Tim Buckley: Album by Album, note for note appreciation

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by lemonade kid, Oct 20, 2020.

  1. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing Thread Starter

    track 5) Gypsy Woman

    Begins with an ethereal slow burn vibe, and than gradually catches fire!
    Quite exhilarating and exciting if you open your emotions to it.

    I might have agreed with those that find this to be tedious and overlong...
    before I gave it a serious Listen... yesterday.

    With fresh ears and a new appreciation of jazz in general,
    this is Tim spreading his freeform jazz wings.
    I loved it yesterday...and today.

    So close your eyes, open your ears,
    and it just may
    take you to those rarified Buckley jazzman heights
    that I recently discovered myself.





    Yes I come around
    Never know a little sooner
    Casts a spell on me
    Casts a spell on me
    Casts a spell on me
    Casts a spell on me....
    Gypsy woman
    Gypsy woman
    Gypsy woman....

    Well, you were out trying to turn the tide this morning
    Now mama don't you lie
    You knew it was in the moon and you knew it was in the sky
    Oh, gypsy woman
    Tell me please, gypsy woman
    Casts a spell on me, darlin'
    Casts a spell on me, mama
    Casts a spell on me, darlin'
    Oh, gypsy woman

    Mama, everytime you turn around the fire
    Mama, keep me inbetween the devil and the sky
    And every time you look my way
    Mama how you hypnotize
    Tell me please, gypsy woman
    Casts a spell on me, darlin'
    Casts a spell on me, mama
    Casts a spell on me
    That gypsy woman casts a spell on me

    But if you come runnin' with desire
    Oh, gypsy woman knows how to get your blood hot higher

    Well, asked your daddy
    Your papa wouldn't deny it
    Asked your mama
    Lord, she was quick to agree
    I didn't have to fight your brother
    And your sister's still standin' in line
    Oh, please tell me gypsy woman
    How do you hypnotize me?

    We're gonna go down to the river
    Walk in the water
    Oh, we're gonna get all clean
    Then we're gonna do, gonna do
    Exactly darlin' what you
    Came and set your mind on

    Casts a spell on me
    Casts a spell on me...

    Well, you were out trying to turn the tide this morning
    Now mama don't you lie
    You knew it was in the moon and you knew it was in the sky
    Tell me please, gypsy woman
    Casts a spell on me, darlin'
    Casts a spell on me, mama
    Casts a spell on me, darlin'.....



     
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  2. MikeM

    MikeM Senior Member

    Location:
    Youngstown, Ohio
    I love the mood of this song, simultaneously sad and ethereal. As mentioned, the bowed bass (plus the echoed electric guitar) give it a feel all its own.

    I generally hear music first and lyrics second, but the longing and regret really come through in this one.
     
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  3. mameyama

    mameyama Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wiltshire, UK
    Gypsy Woman

    Exhilarating, and a real change of pace compared with the rest of the album.

    A live staple, and a real highlight of concerts for both the band and audience, often closing out the set, and due to its free-form improvisational nature could extend to over 20 minutes. Tim always let rip with his vocalisations on this one.

    Lee Underwood is on record many times as saying he wasn't happy with the album take and wanted to do a second- but Tim put his foot down. If you have another 14 minutes to spare its good to compare the original with the Live At The Troubadour version recorded 9 months later in September 1969.

     
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  4. gazatthebop

    gazatthebop Forum Resident

    Location:
    manchester
    The version of "Sing a song for you" was Take 8. "Dream Letter" was takes 16 and 17 intercut. They are the same versions that appeared on "Works in Progress".
     
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  5. clip

    clip peDtaH 'ej chIS qo'

    Location:
    Australia
    This is not only one of my favourite tracks on the album, but of all his works. I just “dig” this song so much (sorry, but I can’t think of another word that more accurately expresses the feeling and emotion). As Lemonade Kid said, it has an ethereal slow burn start that catches fire! And then at about the 6:50 minute point it starts to fade back down drawing you along with it while still holding the tension until you think it’s just going to fade out, but then the congas and guitar start build again along with Tim howling and the tension starts to build again. I don’t listen to much classical music, but the way this builds, releases, then builds tension again to the final release, is classic!

    Along with a brilliant arrangement and production, it’s just freaking incredible! If ever there was a better example of Tim’s genius, I don’t know what it would be.

    I really crank up the volume, lay back with my eyes closed, and just let it transport me into another plane, another time. Thank you Tim!
     
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  6. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing Thread Starter

    the perfect closer...after the high emotion and fire of Gypsy Woman,
    with what plays like a perfectly melded two song medley,
    Morning Glory brings us back down to a calm lovely, and perfect closing moment.

    Stunningly beautiful. Just stunning. Perfect in every way.

    track 6) Morning Glory (Buckley/Beckett)





    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



     
    Last edited: Nov 11, 2020
  7. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing Thread Starter

    Encore, encore...

    BBC. live

     
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  8. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing Thread Starter

  9. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing Thread Starter

  10. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing Thread Starter

  11. clip

    clip peDtaH 'ej chIS qo'

    Location:
    Australia
    Sing a Song for You is the last track on my Happy Sad album at No.6



    It’s another achingly sad song and the perfect end to Happy Sad.

    In my heart is where I long for you
    In my smile I search for you
    Each time you turn and run away I cry inside
    My silly way, too young to know any more

    In my world the devil dances and dares
    To leave my soul just anywhere
    Until I find peace in this world
    I'll sing my song everywhere, too young to know anymore

    The wind covers me cold
    The starry skies all around my eyes
    Far behind the city moans
    Well worthy of the people there, oh, the songs they love to hear

    So please let me sing a song for you
    One I've known so very long
    Please let me sing a song for you
    To help your day along, oh, please could you find the time?
     
    Last edited: Nov 11, 2020
  12. clip

    clip peDtaH 'ej chIS qo'

    Location:
    Australia
    A review by Matthew Greenwald says it all:

    A short piece that ends the devastatingly beautiful Happy/Sad album, "Sing a Song for You" is a meditation on the release that the singing and artistic process promises. Backed by a simple yet elegant folk-jazz melody, Buckley uses this base to convey his melancholy spirit, which hopes that music will heal a broken heart. Buckley also addresses his personal demons, and admits that his spirit indeed "dances with the devil."
     
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  13. mameyama

    mameyama Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wiltshire, UK
    Love that picture. Those posters- Velvet Underground & Nico, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman..- oh, for a time machine.
     
  14. mameyama

    mameyama Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wiltshire, UK
    Sing A Song For You
    From the June 68 session, this is just gorgeous lyrically and musically and the perfect closer.

    Happy Sad
    Close examination of Goodbye & Hello allowed it to go up in my estimations. That didn't happen with this one, but only because I already rated it as near perfection.
     
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  15. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing Thread Starter

    :doh:

    Of course you are all kind enough to not severely call me out on my big miss
    by calling Morning Glory the last track on Happy Sad.

    Thanks, @clip

    :tiphat:

    Here is the real closer from Happy Sad...which I just listened to in full a couple days ago!
    So lesson learned...
    be vary careful posting anything after just waking up in the morning. The dead giveaway should have been when
    I listed the song writing credits to Buckley AND Beckett, knowing full well that every song on Happy Sad is by TIM!


    track 6) Sing A Song For You

    How brilliantly right this is for the perfect closer...devastatingly lovely from
    a devastatingly beautiful album.



    In my heart is where I long for you
    In my smile I search for you
    Each time you turn and run away
    I cry inside, my silly way
    Just too young to know anymore

    In my world the devil dances and dares
    To leave my soul just anywhere
    Until I find peace in this world
    I'll sing a song everywhere I can
    Just too young to know anymore

    The wind covers me cold
    The starry skies all around my eyes
    Far behind the city moans
    Well worthy of the people there

    Oh, the psalms they love to hear

    So let me sing a song for you
    Just to help your day along
    Let me sing a song for you
    One I've known so very long
    Oh please, would you find the time...
     
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  16. clip

    clip peDtaH 'ej chIS qo'

    Location:
    Australia
    Don’t think twice about it Lemonade Kid. I can’t thank you enough for the time, care and dedication that you’ve put into these threads. :cheers:
     
  17. mameyama

    mameyama Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wiltshire, UK
    September 1969- the Troubadour, Lorca and Blue Afternoon

    On 3rd and 4th September 1969 Tim played at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. Luckily for us these live shows were recorded and really must be heard if you haven't already.
    Available on the CDs "Live At The Troubadour"(1994), "Venice Mating Call-2CD"(2017), and "Greetings From West Hollywood"(2017) and also now in a 6-LP version.
    He played 3 songs from Happy Sad, all 5 songs from the forthcoming album Lorca, and 2 from the forthcoming Blue Afternoon. Hopefully we will be able to listen to some of these Troubadour versions as we go through his next 2 albums. At the Troubadour he also aired 3 songs that were never released. This one is an oddity- "Venice Mating Call"- Tim's only instrumental that I know of. That's Lee Underwood on keyboards.



    On the 18th and 19th September Tim went into the Studio to complete Lorca. This would be his last record for the Elektra label. The release of this album was held back for almost a year. Jac Holzman (the Elektra boss) admits that he gave it little attention at the time, but was finally blown away by it in 2010 after not hearing it for 40 years. He said he didn't appreciate what he had at the time. Two tracks recorded live at the Troubadour, with the drums removed, made it onto side 2 of Lorca.

    "Almost immediately" (does anyone actually have any dates for this?) after recording Lorca Tim went back into the studio to record Blue Afternoon for his new label, Straight- Herb Cohen and Frank Zappa's newly formed label. This self-produced record was very quickly recorded and released in November 1969.
     
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  18. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing Thread Starter

    Although, as posted above by @mameyama , Lorca was recorded before Blue Afternoon.
    Blue Afternoon was released in 1969, though, proceeding Lorca's 1970 release by Elektra (Lorca was a contract obligation to Elektra...and what a final LP it is for Elektra!).

    Blue Afternoon 1969

    [​IMG]

    Blue Afternoon is the fourth studio album by Tim Buckley, released in 1969. It is Tim Buckley's first self-produced record and his debut for Herb Cohen and Frank Zappa's Straight record label. This was Buckley's fourth album after Tim Buckley, Goodbye and Hello, and Happy Sad. Blue Afternoon used the same group of musicians as Happy Sad, with the inclusion of drummer Jimmy Madison.

    Several tracks on Blue Afternoon are songs Buckley had intended to record on earlier albums but had not completed. "Chase the Blues Away" and "Happy Time" are numbers he had worked on in the summer of 1968 for possible inclusion on Happy Sad and demos can be heard on the Rhino label's Works in Progress album.

    Blue Afternoon, like Starsailor, was re-released as a stand-alone album on CD format only once in the United States, in 1989 on the Enigma Retro label. It was then later re-issued by Warners/Rhino Records UK in 2011 as part of the 'Original Album Series' box set, with Buckley's four LPs released on Elektra Records, and again in 2017 by Rhino as part of the collection Tim Buckley - The Complete Album Collection, featuring his first 7 albums plus a re-release of Works in Progress.[citation needed] -wiki


    [​IMG]


    The vinyl if you can find it is beautiful!


     
  19. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing Thread Starter

    Inside gatefold

    [​IMG]
     
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  20. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing Thread Starter

  21. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing Thread Starter

    New Zealand release

    [​IMG]
     
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  22. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing Thread Starter

    On Straight, USA 1969

    [​IMG]
     
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  23. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing Thread Starter

    AllMusic Review by Wilson Neate

    Blue Afternoon was Tim Buckley's first self-produced record and his debut for Herb Cohen and Frank Zappa's Straight label. Buckley's first two albums were very much of their time and place, with their psychedelically tinged folk-rock compositions; naïve, romantic lyrical content; and moments of earnest protest.

    The introduction of acoustic bass and vibes into the arrangements on Happy Sad signaled a change in direction, however, and Blue Afternoon displayed similar jazz tendencies, using the same group of musicians plus drummer Jimmy Madison. Several tracks on Blue Afternoon are songs Buckley had intended to record on earlier albums but had not completed. The brooding "Chase the Blues Away" and the lighter, more upbeat "Happy Time," for instance, are numbers he had worked on in the summer of 1968 for possible inclusion on Happy Sad. (Demos can be heard on Rhino's Works in Progress album.) Here, as he did on Happy Sad, Buckley takes the folk song as his starting point and expands it, drawing on jazz influences to create new dynamics and to emphasize atmosphere and mood.

    This approach can be best appreciated on the mournful "The River," as simple acoustic guitar, cymbals, and vibes build a fluid, ebbing, and flowing arrangement around Buckley's beautiful, melancholy vocals. The period between 1968 and 1970 was an intensely creative one for Tim Buckley. Remarkably, during the same four weeks in which he recorded Blue Afternoon, he also recorded its follow-up, Lorca, and material for Starsailor.

    It's not surprising, then, that Blue Afternoon hints at Buckley's subsequent musical direction. While not in the experimental, avant-garde vein of the more challenging material on those next two albums, "The Train" foregrounds Lee Underwood's quietly intense, jazzy guitar and Buckley's vocal prowess, prefiguring the feeling of tracks like Lorca's "Nobody Walkin'" and Starsailor's "Monterey."

    ..............

    All tracks are by Tim Buckley
     
  24. CybrKhatru

    CybrKhatru Music is life.

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I had a nice reissue LP of Blue Afternoon which I sold when I needed the cash. Wish I still had it. Time to replace it...
     
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  25. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing Thread Starter

    track 1) Happy Time

    You know we love this opening track. Wonderful.



    Ah, it's a happy time inside my mind
    When a melody does find a rhyme
    Says to me I'm comin' home to stay
    Oh, Lord, home to stay
    I'm comin' home to stay
    Home to stay

    Ah, lord, it's just the same old story
    Something about love for glory
    A nickel and a dime a dozen
    Fame
    Ah, it's such a shame
    Ah, the way they use your name
    Ah, you know it's such a shame
    When it's only mine to sing a song
    Hoping that you'd cross along my way
    Before I have to move along
    Ah, now move along
    Ah, but I'll be back again
    Ooh back again

    Ah, it's a happy time inside my mind
    When a melody does find a rhyme
    Says to me I'm comin' home to stay
    Oh, Lord, home to stay
    I'm comin' home to stay
    Home to stay


    Sleep late now mama
    Let the mornin' sun warm your bed
    While I'm away
    While I'm away
     

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