Definition of phantasmagoria 1: an exhibition of optical effects and illusions 2a: a constantly shifting complex succession of things seen or imagined b: a scene that constantly changes 3: a bizarre or fantastic combination, collection, or assemblage Again, beautiful, impressive lyricism for a 20-year old. Tim has dominated the album thus far, with 5 of the last 6 sets of lyrics. Maybe things will change tomorrow.
One of the "Goodbye and Hello" cd liner notes states the album recording started May 8 1967 with recording lasting one month. Sgt Pepper was first issued in USA on June 1st 1967. If it was an influence TB must have been stood outside the record shop awaiting its release and played in endlessly for those few days in early June.
Goodbye & Hello was Tim's second most successful album, peaking at #171 in Nov. 1967. (#171 was coincidently the highest chart position for the Velvet Underground & Nico released that same year)
i had a listen to some (six) of the "Goodbye and Hello" cd's i have earlier. I use to think the 1989 German disc (distributed by Pickwick) was the best sounding but it seems all copies prior to 2001 are the exact same mastering including the japanese. In 2001 the first two albums were issued on one disc, the mastering is different, it runs every so slightly faster and is a bit quieter but sounds pretty much the same. A third mastering is on the 2017 box set, the unsuitably titled "The Complete Tim Buckley album collection". That one is a bit louder and for me had less clear vocals.
track 8) Knight-Errant (Buckley/Beckett) As the title suggests, Becketts' lyrics evoke an age of knights and ladies (with "O whither..and wandered")... yet easily sending us back thru a portal or looking glass back to modern days with that gentle baroque psych treatment. Tim's lovely straightforward song composition with harpsichord and vocals are perfect for Beckett's gentle poetry. O whither has my lady wandered? I'll search until I know I've found her One green day she left her wings And cut away her childhood strings But dropping smiles along the trail She left a trace I will not fail O whither has my lady wandered? I'll search until I know I've found her When I catch my sudden maid I'll deck her out in lace and jade I will take her to her room I will take her to her room I love her upstairs, I love her downstairs But I love my lady's chamber O whither has my lady wandered? I'll search until I know I've found her
Knight-Errant This is nice and short at under 2 minutes, and the music is fine and fits the mood of the album. But... this is my least favourite Beckett lyric. The double entendre "upstairs", "downstairs", "chamber" just seems a little juvenile and throwaway. Anyone else bothered by that? Knight-Errant was the B-side of a UK single. In the sleeve notes to the 2016 CD "Wings: The Complete Singles", Beckett says the song was based on a nursery rhyme, and nearly 50 years on he was still guffawing at the audacity of the lyric. I think both Buckley and Beckett had quite wicked senses of humour- and I mean that in a generally positive way. I think quite a few better tracks than Knight-Errant were dropped by Tim. I would have loved to hear a studio version of Cripples Cry, for instance, without the coughing.
Agree completely...not a real favorite for me either--the same for the next long number--tho' the closer redeems the two previous tracks.. Knight-Errant is pleasant enough but...pretty thinly veiled imagery indeed...for teenagers' minds to snicker at. But yes...Buckley and Beckett were wicked good!
Phantasmagoria in two. I like this too. It has the feel of a two beat... it probably is a four, but the feel is a two beat thing, and it drives the song along quickly, but the delivery gives it a smooth measured feel. If we count it as a four, it sounds like it should be a speed metal track lol I like the vocal and musical arrangement. We have a melancholy coming through that really works for me.
Me too....but the positive ...it is short. Still, it isn't so terrible to the point of wanting to skip it.
track 9) Goodbye & Hello (Buckley/Beckett) Haven't listened hard to this one in a long time...jury's out until later... your thoughts, everyone. It is an epic anti-war song in any event. Reaction upon the first opening notes, I do remember liking this one, and it is the centerpiece of this unique, ambitious and quite remarkable 1967 classic LP. As many have said, we often remember this in our mind's ear, as a dated of-its-time album. But upon a renewed listening via this thread. I find it to be quite fresh and timeless...how about you all? The antique people are down in the dungeons Run by machines and afraid of the tax Their heads in the grave and their hands on their eyes Hauling their hearts around circular tracks Pretending forever their masquerade towers Are not really riddled with widening cracks And I wave goodbye to iron And smile hello to the air O the new children dance ------ I am young All around the balloons ------ I will live Swaying by chance ------ I am strong To the breeze from the moon ------ I can give Painting the sky ------ You the strange With the colors of sun ------ Seed of day Freely they fly ------ Feel the change As all become one ------ Know the Way The velocity addicts explode on the highways Ignoring the journey and moving so fast Their nerves fall apart and they gasp but can't breathe They run from the cops of the skeleton past Petrified by tradition in a nightmare they stagger Into nowhere at all and they look up aghast And I wave goodbye to speed And smile hello to a rose O the new children kiss ------ I am young They are so proud to learn ------ I will live Womanwood bliss ------ I am strong And the manfire that burns ------ I can give Knowing no fear ------ You the strange They take off their clothes ------ Seed of day Honest and clear ------ Feel the change As a river that flows ------ Know the Way The antique people are fading out slowly Like newspapers flaming in mind suicide Godless and sexless directionless loons Their sham sandcastles dissolve in the tide They put on their deathmasks and compromise daily The new children will live for the elders have died And I wave goodbye to America And smile hello to the world O the new children play ------ I am young Under the juniper trees ------ I will live Sky blue or gray ------ I am strong They continue at ease ------ I can give Moving so slow ------ You the strange That serenely they can ------ Seed of day Gracefully grow ------ Feel the change And yes still understand ------ Know the Way The king and the queen in their castle of billboards Sleepwalk down the hallways dragging behind All their possessions and transient treasures As they go to worship the electronic shrine On which is playing the late late commercial In that hollowest house of the opulent blind And I wave goodbye to Mammon And smile hello to a stream O the new children buy ------ I am young All the world for a song ------ I will live Without a dime ------ I am strong To which they belong ------ I can give Nobody owns ------ You the strange Anything anywhere ------ Seed of day Everyone's grown ------ Feel the change Up so big they can share ------ Know the Way The vaudeville generals cavort on the stage And shatter their audience with submachine guns And Freedom and Violence the acrobat clowns Do a balancing act on the graves of our sons While the tapdancing Emperor sings "War is peace" And Love the Magician disappears in the fun And I wave goodbye to murder And smile hello to the rain O the new children can't ------ I am young Tell a foe from a friend ------ I will live Quick to enchant ------ I am strong And so glad to extend ------ I can give Handfuls of dawn ------ You the strange To kaleidoscope men ------ Seed of day Come from beyond ------ Feel the change The Great Wall of Skin ------ Know the Way The bloodless husbands are jesters who listen Like sheep to the shrieks and commands of their wives And the men who aren't men leave the women alone See them all faking love on a bed made of knives Afraid to discover or trust in their bodies And in secret divorce they will never survive And I wave goodbye to ashes And smile hello to a girl
I am giving myself (Birthday today) a twofer.... track 10) Morning Glory (Buckley-Beckett) This IS up there in my favorite, upper echelon of Buckley/Beckett songs... or any song by any artist favorite. A Buckley/Beckett masterpiece. Quite wonderful and a stunning closer! Hope you all enjoyed this "fantastic expedition" into the finest album via the Buckley/Beckett songwriting team. I lit my purest candle close to my Window, hoping it would catch the eye Of any vagabond who passed it by, And I waited in my fleeting house Before he came I felt him drawing near; As he neared I felt the ancient fear That he had come to wound my door and jeer, And I waited in my fleeting house "Tell me stories, " I called to the Hobo; "Stories of cold, " I smiled at the Hobo; "Stories of old, " I knelt to the Hobo; And he stood before my fleeting house "No, " said the Hobo, "No more tales of time; Don't ask me now to wash away the grime; I can't come in 'cause it's too high a climb, " And he walked away from my fleeting house "Then you be damned!" I screamed to the Hobo; "Leave me alone, " I wept to the Hobo; "Turn into stone, " I knelt to the Hobo; And he walked away from my fleeting house Oh, and my chuckle of the day is this songwriting credit from Lyricfind: Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Duke Ellington Morning Glory lyrics © BMG Rights Management US, LLC
And for the icing on the cake...a favorite Buckley video! Morning Glory...Late Night Line Up, BBC TV. The smokey effects only make this even more magical. Tim was one of the strongest and most creative vocalists of all time, and if possible, he was even better live! And witnessing his dreamy amazing performance...it is etched forever in our minds ' eyes and ears. Thank you, thank you BBC, for saving this wonderful pristine live video for posterity (no lip syncing for Tim). Rejoice Buckley fans everywhere!
Goodbye & Hello Love this one. Its a staggering musical and vocal achievement by Tim. Imagine you are Tim and are presented with a long, complex poem with strangely structured choruses that use a parallel text. You like the sentiment, really feel it captures the zeitgeist, but surely its impossible to turn this into a song. But Tim breaks down the poem, working on it stanza by stanza, creating separate pieces for each and linking them into a suite. His singing is so good it almost doesn't matter what he is singing. A theatrical epic, that always stays just the right side of being overblown. It somehow makes me think of Ennio Morricone or the forthcoming "Forever Changes". Of note is that lee Underwood played 12-string on this one. And to quote Lee on this track: "To this day I stand amazed at the fact that Tim could compose music for Larry's lengthy, complex poem. He had no formal musical education, no extensive knowledge of chords, and no knowledge of composition. But he did it. And he did it well." This song was only performed live on November 13th 1967.
Thanks...great points -- --it is a major achievement by Tim for his impressive performance. alone..and how great and amazing achievement by such a young "untrained" artist, reaching such remarkable artistic and songwriting heights. A natural genius.
Goodbye and Hello This has an almost baroque meets folk feel about it. We have a predominantly 4 beat thing going on at the start, with a couple of ritards thrown in to good effect. Then we burst into this almost oom pah pah section that has the feel of a chaotic city landscape. This slides back into the more measured section. We move through various incarnations of this frantic verses, reflective scenario, and it give the song, an epic kind of feel. The song is very sectional, and the arrangement works quite smoothly. It has this frequently changing feel, but at the same time manages to hold together united. To some degree it reminds me, just a little, of the Moody Blues Days of Future Passed in it's kind of layout and presentation. It isn't my favourite track on the album, but I think it works well, and I enjoy it.
Thanks! Pretty remarkable how Tim composed this in an almost classical symphonic or operatic mode with movements and sections that are strangely and perfectly united indeed.
Morning Glory We move from the dramatic title track into a beautiful piano ballad. Tim seemed to naturally gravitate toward the balladeer, and I think, particularly early on he excelled at this style. Again a nice arrangement, and the sequencing gives this an extra kick for me.
Lemonade Kid... Happy Birthday, and glad to hear you were able to change your impressions of G&H. Morning Glory: I love the transition from G&H into this one. Gorgeous melody and a great way to finish the album. The celestial choir is actually Tim. Love Duke Ellington but I dont suppose he ever did this one. Album as a whole: Revisiting it song by song it has gone up in my estimations. Both lyrically and musically it is a level up from the debut- the listening requires a bit more effort but brings greater rewards. I guess its Goodbye to Larry Beckett and Hello to laid-back, jazz-inflected experimentation.
Thanks, mameyama. Agree 100% about our greatly elevated estimations of G&H after this track by track. The in-depth reviews and critiques by you all have definitely raised my estimations, even more... glad I chose to start this thread, and many thanks for all you guys' input... and expressions of love for Tim. Life's good! Stay safe...music is the balm.
Happy Birthday Lemonade Kid! I'll be jumping in soon once we get started on Happy/Sad, one of my favorite albums ever.
I listened to Goodbye & Hello, the track, once again and wow...wow. Such an amazing musical composition and lyrics. A mini opera wirh opposing singers i effect playing the two sides to this story in song. Quite wmderful.