track 3) Morning Glory To quote @clip ...words fail me. Except, how Tim can find a way to dig deeper into the emotion of this amazing song, I don't know, but this is stunning. Pure magic.
The 1968 live Peel Sessions were recorded around the same time...I'll get to this stunning set after Dream Letter/London. Morning Glory...couldn't resist sharing this. John Peel called the session, essential music.
track 4) Dolphins (Fred Neil) So fine here. A song that was always happily in Tim's live set lists. He loved it so much and it must have touched him deeply.
Dolphins It's fascinating to hear Dolphins evolve in a live setting. His voice and delivery in London are an improvement on the 3 earlier live versions- March '67, May '68 and July'68. Tim was known to have quite a strong antipathy towards the English, probably due to his Irish roots- not that you would know it from his London performance though.
Remember that when Tim was coming of age, if you were not British, you could barely get any attention in record sales or general popularity in the music world. Many American musicians resented that, even though they themselves might have been very popular in the UK in the same time period. Most Americans who had Irish roots, especially when it came from the 19th century or the Ellis Island period, had no particular resentment of the English based on politics or other cultural matters.
Thank you. I can appreciate the distinction. Lee Underwood in his book Blue Melody mentions Tim's distaste for the British: "Also like his volatile Irish dad, he detested the British- their physical and emotional fastidiousness; their terror of confronting genuine emotions and expressing them freely and directly; their subtle, devious, dry sardonic humour; their steel-willed reserve; their determination to preserve the "proper" image at all times, under all conditions."
track 5) I've Been Out Walking This is such a highlight...I absolutely love this Buckley tune! Some Fred Neil vibes are revealed here...Freddie was a music hero of Tim's. Tim's vocal is crazy amazing. To my ears this is one of Tim's best and it's a mystery why he never recorded it for a studio LP... maybe Larry or Lee can tell us why. It would have fit nicely on Happy/Sad or Blue Afternoon... or Lorca especially. It contains six pieces that were never recorded elsewhere – “I’ve Been Out Walking”, “The Troubadour”, “Who Do You Love”, “The Earth Is Broken”, “Wayfaring Stranger” “Carnival Song/Hi-Lili Hi-Lo”. Hey I've been out walking, ain't done too much talking these days Ah Lord I sit alone and weep all the time to hesitate Ah now darling don't you cry I'm just waiting for the sun to shine Ain't got no heart to sell you Ain't got no time to tell you All the answers you came to hear I just came down from the mountain And now you know me when I was just a child in your heart I been waiting so long to say it I been losing but I been choosing I've been living on borrowed time Trying to pay back the debts I owe you Ah but I never show you why the river could be a woman Why the sky will ever open I just want to be here tonight love I wanna take myself a plane back home I got a sweet little woman oh but I'm gone now And I wonder what my little darling does for love She's walking all alone and here I'm trying to get back home Hey tell me is there a sadder place to be right now Ah but now I could here those mountains ringing all around me I feel it won't take too long to get through it and sing a song Ah but I don't know if my love can last, oh no You know I just came in on the rail Ah damn to keep me another shirt tail And I been trying to make it ever since oh love I got a name but mama don't you know I'm ashamed I been out walking now I ain't been too in much talking Oh Lord my heart's got too much to yield Yes but I bring you in now darling Remember when I was so strong how the liquor and women wore me down I'm on my knees begging oh please Hear the mountains ringing, hear the birds a singing Feel the sun shine on your hands Just smell the river flow well now I know my love is growing hear the way the children smile Makes you glad that you been choosing Which time you been losing Ah ain't it great being alive
I've Been Out Walking Wonderful, and a great lyric too. This album is precious for many reasons, not least the amazing tracks like this that we would never have got to hear otherwise. There must be many other tracks that he only performed live that we will never get to hear. But we are grateful for what we have. The opening line owes a debt to Jackson Browne- though it could be that Tim got it from Nico. Tim played backing for Nico in 1967 after she left the Velvet Underground, a role that Jackson Browne also performed.
I didn't skip a track...well, sort of...I skipped the "intro" so I messed the song numbering temporarily. Back to the music... track 7) The Earth Is Broken Another amazing song we'll never hear anywhere else. So fantastic, and a rare love song for Planet Earth. This one, just Tim and his 12 string. Stunning. "Ah but no song was written on without a tear in your eyes Are we the last ones, the last ones to try..." Oh now my brother's been taken away Gone are the old times when we used to say Oh a woman was younger she knew what to do Oh but I look around me, now that's not so I'm lost on that open road no peace do I find Maybe the wind'll blow a melody and ease my mind But soon love is broken, they'll take you away Oh the wars they been growing as no relief And the old men who ruled them oh they're just like thieves They rob from the sunshine, oh the air ain't so clean Our rivers are dirty where once we could see A smile from your lady friend looking down Look at that river hey did you ever shiver Well the earth is broken there is no one to save I remember quite freely only yesterday Ah the letter that I read from you read this way Take care lonesome Timmy, ah don't you start Thinking you're the only one year that's gone Out on your lonesome road hey lend a hand to your friend Yes he's just as lonely and the wind keeps you cold Remember the rivers that once did flow clean Ah sometimes I wonder how this old world keeps spinning 'round All the old folks have gone west, Lord preparing to die All except for a few of us hangers on Living each day with trivial hearts We just stop once in a while cry over the news In some foreign far city your brother's shot down Because there was a reason a gun had a hand And the old man killed youth, squeezed down its hope Now I'm just waiting brother waiting for the land Soon in my country there won't be a friend Each one is trying so hard to defend That one one last heartbeat before he's tugged away Lost in the mechanized efficient world logical skies Ah but no song was written on without a tear in your eyes Are we the last ones, the last ones to try
The Earth Is Broken In London Tim performed 3 songs solo- just his voice and his 12-string. And these are for me the best 3 songs in the concert- all count among the most moving listening experiences of my life. First up, The Earth Is Broken- this is in the form of a letter to his "brother" Larry Beckett who has been "taken away". In 1968 Larry was drafted for the Vietnam War and endured a harrowing 12 months before getting his "unsuitable" discharge. It's a powerful anti-war song, that sheds a tear for loss of innocence, environmental destruction, and loneliness. Larry wasn't even aware of the existence of this song until he listened to Dream Letter on its release in 1990. And it's so perfect just as it is that I don't think we need a studio version.
track 8) Who Do Love (Bo Diddley) A classic blues standard and a stunner from Tim. Lee's guitar riffs leave me breathless.
Another long, unrecorded, new song- that's 3 in a row. It's a Tim original though- there's nothing in common with the Bo Diddley song except for the 4 words in the title. Tim was a magpie though, especially when performing live, and you will a few words from Green Rocky Road, and possibly lines from other songs too. The vocal delivery is a striking contrast to the previous song- quite raw, he probably needed a good drink of water after this one. Some critics think this one goes on too long. There's another performance of this on the DVD, though I think it has already been posted. Who Do You Love Tim Buckley Now I woke up this morning, yes, there was rumbling in my mind I was thinking about my baby, I left her so far behind, oh Lord Yeah, now I wonder, Lord, I wonder deep in my heart If this ever gonna stop this fooling, mama, don't you understand? No, no, no, no, no Well, the driver on that engine, oh Lordy, ain't no friend of mine Ah, he done took away my baby, ohh and left her so far behind Ah, but sometimes in the morning, oh, sweet lover Don't you know that your boy's gone to his room? Yeah Ah, I remember all about the good times, honey Ah, and I forget all about the rain now Well, you never did it for me, mama How do you want your rolling done? Oh yes You know, I do believe you wanna be rolled, be rolled Be rolled from sun to sun, hey, now darling Don't you know I cross that burning desert on my knees? Bring my paycheck home every Friday night Mama, don't I treat you right? Yeah, that, that, that green, green rocky road, yeah Ah, you got a promenade now, you got a promenade Mama, who, who do you love? Ah, who do you love? Who do you love? Who do you love? Who do you love? Hey brother, did you ever run up the mountain? Lord, I went up to the top See your lover from above, run down to the valley low Listen to it ring, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord Listen to it ring from above You gotta run to the river, run to the river Run to the river, Lord, and cleanse your soul Cleanse your soul, cleanse your soul I think that sooner or later we'll make it or break it I mean your brother, I mean it ain't matter what the color Lord, we both gotta get outta here We gotta rise up, Lord, away from the skin Lord, up there a while, you gotta look at your brother Don't matter what the color, Lord, if you wanna get along Everything will be, oh, green rocky road You be promenade, promenade in green Talking 'bout love now, talking 'bout love Talking 'bout love now, talking 'bout love Hey, you gotta walk to the river, brother Swim in the river and cleanse your soul You gotta sing, shout, singing hallelujah Lord, if you want to get along You gotta sing hallelujah, brother Don't matter what the color You gotta see the light all by yourself You gotta run, shake and lie, ah, run, shake it on your own You gotta run, shake and lie, oh, shake it on your own There ain't no Moses, Jesus don't know the words You gotta run, shake and lie, run, shake and lie now Run, shake and lie, shake and lie, shake and lie Shake and lie, shake and lie, shake and lie, shake and lie Ah Lord, I woke up this morning, oh Lord, rumbling on my mind I was thinking thinking 'bout my baby, I left her so far behind Oh, sometimes in the morning, Lord, a voice comes ringing through And I? m thinking, oh mama, Lord, I must be crazy, mama Not to be home with you I'm going home, I'm going home Going home, going home
track 9) Pleasant Street/You Keep Me Hanging On Pleasant Street is as stunning a song as it gets...always love it, anyway Tim sings it. And the classic Supremes hit... But the masterpieces that are the Buckley/Beckett and the Holland & Dozier songs in perfect combination is genius.
Disc 2 track 10) Love From Room 109/Strange Feelin' (Buckley) What a fantastic marriage of these two amazing Buckley songs. Chills! "Room 109" has always been favorite from Happy Sad.
Love From Room 109/Strange Feelin' I'm guessing there was an intermission in the show and Tim and the band returned for the second set and started with this one. It's another long and captivating song. Love from Room 109 steers close to what would be recorded for the album, but skips the last 2 verses. Strange Feelin' is a different beast entirely and should probably have a different title. There are 8 verses, none of which bear any relation to the album version of Strange Feelin', and I don't recognise them from anywhere else. So this might constitute another unrecorded song. However the 4 lines of the chorus here- the mockingbird lines- would be recycled as a verse in the studio version of Strange Feelin' which must be why the compilers of this live CD went for that title.
This is very quickly becoming my second favourite TB album after Greetings from LA. Loving these versions.
track 11) Carnival Song/Hi Lily, Hi Lo Completely unrelated to the Goodbye/Hello track. The Carnival Song portion is merely the spoken intro by Tim. So fine. There is certainly a carnival calliope vibe to the song. No relation to the 1952 song it would seem, a hit by the Lennon Sisters... tho the first lines are the same as the original by Kaper & Deutsch, this is all Tim Buckley. If you're ever in New York...(Is it a girl?) If you're ever in New York, there's not very Many carnivals going on And that may not be much, but uh... If you're used to a carnival every once in a while Then New York doesn't have it Then you gotta write a carnival song But that don't really make it either 'Cause what's a song without a carnival? The song of love is a sad song For we have loved and it's so So come and laugh a while Lily Come and join the show Hi lily lily hi Lo lily lily hi Lo lily lily hi lo The circus comes once a year, Lily Then we gotta go So come and laugh a while Lily Come and join the show Come dancin', dancin' dance a while Come dancin', dancin' dance a while Come dancin', dancin' dance a while with me Me me me me me me me ... More? see the people pass Lily Don't mind what they say Go on and be happy Lily They'll just pass away Hi lily lily hi Lo lily lily hi Lo lily lily hi lo Don't let the Italian kids on your block make fun, Lily (The) song of love is a sad song We have loved and it's so So come and laugh a while Lily Come and join the show Hi lily hi lily Hi lily lo The Lennon Sisters of Lawrence Welk fame. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4MCWlRblAo
Hi Lily, Hi Lo Not sure what attracted Tim to this song- it's not one I particularly like. But thankfully he has made it his own- lyrically and musically- and it works beautifully in the context of this concert. There are two other versions of Tim's Hi Lily, Hi Lo, both from the first half of 1968- a studio version on Works In Progress and another live version on Electric Theatre. The lyrics and music seem a bit tentative on those though, so the version in London with the spoken intro is the definitive version.
Hi Lilly Hi Lo. I only know that song from Rickie Lee Jones PopPop album. Interesting to hear what Tim did with it.
track 12) Hallucinations Wonderful vibes...this continues what is one of the best live LPs ever. I saw you walking Only yesterday When I ran to catch you You disappeared And the street was gray The candle died Now you are gone For the flame was too bright Now you are gone I heard you laughing With your laugh of gold When I called out to you Silence returned And the air was cold The castle fell Now you are gone No more rings the bell Now you are gone I found a letter On the day it rained When I tore it open There in my hands Only ash remained The castle fell Now you are gone No more rings the bell Now you are gone I felt you breathing As I fell asleep When I reached out to touch you No one was there And the night was deep The candle died Now you are gone For the flame was too bright Now you are gone I saw you walking Only yesterday When I ran to catch you You disappeared And the street was gray The castle fell Now you are gone No more rings the bell Now you are gone Happy Birthday on this Valentine/s Day, Tim.
Hallucinations Lovely rendition of the Goodbye & Hello track- I particularly like the long instrumental passage with lee Underwood outstanding on guitar. Interesting that he played 5 previously released tracks at this concert- all from his 2nd album. Five months earlier in Chicago at the Electric Theatre he didn't play any old material- the 14 songs there were all new material or covers. Perhaps he felt the concert in London was a significant one and gave quite a bit of thought to the setlist.
