When Syd Barrett departed from The Pink Floyd, flagbearers of British psychedelia, in early 1968, few could've predicted how strangely his career would pan out. Evidently disturbed, the two haphazard solo albums he recorded were one thing. But in 1970, Barrett retreated to his mother's house in Cambridge, his LSD-overloaded mind in tatters, and was never seen again. By all accounts, he's still there now.
There are certain ethical problems, then, with this compilation drawn from his two completed albums, 'The Madcap Laughs' and 'Barrett', and the 'Opel' collection of out-takes. Listening to these odd, rough songs, you're conscious of intruding on someone's very personal breakdown. 'Swan Lee' may appear to be an absurd Native American children's tale, but it's Barrett's stubborn guitar meanders and frayed and desperate vocals than linger uncomfortably. Like his American contemporary Skip Spence, these are documents of mental illness that disconcert with every listen.
And yet, guiltily, they're frequently engrossing, too. 'Wouldn't You Miss Me?' isn't just an example of psychedelia's fall-out, but a collection of songs from one of Britain's finest and tragically squandered talents. It's Barrett who invents here a particularly blackened but whimsical, very English tone that's influenced everyone from Bowie to Blur, with every acid revivalist and indie freak troubadour in between.
Whilst his old bandmates in Pink Floyd began the turgid process that would turn them into the planet's biggest band, Barrett sat down with his guitar and somehow wrote songs - 'Late Night', 'Baby Lemonade', 'Gigolo Aunt' - that haunt most who've heard them to this day. Uncomfortable, perhaps, but essential nevertheless.
