Tim Buckley - Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology

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Free Music Notes for Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology

Free Music Review: The track selection could be better, but get this now
Hit: 5 Stars

Disc 1 covers Tim Buckley's first two releases, his eponymous debut and 1967's GOODBYE AND HELLO. These albums were in a folk vein, but songs such as the nightmarish "No Man Can Find the War" and the frenetic "Pleasant Street" are complex pieces that move beyond anything that had been offered before in American folk. The first songs show that his first album was somewhat overproduced, with Elektra giving him a string orchestra for no particular reason, but on the tracks that follow the production was ideal, with that amazing voice accompanied by just the right instruments in just the right quantities. The closing track is the live song of "Troubadour", recorded in London in 1968. Even if you have all of Tim Buckley's studio albums, this heartbreaking and tear-inducing song is enough to merit buying MORNING GLORY (or the live album DREAM LETTER, from which it was taken).

Disc 2 contains Buckley's work from the latter half of his career. More abstract music, highly influenced by free-form jazz, these songs were blasted by critics upon their release but are now recognized as Buckley's finest work. "Happy Time" rejects easy hooks in favour of solid composition. "I Must Have Been Blind", afterwards made popular in covers by This Mortal Coil and Brendan Perry, moves with a delicate magic. The peak of this disc is without a doubt two songs from STARSAILOR, Buckley's masterpiece and one of the most important releases of contemporary music. "Song to the Siren", whose cover by Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie of TMC in 1984 resurrected interest in Tim Buckley, is perhaps his finest vocal performance, with a vocal track of wails accompanying him in the background. On the chilling "Monterey" Buckley's voice becomes as abstract and cutting as the wild instruments which back it up. Three songs are featured from his controversial 1973 album GREETINGS FROM L.A., in which the jaded singer wrote songs of desperate love and frank sexuality. "Sweet Surrender" almost reaches the height of his STARSAILOR material with its astounding vocals, and while Buckley's voice usually overshadowed his band, the masochistic "Make It Right" features some incredible drumming.

Unfortunately, Rhino was prejudiced towards the folk portion of Buckley's career and I would have preferred more tracks from his free-form period. Considering that STARSAILOR is now out of print and almost impossible to find, it would have been nice if Rhino had put more tracks from that incredible album on this anthology. The liner notes, provided by some critic named Barry Alfonso, are enlightening, but give short shrift to Buckley's post-1972 output. These albums, in which Buckley decided to give the unsympathetic public what they wanted after the poor sales of STARSAILOR, are highly sexual and desperate, but they nonetheless feature incredible vocal performance. It's also a shame that "Dream Letter", a haunting meditation on his distant son Jeff Buckley, who in the 90's put out incredible material and died young like his father, wasn't included.

Tim Buckley was an incredible singer and songwriter, and his output went unnoticed and underappreciated for far too long. MORNING GLORY: A TIM BUCKLEY anthrology is a great way to experience his incredible music, and I'd recommend it to everyone.

Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology Poster

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