To many fans, the words "Pink Floyd" evoke first the classic prism of Dark Side of the Moon, then the great warring egos of Roger Waters and David Gilmour. If there were any justice, the brilliant madness of Syd Barrett should come somewhere in between. Too many times his work has served as little more than a sad footnote in rock history, and perhaps this new compilation will change that. 

For the uninitiated, Barrett was the original frontman for Pink Floyd and held lead writing duties for their debut, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Stories are conflicting as to the exact nature of the conflict, but by the release of their second album his erratic behaviour lead him to be expelled from the band.  An Introduction To... is unique among the handful of Barrett retrospectives in that it collects material from his Floyd-era work as well as from his solo albums Madcap Laughs and Barrett. The hardcore will probably balk at some of the omissions to the track list ("Golden Hair" and "Interstellar Overdrive" in particular), but for the most part it contains his best work, with a particular focus on his vocals. Listening to the collection from start to finish is an illuminating experience, the chronological listing charts his transition from rock hero to enigmatic and darkly comic singer, and this is the album's biggest strength.

For its biggest weakness,  look no further than the album cover. This collection has the unusual title of "Executive Producer: David Gilmour" stuck the front of it, and while this might help attract fans of Gilmour's solo work it will almost certainly discourage everyone else. This isn't to say that he did a bad job, far from it, the remastered version of "Arnold Layne" and new stereo mix of "Apples and Oranges" are both excellent, and if the Piper 40th anniversary collection didn't exist (and if you're at all a Pink Floyd fan that is a must-own) then those would almost be worth the sticker price alone. The problem is that while the lush, slick production Gilmour is famous for works in the context of  the Floyd songs, it seems unnecessary, even inappropriate when applied to Barrett's solo work.  His two albums are the very antithesis of the bloated, overproduced mess that Floyd became, and part of the joy of listening to Syd Barrett is the rough edges.

Songs like "Gigolo Aunt", "Effervescing Elephant" and "Baby Lemonade" don't need to be produced to within an inch of their life, and to do so takes away a small part of the magic. Gilmour certainly meant well and no doubt had Barrett's best interests at heart, but he simply doesn't know the difference anymore. The track list on this disc is an excellent introduction to his work, it's just a shame what's been done to it. Syd Barrett is one of the best things to come out of the '60', and anyone looking for an introduction to his work should track down the Peel Session EP and go from there. His music is certainly worthy of introduction, but this isn't the place to find it. 

Review Score: 10/10 for content, 4/10 for production