GOODBYE AND HELLO

For his sophomore release, Buckley attained the talents once more of Blood, Sweat & Tears' own Jim Fielder on bass, and instead of one drummer associated with The Mothers (BIlly Mundi, on his self-titled debut), we have yet another, Jim Gordon. At this time not at all famous yet for his role in Derek and The Dominoes, nor via the aforementioned Mothers, but Gordon had earliest appeared backing The Everly Brothers and was on Pet Sounds (1966). Certainly to many, worth a mention, I thought. Most interestingly, though, it wasn't until today that I realized that Gordon was actually a part of the famed Wrecking Crew(!); of this same guild we also have Don Randi on keys and Jimmy Bond on double bass.

It cannot be helped by where I'm coming from: right off the bat, Buckley sounds like The Monkees to me, vocally like Micky Dolenz. This may be frustrating to those who find nothing to appreciate in The Monkees' industry plant status (despite the obviously excellent songwriting of Mike Nesmith, may he rest in peace). But funny enough, here we have a true-blue contemporary in Tim Buckley! Opening the album is a darker, gloomier Psychedelic song, "No Man Can Find the War". I really liked this song and find it an interesting opener. Psychedelia continues strong via "Carnival Song", by way of carousel-twinkling Wurlitzer(?). A fine track, the instrumentation is very oldie and goldie to me, this time reminding me for obvious reasons of Todd Rundgren's later, greater song "The Night the Carousel Burned Down" off his 1972 superhits album, Something / Anything? (1972).

Overall, Buckley is retaining a straight line of feeling from song to song, as "Pleasant Street" slowly and creepily grooves along next. Not a whole lot of interest in compositions (this song in particular is honestly pretty static), but plenty to offer in texture. Very of the time and yet classic; it holds up to my ears. Fitfully titled, "Hallucinations" is next, folksy and eerie; conceivably proto-Comus. Yet again, the draw is in the texturing of the instruments. And many a texture there are. It's a winner. Should be given at least a listen, for sure. In terms of the whole, thus far, I hadn't been super impressed. Continuing at first very much like "Hallucinations", "I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain" strides along, driven by acoustic guitar strums and introduced with sharp though far-off string-plucking. The Dolenz comparisons are back here, too, which really I am about. Tim has a nice, rich, but strong voice. Here, though, "I Never Asked..." had promise aplenty, yet ended up just boring me over its 6-minutes length.

Tim is good at pretty, so "Once I Was" was much more successful to me, as it wasn't trying to be something else [in my opinion]... Again, pretty, but no more greater, by many of my standards, than the last. "Phantasmagoria In Two" is a classic, folksy ditty, but I really have nothing to say about it aside from the drums being better than mediocre [Yikes]. "Knight-Errant" is... troubadour? Nothing to say about this either. My least favorite, since I thought it was offering more than it even had.

Now, as we near the end, we get the title track, the 9-minute epic "Goodbye and Hello". And certainly compositionally, compared to what came before, for sure 'epic'! Very regal in nature, with horns galore. Another that's worth a listen. I think I'm often looking for a lot more than what's goin' on at best here, though. Finally is the slow and sweet ballad, "Morning Glory". Nice vocals toward the end. But... bored again. Burnt out, really.

True Rate: 2.5/5.0