Tim Buckley - Starsailor
21 Nov 2008
This is my other favourite record ever. Though I don't listen to it as much as Big Star's Sister Lovers, as it's a bit more demanding in terms of sounds, and it does not fit every place and moment (and my wife hates the guts of it).
But I consider the best example of how an artist can be daring and defy any expectation and come up with a complete - artistic - success. This record flopped completely on its release, prompting Buckley's retirement for a few years, and remains out of print to this day. As far as I know, it's been reprinted on CD only once. I'm very very lucky a friend of mine gave me a vinyl copy.
Even though it failed commercially, this is an artistic triumph. I would recommend not to listen to it casually (especially the first time), as this record is more of a layman's mass, a mystical trip than simply a collection of songs. The best thing you can do is to go somewhere special and listen to it in one go in total relax.
One thing that must be taken into account when approaching this record is that in places Buckley's voice can be really unusual here. He screams and shouts and hollers and sometimes he can sound like he's imitating a monkey. This needs a little getting used to, but once you put yourself in phase with it it's no less than thrilling. He probably was the best singer in the history of rock, and sometimes his experimentation can border on the unlistenable, as much as some noise guitarists' extreme feedback can be difficult to bear.
The first song Come here woman is like a mini-symphony in thee movements. It starts slowly, atmospherically, then turns into a sweat-drenched white funk, to end into something more noise-operatic. All of this in about three minutes. Buckley's voice coos, soars and screams like no one else has done since (in my opinion). The songs sets the tone for what you can expect in the record: atmospheric numbers (like Song to the siren, I woke up, white funk and more hard-rocking numbers (Monterey, Down by the borderline) and plain weird (the Ligeti-inspired title track). Come here woman is a bit like a synthesis of what is to come, much like some operetta overtures.
TBC