Tim Buckley – Happy Sad

Tim Buckley’s third album represented many important changes for the young songwriter. He stopped working with the lyricist of his first two albums and began to write his own. In addition, Buckley’s newfound appreciation for jazz gave him more of an expansive approach to songwriting. He started to use his voice more like an instrument and his phrasing became more drawn out. In fact, “Strange Feelin’” was directly inspired by “All Blues” from Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue. “The reason I like Miles and those others is because their music comes out of the communication between the men playing it,” said Buckley in an interview. “Everything is so over-rehearsed in rock, that when somebody hits a wrong note, they don’t know what to do with it.” This shift away from the binary verse/chorus folk alienated some of his fans, but came to define his most celebrated albums, with Happy Sad being one of the highest points in his impressive catalog.

– Cole Kinnear

Recommended – A1 Strange Feelin’, A3 Love From Room 109 At The Islander (On Pacific Coast Highway)