Barrett & the guitar...
Exercises in aural soundscapes
by Paul Brown 30/7/97
Since the first alternative guitar noodlings of blues guitarist Pat Hare and rock guitarist
Link Wray in the fifties, there have been a plethora of guitarists who have
dared to sound different. Perhaps the most revolutionary of these guitarists in
the sixties was Syd Barrett. Syd's approach to the
guitar was not only different in terms of sound or tone, but also in terms of
technique. Though people such as Hendrix and Jeff Beck (Yardbirds)
certainly possessed more 'technical' knowledge, Barrett had at his fingertips
an almost otherworldy application to all things
guitar. Barrett can be seen as the logical conclusion to Dave Davies of the Kinks
and Pete Townshend of the Who in the sense that these
aforementioned guitarists were intuitive players who drew upon themselves to
make up for their lack of schooled musical knowledge. Davies had revolutionised the sound of guitar with his proto-punk
power chords on 'You Really Got Me' in 1964 and Townshend
had followed soon after with an exaggerated take on Davies with 'Anyway,
Anyhow, Anywhere'. These powerful songs certainly had an impact on Barrett and
the ramifications of this impact were to be heard on the first Floyd single. Despite
Syd's predilection for delta and electric blues, he
developed a totally unique approach to these styles. By using treated amounts
of delay & reverb, Barrett was able to make the slide guitar sound unlike
anything heard before (a great example of this slide technique is 'Late Night').
Not only did the slide sound different, but also his choice of phrasing was
strictly non-blues. In songs such as 'Astronomy Dominie'
there are traces of Chuck Berry riffs, but they are played in such a convoluted
and frantic manner that they are rendered virtually un-recognisable.
Unlike Beck and Hendrix, Syd's guitar work was not
taken from the blues template...instead it was influenced by his own 'artistic
vision', a vision he had acquired as an art student in Cambridge. 'Lucifer Sam'
is a classic example of Syd's unique approach to
guitar. The menacing, insistent riff is drenched with reverb and seasoned with
a trace of distortion. Syd in effect, as heard in songs such as 'Interstellar Overdrive'
and 'Nick's Boogie', began to use the guitar as an instrument of texture. Rather
than using traditional type chords and progressions, he utilised
technological advances to provide his songs with the kind of sonic,
soundtrack-like quality that still makes them so unique. By the time Syd
recorded his two solo albums, his guitar style had mellowed somewhat. Gone were
the layered soundscapes heard on 'Piper', they were
now replaced with a more intimate type of sound which matched the mood of the songs.
This 'intimate' sound consisted of mainly acoustic guitar parts or untreated
electric pieces such as 'Terrapin' and 'Here I go'. Syd's
trademark Floyd sound was still to be heard on tracks such as 'Gigolo Aunt',
'Wined & Dined' and 'No Man's Land'. All in all, the guitar work of Roger
'Syd' Barrett is an aural feast, so if your ears ever get the pangs of hunger,
satiate their culinary desire as soon as possible!