of Fresh Air – A Harvest Records Anthology 1969–1974 in 2007.
