Line #16 Music/TheMadcapLaughs


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/themadcaplaughs_resize_7297.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''"I'm only a person with Eskimo chain\
3	I tattooed my brain all the way\
4	Won't you miss me?\
5	Wouldn't you miss me at all?"'']]
6
7	''The Madcap Laughs'' is the debut studio album by Music/SydBarrett, released on Creator/HarvestRecords in 1970. Recording commenced immediately after Barrett's departure from Music/PinkFloyd in 1968, lasting for well over a year. Apart from Barrett, the album went through four different producers: Peter Jenner (Barrett's manager) for the 1968 sessions, Harvest label head Malcolm Jones for the early-to-mid 1969 sessions and former band-mates Music/RogerWaters and David Gilmour for the mid-1969 sessions. Gilmour also played bass, guitar and (on "Octopus") drums.
8
9	The TroubledProduction behind the album was colourful enough that an entire book has been written about it: ''The Making Of The Madcap Laughs'' (2003) by Malcolm Jones. Barrett's mental problems were so bad that he had to be persuaded at times to work on his own album. His musicians would ask him questions to which he gave [[CrypticallyUnhelpfulAnswer little to no helpful responses]]. As a result the recordings crept on for over a year. Barrett also didn't allow the musicians to rehearse or re-record their overdubs, which explains why a lot of tracks sound [[{{Improv}} improvised]], full of amateurish mistakes and moments where Barrett is out of tune. But there is an overall charm to the innocent fantasies he describes in his lyrics and the absence of too much ExecutiveMeddling gives the music actually a genuine authenticity and spontaneity lacking in many other PsychedelicRock recordings of the time.
10
11	Still, upon release, this album was a modest commercial success, enough for a second solo album (''Music/{{Barrett}}'') to be recorded and released. Critically it was relatively well-received, and like ''Music/{{Barrett}}'' has a strong cult following. It is seen as one of the earliest OutsiderMusic albums.
12
13	----
14	!! Tracklist:
15
16	[[AC:Side One]]
17
18	# "Terrapin" (5:04)
19	# "No Good Trying" (3:26)
20	# "Love You" (2:30)
21	# "No Man's Land" (3:03)
22	# "Dark Globe" (2:02)
23	# "Here I Go" (3:11)
24
25	[[AC:Side Two]]
26
27	# "Octopus" (3:47)
28	# "Golden Hair" (1:59)
29	# "Long Gone" (2:50)
30	# "She Took A Long Cold Look" (1:55)
31	# "Feel" (2:17)
32	# "If It's In You" (2:26)
33	# "Late Night" (3:10)
34
35	----
36	!!Bonus Tracks (1993 Reissue):
37
38	# "Octopus (Take 1 & 2)"
39	# "It's No Good Trying (Take 5)"
40	# "Love You (Take 1)"
41	# "Love You (Take 3)"
42	# "She Took A Long Cold Look At Me (Take 4)"
43	# "Golden Hair (Take 5)"
44
45	----
46	!!''No Man's Tropes'':
47
48	* AlbumTitleDrop: "Octopus"
49	-->''"Well, the madcap laughed at the man on the border"''
50	* CoverVersion: "Golden Hair", a poem by Creator/JamesJoyce.
51	* DesignStudentsOrgasm: The album cover was shot by famed rock photographer Mick Rock and designed by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell (Creator/{{Hipgnosis}}). Barrett painted the floor of his bedroom in orange and purple, specifically for the album cover. The [[http://hipgnosiscovers.com/images/Madcap_uklp_inside.jpg inside gatefold]] is apparently a simulation of an LSD trip.
52	* EpicRocking: "Terrapin" is just over five minutes long.
53	* FaceOnTheCover: Barrett seen sitting on the floor of his apartment. He is seen in the far distance, with his hair covering his eyes.
54	* HiddenEyes: Barrett on the cover.
55	* {{Improv}}: "Terrapin", "Dark Globe", "Long Gone" and "Feel" were recorded in one take.
56	* IncrediblyLongNote: "If It's In You":
57	--> ''Yes I'm Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnking''
58	* LoveTriangle: "Here I Go". The song tells the story in which the narrator's girlfriend leaves him because "a big band is far better" than himself. He attempts to win her back by writing her a song, but when he goes to her house to show it to her, he instead finds himself falling in love with her sister.
59	* MinisculeRocking: Most songs are only two to three minutes long, except for "Terrapin" (5:04) and "Octopus" (3:47). "She Took A Long Cold Look" is even CutShort at the 1:55 mark.
60	* MsFanservice: The naked woman on the back cover was an acquaintance of Barrett, nicknamed "Iggy the Eskimo".
61	* NonAppearingTitle: "Terrapin", although the title does fit the song's mood of underwater fantasy.
62	* OneWordTitle: "Terrapin", "Octopus" and "Feel".
63	* OutsiderMusic: Irwin Chusid calls this one of the earliest albums in the genre. And it's understandable why. Barrett's lyrics are bizarre and he is sometimes heard stumbling over his lines or playing. During songs like "Dark Globe" he even sings out of tune. In "She Took A Long Cold Look" we can him hear pausing for a brief moment to turn pages from his lyric sheets.
64	* PleaseDontLeaveMe: "Late Night":
65	-->''When I woke up today\
66	And you weren't there to play\
67	Then I wanted to be with you\
68	When you showed me your eyes\
69	Whispered love at the skies\
70	Then I wanted to stay with you\
71	Inside me I feel alone and unreal...''
72	* ShoutOut:
73	** "Golden Hair" is based on a poem by Creator/JamesJoyce.
74	** "Octopus" quotes some lines from Henry Newbolt's poem "Rilloby-Rill".
75	** "Dark Globe" was covered by Music/{{REM}} and appeared as a B-side to "Orange Crush".
76	** "Late Night" was covered by Music/ThisMortalCoil on their album ''Music/{{Blood}}''.
77	* TheShowMustGoWrong: The engineers and musicians had a tough time trying to make something out of what Barrett gave to them. In the end it was decided to keep everything according to his wishes, no matter what mistakes he made during recording.
78	* SillyLoveSongs: "Terrapin", among others.
79	-->''The sunlight's good for us\
80	'Cause we're the fishes and all we do\
81	The move about is all we do\
82	Well, oh, baby, my hair's on end about you...''
83	* SpecialGuest: Willie Wilson from David Gilmour (Music/PinkFloyd)'s old band Jokers Wild and Robert Wyatt (Music/SoftMachine) contribute to the album.
84	* SpokenWordInMusic: Barrett starts mumbling during the performance of "No Man's Land".
85	* StopAndGo: During the opening track Barrett is heard saying "O.K.", whereupon the music briefly interrupts, then goes again.
86	* StudioChatter:
87	** Near the end of "She Took A Long Cold Look" Barrett mumbles: "That's short". The studio engineer then says "Take One". Halfway through "If It's In You" he suddenly interrupts and says he wants to start over again. After some responses from the studio he starts over, but sings even more out of tune than before.
88	** The producers speaking to Barrett are David Gilmour and Music/RogerWaters, with the latter saying ''"Syd, what about tuning your guitar down?"''
89	** It's not just "If It's In You". Nearly all the tracks produced by Waters and Gilmour features studio chatter, which they lazily left in. Malcolm Jones was horrified when he heard it.
90	* UrExample: The album might be one of the earliest examples of "Lo-fi" in terms of production.
91	* WordSaladLyrics: Barrett's lyrics tend to be quite surreal.

Context Music / TheMadcapLaughs