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Welcome
to the Tim Buckley Archives
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The
official website of the Estate of Tim Buckley
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This website is intended
to be an information center and celebration of one of the most
talented and unique artists of the 20th Century.
The
Estate has gathered together contributions from all over the
world and will continue to accept new ones - a enduring tribute
to Tim's vision of modern music.
Tim
Buckley was a critically acclaimed singer and songwriter whose
musical career spanned nine studio albums from 1966 -1974.
Since his death in 1975, there have been at least that number
again of live recordings and unreleased songs on albums that
showcased Tim’s range as a singer, and as a pioneer who
pushed musical boundaries as few had done before.
His
musical history can be broadly divided into three periods.
First
is the conventional view of a Sixties singer-songwriter covered
by three albums - Tim Buckley (Elektra -1966), Goodbye
and Hello (Elektra - 1967) and Blue Afternoon (Straight/Warner
Brothers -1969).
The
second period was one of more ambitious musical styling that
moved more in the realm of experimental and jazz-tinged music.
Lorca (Elektra -1970), Happy/Sad (Elektra - 1968),
and Starsailor (Straight/Warner Brothers -1969) are
the three studio albums that show Tim’s willingness to
forsake the easy path for one far more demanding of musician
and listener alike.
Curiously
enough, one of Tim’s most popular songs came in this
period. Song to the Siren - a little gem that appeared
for the first time on disc on Starsailor after debuting
on the very last Monkees TV show - has been covered
extensively by artistes as diverse as Robert Plant and This
Mortal Coil, whose 1998 version has been sampled many times
in electronic mixes.
Tim’s
final period began in 1972, when a more muscular, funk-tinged
version appeared first on Greetings from LA (Straight/Warner
Brothers -1971), followed by Sefronia (DiscReet - 1973)
and Look at the Fool (DiscReet - 1974).
Tim
Buckley’s career was for many years observed solely by
fans of one - or all -of his musical phases, although musicians
he worked with and others who admired his work always knew
that Tim’s willingness to stretch his musical muscles
showed how far ahead of his time he really was.
With
the exception of Blue Afternoon and Starsailor,
Tim’s original albums - plus almost the same number of
posthumously-released live albums and others with newly-released
tracks - remain in print to this day. Continuing strong worldwide
sales show that, while total musical success may have been
elusive for him while alive, his musical legacy is as strong
and as relevant as ever today.
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