The Pink Floyd And Syd Barrett Story - The Definitive Edition [DVD] [2003]

The DVD title menu format is very good and the Omnibus programme itself contains a wealth of information. There are some excellent interviews, particularly from Roger Waters and David Gilmour, and it cover his whole career from the beginning of Pink Floyd to the end of his solo material. There is also plenty of film footage which is interesting to view.

My criticism of the DVD is the same as some of the other reviewers. There is plenty more other material that should have been included in its full length that was not. Bonus material should have included full length versions of "Syd's First Trip", "Arnold Layne", "See Emily Play", "The Scarecrow", Vegetable man" and "Let's make love in London", all of which I have seen on bootlegs before. Interviews of "Barrett" fans are not really very interesting. Also made up videos for "Bike" with additional echo ended is frustrating.

Overall, this DVD could have been absolutely definitive. Instead, it leaves Barrett fans needing to rummage around with unofficial fan clubs more.

There are huge things which could have been done with the Syd Barrett story, and this doesn't do them any more sympathetically than the gory book bios have. What a crying shame. How would you want to remember Barrett? As a brilliant pop star and avant garde psychedelic experimenter, who briefly created some great and lasting music? Or as a wasted drop-out shambling around Abbey Road with a Harrods shopping bag?

Essentially, Barrett doesn't have a chance. The Pink Floyd corporate image has been built on the idea that he was a madman -- that's the hook of all the post-Meddle "golden period" material. Madness and Syd Barrett. So rather than a celebration, this spends the first twenty minutes on the glorious rise, and an eternity charting the downfall. And rather than a laughing, happy Syd on the cover, we get one of those unshaven, lank haired post-downfall shots in stark black and white. Poor Syd. Whatever happened to him in 1967 -- and whatever the official party line, that's still very much in debate -- the books and this DVD are hardly the legacy he deserves.

So, the simple advice is this: if you're a PF obsessive, don't bother with this DVD just in the chance of a slightly better quality few seconds of the BBC "Astronomy Domine" broadcast. The rest is a drag. If you're new to Barrett, this will not tell you anything positive about the guy. Maybe it's all an anti-drugs warning, who can tell. Don't risk it. Grab the Whitehead version of "Interstellar Overdrive" ("Pink Floyd 1966-67" et al) and listen to one of the most extraordinary guitarists -- and extraordinary bands, they're all amazing on this recording -- there ever was. But don't remember him like this.