The Original Pink Floyd

Everybody knows who Pink Floyd is. That doesn’t need any type of introduction, if someone has ever heard music; they know who Floyd is and what they are famous for. Tracks like “Another Brick in the Wall, pt. 3,” “Comfortably Numb,” and “Money,” just to name a few. It’s no secret that their two biggest albums, “Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall” are two of the highest selling records ever. But what many people don’t know is that there was a different Pink Floyd before this famous one, and, I would argue, a better one. If more people heard about the original Pink Floyd, I’m sure they would agree. The casual listener of music doesn’t really care too much about what goes on behind the closed doors of a band, all most people care about is the quality of the music they make. These people would consent to the fact that while when David Gilmour sang for the band during their “glory years” and helped give the band great chemistry and a true leader for the rest of the band to stand behind, the music the band made originally when Syd Barrett was their singer was so far superior to Gilmour’s work, that whatever problems the band had with Barrett as the front man paled in comparison to the sound that they made. Each of these guys played with the band that featured Nick Mason on drums, Bass player Roger Waters, and pianist/keyboardist and occasional singer Richard Wright, but Barrett and Gilmour themselves were anything but similar. The major differences between the two musicians are their musical influences, their guitar and lyrical style, and their personalities.

The first thing that makes Barrett and Gilmour such different people is their upbringings and influences. They actually had many similarities in their youth, both living in Cam...

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...nd ultimately caused an unrepairable chasm between the band. Few people blame Gilmour for this disagreement, as it wasn’t really in his personality to jeopardize friendships for the sake of personal gain.

That being said, while the band may have had more commercial and personal success with Gilmour at the lead, that doesn’t mean they were as good as they were with Barrett. Because they weren’t. In an era of such great talents as McCartney, Bowie, Townshend, Page and Keith Richards, Barrett is right up there with them in terms of musical skill. The reason he’s not so well known is that he only recorded one album with Pink Floyd, done before they became mainstream. He truly is one of the most underrated musicians of all time. The fact that one man can influence so many with the techniques he popularized is a remarkable feat, and one that deserves more recognition.