Hendrix, Joplin, Cobain, and many other classic rock legends have sadly died young. Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett lived to be 60, but he was never quite old enough. However, his artistic death dragged on, he died in his 20s, and he became a recluse before he turned 30.
Documentary “Are you ready? (The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd) was long envisioned, but its co-director, acclaimed album designer and friend of Barrett’s, Storm Thorgerson, died in 2013 – but , which is a comprehensive and coherent account of Barrett’s counterculture. A predictable tragedy. Co-directed by Roddy Bogawa, this film shines more light on Barrett than any I’ve come across, but the artist remains a mystery.
Not to romanticize him. Mysteries abound, but Barrett was the real deal. During his brief public stint as the face of Pink Floyd, Barrett didn’t utter the overtly savior lines that other rock stars of the time did. But he was a naturally charming person. David Gilmour, who took over guitar for Pink Floyd after Barrett’s inactivity, had been a friend of Barrett’s since the early ’60s, along with the rest of the band. He calls the man “a blistering intellect” and says that before Barrett was ravaged by substance abuse and mental illness, “in some ways his life was too easy for him.”
He wrote songs about underwear snatchers, gnomes, and the solar system. (After Barrett, Floyd was grander, socially conscious, and commercially gigantic.) His psychedelics had an Edwardian whimsy feel to them, but they didn’t. One of his last Floyd songs was called “Scream Thy Last Scream,” and it was no joke. The film is peppered with candid talking head interviews, and Thorgerson, who helped create Floyd’s album cover for his company, is, after all, here talking to friends and collaborators. A harrowing and surreal allegorical scene is interwoven. Barrett’s acid accident was heartbreaking, but the man was such a singular character that this instructive story is unique.
Already Got It? The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd
Unrated. Running time: 1 hour 34 minutes. at the theater.
