In 1966, change was constant, and moving at a heretofore unseen speed. Perhaps no record label reflected this more than Elektra. The company that began as a means of preserving America’s rich indigenous folk catalogue was now a catalyst for the music that would come to typify the summer of love, courtesy contemporary and upcoming releases from the Doors, Love, and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. In October of that year, when 19 year-old Tim Buckley’s debut long-player was released, the worlds of psychedelic rock and traditional folk were colliding as never before.
Rhino Records has done it again with this latest effort from their Handmade imprint, a two-disc deluxe version of that stunning LP. The lyrics and arrangements have a sophistication that belie the author’s age, sung in a soaring tenor that puts paid to his Irish-American heritage. Its immediate influence can be heard everywhere from the Monkees to Gordon Lightfoot, and some 40 years on, it still defies classification, largely due to its ability to assimilate several genres into a completely original whole.
What resounds most about “Tim Buckley” is that sound, which defies chronology, even with the occasionally “po’ faced” style of singing left over from the recent folk revival. This is however tempered by astounding vocal flourishes straight from the soul that hint at Buckley’s future battle and eventual defeat to drugs and alcohol.
Disc One, with both stereo and mono versions of the album, opens with the driving rocker “I Can’t See You”, which is bolstered by eastern modalities with more than a hint of nascent psychedelia. “Wings” soars with a lovely string section, and guitar runs that fly like sparks off a Catherine wheel. “Strange Street Affair Under Blue” is a foray into Klezmer music, with a Russian march feel, changing tempos and passages of mild atonality that irresistibly coalesce. “Valentine Melody” sees Buckley laying the groundwork for the next decade’s singer-songwriter boom. Elsewhere, the songs reflect the sound of the times: “Song Slowly Song”, lyrically and musically, is a “Pet Sounds” outtake; both “Song For Jainie” and “It Happens Every Time” could be songs Bryan MacLean left off Love’s seminal 1967 Elektra release “Forever Changes”; the opening guitar runs of “She Is” confirm the Doors, recording the same month at the same studio as Buckley, were listening; and “Grief In My Soul” evokes the Monkees (not surprising, considering the use of many of the same backing musicians, and Micky Dolenz’s vocal delivery, which borders on mimicry).
The playing is spectacular, featuring members of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, arranger extraordinaire Jack Nitzsche, Brian Wilson collaborator Van Dyke Parks, and Buckley’s right hand man, lead guitarist Lee Underwood, who’s work on this album is like that of the perfect servant – everywhere, yet nowhere.
Disc Two of the set features demos recorded the year before with Buckley’s band the Bohemians, along with a solo demo featuring lead guitar from former bandmate Larry Beckett. Both are the sound of a young man who knows he’s on the right path, even if he’s not sure where it’s leading.
Rhino Handmade has done their usual stellar job of packaging and extras, with peerless attention to detail. Both discs are housed in replica CD size sleeves; disc one’s perfectly reproducing the stereo album cover, including Elektra’s then insistence on their LPs being housed in single sleeves of cardboard with full-colour photographs, rather than the standard-of-the-time issue of a cover slick pasted on black and white cardboard. As for the mastering, whether it’s an issue of storage or increased lower range present on mono mixes (thanks in part to combining several channels down to one), there’s a hiss and mild harshness present that’s missing from the stereo mix. This is a minor complaint, however, as Buckley’s songs here are better served in mono – vocals and other lead instruments were usually locked into one of stereo’s two channels due to the limitations of mid-60s recording equipment, which could be disorienting. Thane Tierney’s excellent liner notes and some gorgeous period photos perfectly compliment an already outstanding release, one a talent and legacy as rich and formidable as Buckley’s deserves.
Tim Buckley (Deluxe Edition) is available from Rhino Records website, www.rhino.com, and at select retailers.
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