News Why Jimmy Page thought Syd Barrett was “absolutely unbelievable”
Hailed as one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time, impressing the guitar hero that is Jimmy Page is no mean feat. From his early days with The Yardbirds to the groundbreaking hard rock he orchestrated with Led Zeppelin, Page has certainly left his mark on the landscape of rock and roll. Throughout his illustrious career, Page always maintained an adoration for the experimental stylings of Pink Floyd songwriter Syd Barrett.
A vitally important progenitor of psychedelia and musical experimentation, Barrett needs no introduction. From founding Pink Floyd in 1965, he quickly rose to prominence as one of Britain’s most prolific and gifted songwriters, dedicating himself to experimentation and musical innovation. Psychedelic rock had the rock scene gripped during the late 1960s, with groups like Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead paving the way for pop giants like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones to have a crack at entering the mind-bending world of acid. Across the psychedelic scene, though, there were few artists comparable to Syd Barrett.
For Jimmy Page, psychedelic rock was something of a double-edged sword. Getting his start in the world of skiffle and early rockabilly, psychedelia did not seem to suit his personality. Nevertheless, during his time with The Yardbirds – who would spawn the careers of two other legendary guitarists in Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton – he did have his own moments of psych exploration. For the most part, though, The Yardbirds stuck to blues rock, with Page reportedly feeling disenfranchised by the popular psychedelic groups of the time. “To us, there was far more to it than just being stoned and playing one chord,” he told Mojo in 2017.
Despite his mixed feelings towards spaced-out, drugged-up rock and roll, even Jimmy Page could not deny the musical genius of Syd Barrett. Although he was only present for the early era of Pink Floyd, those first few records remain the undisputed highlights of Floyd’s long tenure. Their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, is an absolute masterpiece and the only Floyd album to feature Barrett throughout. Regrettably, Page never got the chance to witness the earliest and greatest line-up of Pink Floyd, though he notes, “I bloody well wished I had!” – don’t we all?
Unbelievably, in 1968, Barrett was kicked out of the group he had co-founded owing to struggles with mental health and a reliance on psychedelic drugs. For many, that was the day that British psychedelia died. Floyd would continue for many years after, but their overblown concept albums and rock operas could never quite capture the innovation and revolution of Barrett’s songwriting. It was clear to the majority of people outside the Floyd bubble that Barrett was the main attraction to the band.
That is a philosophy that Page seems to subscribe to, explaining that “Syd Barrett was absolutely unbelievable in terms of what he was doing. He took a step sideways and channelled all this amazing stuff. Their version of psychedelia was very, very cool.” Before adding in a quick dig at his 1960s contemporaries, saying, “There was stuff that was labelled psychedelia – and not wishing to name names – that was absolutely crap.”
In a final endorsement of the incredible talents of Syd Barrett, Page said, “What they [Pink Floyd] were doing was seriously experimental, and it meant a lot.” It certainly did mean a lot to so many music fans and continues to mean a lot all these years later. Barrett retired from music and public life in 1972, but during his short career, he had indefinitely altered the timeline of rock and roll history.
