*** 1/2 “SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS--THE PINK FLOYD ODYSSEY” By Nicholas Schaffner <i> Harmony Books ($20)</i> : <i> Items in this periodic survey of pop-related books, videocassettes and laser discs are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five (a classic). </i>

Pink Floyd was the ultimate mysterioso art-rock band of the ‘70s, making some of the great, bitter concept albums of the era while allowing few personal glimpses behind the barrier Roger Waters came to epitomize as “The Wall.” In retrospect, Floyd comes off as all too mortal, perhaps even more given to pride, schisms and ego conflicts than the norm. What sets this story apart from the typical pop-infighting bio is founder Syd Barrett’s early slip into madness, which haunted the music well after his exit and which Schaffner wisely uses as a spooky framing device to offset the later pettiness between Waters and David Gilmour. He charts the group’s impressive artistic ascent and ultimate foundering with a true fan’s appreciation, a reporter’s research and a critic’s measured objectivity.