My Top 2000 Songs #1042: No Good Trying

Given Syd Barrett's precarious mental state, it's not a big surprise that his first post-Pink Floyd solo album, 1970's The Madcap Laughs, is a disjointed and often disturbing affair. While occasionally finding the whimsy of the the first Floyd LP, it visits some dark places. But that doesn't mean there aren't moments of musical greatness, enjoyable as key components of the Floyd canon without having to consider them in the context of Syd's sad trajectory. "No Good Trying" is a personal favorite--sure, like much of his solo work, it feels like it's about to veer off the tracks, and you can practically hear the musicians scrambling to follow along with whatever Syd was doing at any given moment. But it's still a solid, sturdy song, Barrett in fine voice, and in this case backed by 3/4 of The Soft Machine. They're ably up to the task of merging their jazzy prog with Syd's odd yet relatively grounded folk rock ditty, resulting in a song that's right up there with the peak of Floyd's psychedelic late 60s work.

A little more harrowing with just Syd and his acoustic guitar, before band overdubs:

Covered by J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.:

Bangle Susanna Hoffs from one of her recent collections of cover songs:

Mock Turtles' blazing version:

Live version by a French band:

Unexpected (and unexpectedly solid!) cover from a School of Rock performance!