Syd Barrett - Wouldn't You Miss Me? The Best Of

 

This 2001 compilation merges cuts from The Madcap Laughs, Barrett and the outtakes CD Opel along with previously unreleased tracks "Two of a Kind" (from John  Peel's radio show in 1970) and, from David Gilmour's personal collection, an original, "Bob Dylan Blues". The order of the tunes are slightly jumbled, for some reason, although generally in order of appearance, with the rarities closing out the collection.

The music does flow well here, though, and the record company did choose a good selection of the more song-oriented tunes and less of the truly out-there numbers and the fidgety false starts'n'such. The Peel Sessions' "Two of a Kind" is another catchy Barrett number, with him on acoustic guitar and harmonizing with himself with some percussion moving the song along. "Bob Dylan Blues" is actually a pretty funny, light-hearted jab at Dylan and shows that Syd could be totally together at times. The finale is an instrumental take on "Golden Hair" with really nice guitar swells highlighting the melody.

I can actually see this comp being one of the more commercial releases for Syd, since it does remove some of the more extreme bits that appeared on the two "official" releases and concentrates on his songs, which are quite memorable, actually. This would be a perfect starting place for someone wanting to explore Syd's solo works.