TIM BUCKLEY

"Tim Buckley" is the eponymously titled debut full-length studio album by US folk rock/psychadelic rock artist Tim Buckley. The album was released through Elektra Records in October 1966. After a only a few weeks in college, Buckley left to pursue a career in music, and spend most of 1965 playing the Los Angeles folk club circuit. After attending a Tim Buckley concert, Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention drummer Jimmy Carl Black recommended the group´s manager Herb Cohon that he take a listen to the then 19 years old Buckley. Cohon arranged for Buckley to play for a longer period in New York, and also managed to get a recording deal with Elektra Records in place.

Stylistically the material on this debut album is American folk with featuring the strong and distinct sounding voice and vocals by Tim Buckley in front. It´s a mix of relatively nice rocking folk rock/psychdelic tinged songs and more mellow folk rock moments. While Buckley is probably mostly known for his later experimental rock releases, you´ll get nothing of that on this debut album. That doesn´t mean this isn´t interesting and well sounding music, because it certainly is. It´s not a perfect release, and I could for example have done without the string arrangements (by Jack Nitzsche) which are featured on some tracks, which provide the music with just a little too much polish, but it´s impossible not to be moved by the melancholic and intense vocals delivered by Buckley. He is an exceptional singer.

Paul A. Rothchild, Jac Holzman, and Bruce Botnick were involved with producing, engineering, and mixing the album, and not surprisingly seasoned veterans like those guys have produced an album featuring and organic, detailed, and powerful sound, perfectly suiting the material. Upon conclusion this is a relatively mature debut album, especially considering that Buckley was only 19 years old when recording it. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.