According to most of the music world, criticism of the art is now dead. With the advent of streaming services, there is little need to read about the quality of a song before making a purchase, which means that the previously heralded concept of a review is somewhat redundant. However, there is something wonderfully pure about one icon of the rock scene evaluating another, least of all when it gives you a candid view into the bubbling crucible that is the mind of Pink Floyd‘s mercurial founder, Syd Barrett, as he reviews the 1967 single of David Bowie ‘Love You Til Tuesday’. It’s far from being one of Bowie’s best, but the review is still particularly bracing.
The meeting of two of our musical heroes is always special. One particularly joyful meeting came when Paul McCartney and Jimi Hendrix came together, but they weren’t on stage or engaging in some bitter feud. Instead, McCartney was reviewing the virtuoso guitarist’s latest single, ‘Purple Haze’ for Melody Maker.
As part of an ongoing feature for Melody Maker and reported by Cosmic, the publication asked some of the most exciting contemporary acts of the time to review one another’s work. It means that artists such as Macca, one of the most important musicians of the day (and still to this day, in fact), started reviewing other groundbreaking musicians. It gives us a wonderful view into the worlds of some of the foundational musicians of the 20th century.
One such piece visited Pink Floyd in the studio during the recording of their iconic single ‘Bike’ and asked the enigmatic leader of the moment, Syd Barrett, to review some singles. Barrett was the critical darling of the time, pushing forward his band’s acid-rock and creating a new art-led movement as he did; his views on singles of the day were highly prized. One such track up for critique was David Bowie’s song ‘Love You Til Tuesday’.
The track featured on Bowie’s self-titled debut LP and lacked the creative power that would go on to elevate him beyond popstar and into the Starman. While that may beckon at some promise for the single, we’re afraid Barrett probably had it right in his review: “Yeah, it’s a joke number. Jokes are good. Everybody likes jokes. The Pink Floyd-like jokes.
“It’s very casual,” Barrett continued, “If you play it a second time, it might be even more of a joke. Jokes are good. The Pink Floyd-like jokes. I think that was a very funny joke.” These cutting words are a reflection of the different plains the two artists were operating on at the time. Pink Floyd was about to release their earth-shattering debut, The Piper At The Gates of Dawn, while Bowie was still struggling with aligning his pop aspirations with his artistic endeavor. To put it simply, the Floyd were already fully formed, Bowie was still finding the puzzle pieces.
The singer did, however, think it may have some commercial success in it. “I think people will like the bit about it being Monday, when in fact it was Tuesday,” he said. “Very chirpy, but I don’t think my toes were tapping at all.” Perhaps offering a commercial crumb of hope, Barrett’s assessment is fairly brutal, reducing Bowie’s number down to a jingle.
However, Barrett’s review would also be that of the buying public. It was with the single performing poorly in the charts and Bowie’s debut record similarly falling short. It wouldn’t hold up for long, though. Bowie would soon treat the world to some of the greatest pop records ever created. Many of which wouldn’t have been possible without Barrett’s influence. In truth, the singer would rarely look back at his earliest songs with much appreciation. Instead, they were preferring to see them as they were. The first steps towards a creatively rich and long-running career.
“Syd Barrett was a major inspiration for me”. Bowie said of the singer shortly after he died in 2006, clearly heartbroken by the loss. “He was so charismatic and such a startlingly original songwriter. Also, along with Anthony Newley, he was the first guy I’d heard to sing pop or rock with a British accent. His impact on my thinking was enormous.
“A major regret is that I never got to know him. A diamond indeed.”
