Wednesday, May 25, 2011


Tim Buckley Series, #2: Tim Buckley- Live at the Folklore Center, NYC, March 6, 1967 (2009) MP3 & FLAC


"The singer cries for people's lies. He will sing for the day to bring him night."

Tim Buckley was one of those musicians whose artistic development from album to album was often dizzying, and while this is what made it possible for him to evolve from the (sometimes) derivative and overly fussed-over sound of his Elektra Debut to the uncompromisingly original Jazz-inflected Avant-Folk of albums such as Blue Afternoon and Starsailor in just four short years, the sheer speed of this trajectory has resulted in his early career being something of an afterthought. In light of the dearth of live recordings from this early period, Live at the Folklore Center, NYC, March 6, 1967 is nothing less than a revelation, as it catches Buckley during his early troubadour phase, gigging in NYC for the first time, and playing a full acoustic solo set. The Folklore Center was ground-zero for the Greenwich Village folk scene of the early sixties, but by 1967, the scene had begun to wane. As a result, proprietor Izzy Young decided to put aside his folk-purist tendencies and invite a west coast act sight-unseen and sound-unheard: enter Tim Buckley. This was Buckley's east coast debut and much to his credit, Young decided to tape the entire show. While not as sonically dazzling as Dream Letter: Live in London, the sound is still excellent, with good detail and very little tape hiss. In terms of Buckley's performance, while he clearly hasn't yet harnessed the power of his amazing voice, which borders on the melodramatic in places, his singular 12-string guitar work and unique vocal phrasings are very much in evidence. While there are many essential moments on this recording, Buckley's faithful cover of Fred Neil's "Dolphins" is a breathtaking preview of the kind of languorous vocal peregrinations that would take center-stage on his late sixties recordings. Also making Live at the Folklore Center, NYC, March 6, 1967 an essential addition to the Buckley discography is the appearance of a number of songs that are exclusive to this recording, including "Cripples Cry," a gorgeous, jangly tale of love lost. This album provides an invaluable counterpoint to Buckley's studio debut, and proves once again that he was at his best in the more improvisational climate of a live setting.

Live at the Folklore Center, NYC, March 6, 1967
 1. Song for Jainie  (3:02)
 2. I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain  (4:17)
 3. Wings  (2:44)
 4. Phantasmagoria in Two  (3:18)
 5. Just Please Leave Me  (2:28)
 6. Dolphins  (4:32)
 7. I Can't See You  (4:05)
 8. Troubadour  (4:30)
 9. Aren't You the Girl  (2:57)
10. What Do You Do (He Never Saw You)  (2:51)
11. No Man Can Find the War  (3:19)
12. Carnival Song  (2:43)
13. Cripples Cry  (5:07)
14. If the Rain Comes  (2:51)
15. Country Boy  (4:04)
16. I Can't Leave You Loving Me  (2:26)




15 comments:

  1. Sweet! Thanks for this so much!

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  2. Drake, yes indeed. But it pales compared to what I have in store for #3

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  3. I've never gotten into Tim's music until now. This recording was just the thing to make that happen - a small smokey venue with Tim showcasing his talents. Thanks Voixautre, I look forward to this series as well. Dare I get into Talk Talk as well? (my HD is saying NOOOOOOHOHOHOHOOOO ! ! !)

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  4. Thanks for more live Tim. I agree that it isn't in the same league as Dream Letter: Live in London 1968 but Live at the Folklore Center 1967 is still highly recommended. Kurt

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  5. cudawaver, sounds like we both need to invest in external harddrives. I seem to fill up harddrives faster than I can upgrade them

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  6. Kurt, I agree; while "Dream Letter" is peerless, the "Folklore" album surprised me. It is a wonderful glimpse into Buckley's early period

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  7. Hi Voixautre - cheers for this one (& all the others quite frankly...) I can't get the link up for the FLAC option - is the link loading for you? Thanks once again for all the quality tunes

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  8. Anon. it's downloading fine on my end

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  9. Voixautre - it's working fine now - soz to bother you - don't know what went wrong. Cheers anyway!

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  10. Anon., no problem; I'm just glad it ended up working for you :)

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  11. thanx for this...your site is coming along nicely
    really enjoy reading the reviews...good stuff!

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  12. gazbosue, thank you. I really appreciate the comment. Writing the reviews has become my favorite part of doing this.

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  13. thank you for sharing this masterpieces of unforgotten t.b what can i say, great

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