Pink Floyd, Piper at the Gates of Dawn. As I kid, I was mostly aware of Pink Floyd from The Wall, which was recent enough in my formative musical years that my nine-years-older sister liked it contemporaneously, I saw the movie and heard the album, etc. I liked that (and still kind-of do). I got older and learned Dark Side. I was there for the late '80 MTV-era stuff. Eventually I wanted to dig into the catalogue, and did so with Piper, among others.
I was not impressed.
Later I got into the mythology around "the crazy genius" type, regardless of genre. Thelonious Monk, Captain Beefheart, Brian Wilson, whatever. It's a powerful myth that I think still drives a kind of listener. So I heard about Barrett and revisited Piper (and checked out The Madcap Laughs). Still nothing.
Every few years--including right now, as I'm typing--I check it out again. After all, opinions change. If I were a political candidate, my opponents would call me a flip-flopper and debate moderators would confront me with my earlier self to shame me. But I'm shameless, damnit. However, I still just don't like Piper Or Syd Barrett in general. Or, frankly, Pink Floyd, for the most part.
I'm sure a lot depends on when you jump into a band's career. I was aware of Pink Floyd from late 1966 onwards, and the Barrett era means a lot to me. The period immediately following Syd's departure has a sadness to it that later listeners most probably miss. (This same sadness returns on
Wish You Were Here.)
These days I'm battling my aversion to Roger Waters and discovering the brilliance of many of the later tracks. That said,
The Wall for me is just that----a wall.
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