The Madcap Laughs

Syd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs
Critic Score
Based on 3 reviews
1970 Ratings: #90 / 161
User Score
Based on 422 ratings
1970 Rank: #139
Liked by 63 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
AllMusic

The Madcap Laughs is a surprisingly effective record that holds up better than its "ooh, lookit the scary crazy person" reputation suggests.

Drone3000
72

Imagine if The Beatles were one man and his diet consisted of nothing but weed and acid.

TreyLikesBands
60

The tragedy of Syd Barrett is absolutely distressing.

It is unclear whether or not Syd was kicked out of or left Pink Floyd in 1969. On one hand, the band was super concerned with his mental state after taking many drugs and psychedelics. On the other hand, it seemed as if Syd was musically ahead of the band itself, in mind state and character. After his time with the group, he would go on to have a short-lived but powerful solo career.

"The Madcap Laughs" is a daunting and chaotic ... read more

cfnugent
40

The debut record from ex-Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett truly plods along. This feels more like a poorly worked Beatles impersonation than anything else. At its best, the vocals are sub-par, and at its worst like on the track If It's in You, they're awful. Perhaps I'm missing something greater, but I'm not all that impressed at the moment.

Surely his ex-band won't go on to do much.

Alkmatt00
95

Syd Barrett was really ahead of the game when it came to the lo-fi slacker rock/psychedelic freakfolk that this record exhibits in spades. It's purposefully rough and nearly unrehearsed in its presentation, almost all of the overdubs by other musicians were done that way. No preparation, just feel it out and go. Another review likened it to The Beatles if they were one man on a strict diet of weed and acid, and that really is the sound of this project all summed up.
Not every choice (or ... read more

PrisonerOfFate
88

The album of a man slowly losing his mind, a man who couldn't go a day without acid. Schizophrenic and depressed, burning with jealousy as shown in Here I go. Syd Barrett, I really enjoyed this album. Maybe I'm happy he lost his mind to the point of no return, because he dropped this banger. I can't believe this only has a highest of 77, maybe you're the ones on drugs!

JOJO_Br
70

"The Madcap Laughs" de Syd Barrett recebe uma nota de 70. Este álbum, lançado em 1970, marca a estreia solo de Barrett após sua saída do Pink Floyd e é frequentemente considerado um trabalho icônico no mundo da música psicodélica.

Com sua abordagem despretensiosa e cru, "The Madcap Laughs" captura a essência única da mente criativa de Barrett. As letras muitas vezes surreais e introspectivas são ... read more

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Track List

1Terrapin
5:00
73
2No Good Trying
3:26
72
3Love You
2:25
65
4No Man's Land
3:50
71
5Dark Globe
2:10
71
6Here I Go
3:13
71
7Octopus
3:45
84
8Golden Hair
1:56
80
9Long Gone
2:47
78
10She Took a Long Cold Look
2:06
72
11Feel
2:36
71
12If It's in You
1:57
53
13Late Night
3:12
71
Total Length: 38 minutes
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Added on: January 6, 2013