Product: The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story
Rating: 4.0
Could have been so much better
Just a few comments. Rick Wright's rather startling revelation that Syd broke down over the course of one weekend isn't supported by the facts. Rick says that Syd didn't show up for a BBC radio spot - this was on the final Friday of July '67. Rick then states that Syd didn't turn up again until "Sunday or Monday" and the Floyd's management told him that "something had happened to Syd."Problem is, every other source for the "BBC breakdown" say that Syd DID turn up for the spot but "freaked out" during it, and the piece was never aired. Furthermore, the Floyd played 2 shows that very evening at the UFO and 2 more on Saturday, including an all-nite rave "Love-In." so for Rick to state that Syd disappeared for the weekend doesn't seem possible. How could they play 4 shows during Syd's disappearance? The radio show that Rick refers to has got to be the BBC Saturday Club taping to which I'm referring, as there were no other Friday radio tapings during this entire period when Syd was breaking down.I'd also like to comment on Jerry Shirley's point that Syd seemed to be faking his illness. I've always wondered about that too. By December '67 we all know Syd looked fried, EMI was refusing to release his singles because they were supposedly no good, Syd couldn't play anymore and couldn't function in a band, etc. etc. etc.Thing is, the footage here of the Floyd on Tomorrow's World shows the band playing an excellent space-blues tune and Syd's playing is excellent. Add in the second BBC session, also from December, and it's pretty clear that Syd COULD still play, and quite well. That Tomorrow's World footage is some of the best playing I've heard from him. And the songs that EMI was rejecting - Vegetable Man and Scream thy last Scream, are two of his best songs! Given all of this evidence, literally weeks after the disasterous US Tour, the American Bandstand meltdown etc. makes me wonder if Jerry Shirley might be right. Food for thought anyway.As for the DVD, the Astronomy Domine footage is the best quality I've ever seen, and the aforementioned Tomorrow's World footage is priceless...but why in God's name do they insist on showing only a few seconds-cut to some vapid interview - cut back to the footage - etc.? And where's the American Bandstand footage and the Jugband Blues promo? The Syd Barrett Under Review DVD has those, but they also insisted on showing us only isolated clips from the footage. This historic and rare footage should at LEAST have been included uncut as bonus material instead of pointless cover versions of Syd's songs.The interviews with the band members and friends are great, and the Vegetable Man promo was fantastic to finally see, even if once again they didn't let us see ALL of it. This DVD is great, but could have been better with uncut footage from Look of the Week, Tomorrow's World, the promo vids, etc.