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Tim Buckley - Merry-Go-Round at the Carousel


mjzee

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Now available.  See: https://owsleystanleyfoundation.org/bears-sonic-journals/merry-go-round-at-the-carousel-tim-buckley-at-the-carousel-ballroom/

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This is the most important Tim Buckley release since Dream Letter, featuring a singular performance with a jazz-rock lineup that calls to mind Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks. Buckley, father of Jeff Buckley, made his mark with his Southern California folk-rock sound and four-octave vocal range. But this rich weave of accessible, warm, improvisational music reveals Buckley in a light never before captured on tape, including two newly discovered songs (“Blues, Love” and “The Lonely Life”), early drafts of Buckley classics, and a stunning cover of Fred Neil’s “Merry-Go-Round.” Recorded by the Grateful Dead’s legendary soundman Owsley “Bear” Stanley, the infamous LSD chemist, this is one of the treasures of his Sonic Journal archive. Buckley’s performance is incredible and Bear’s thumbprint on the sonics is part of the magic! 

Featuring nearly 80 minutes of live performances from June 15 & 16, 1968 at the Carousel Ballroom in San Francisco, CA.

This is a significant and rare addition to Tim Buckley’s musical legacy for both the performance and excellent sound quality.

A 28-page booklet includes original cover art by Dennis Larkins and liner notes featuring new interviews with bassist John Miller, lyricist Larry Beckett, and Buckley scholar Pat Thomas.

With Tim Buckley on vocals and 12-string guitar, John Miller on bass, David Friedman on vibraphone, and Carter C.C. Collins on percussion.

These tapes were transferred and mastered by Jeffrey Norman (Mockingbird Mastering), long-time collaborator with the Grateful Dead and Owsley Stanley.

“This is the follow up to Dream Letter. Between the sonics and the songs, this is a major moment in Buckley land.”
—Pat Thomas, Tim Buckley scholar

“A great discovery! … Even though tracks here appear elsewhere in studio albums or other concert recordings, they are not the same at all. They are reinvented. And that’s why every single [release] is worth listening to.”—Larry Beckett, Tim Buckley lyricist

 

 

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6 hours ago, Joe said:

Thanks for the heads-up. Somehow I missed both this and the recently released Live At The Electric Theatre Co, Chicago, 1968. Anyone one here heard that one / have thoughts to share? 

71X2bQhUFzL._SX522_.jpg

That one's also really good.  

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1 hour ago, jlhoots said:

I never quite "got" Tim Buckley. I'll try again.

There were 3-4 distinct phases.  The late studio albums were horrifyingly bad, yet the live performances from the same era were really good, but those have come to light only in the digital era.  Conversely, his second album, "Goodbye and Hello", is one of my desert island discs.  But after that, the biggest treasures are the newly released live albums from the late 60's, like the ones discussed here.

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STARSAILOR is it for me, then LORCA. Other than that, it's kind of "on the way to this" and then "on the way from that".

Live shows, thoiugh...not sure if that's gonna be for me or not, that was a long time ago...when did Lee Underwood get on board? And does it really matter?

I'll almost fully agree with Felser about the late-period studio albums, but with two exceptions (songs, not albums)

This one, whee he thinks he's Al Green, except that unlike most every other fool who thinks they're Al Green, this guy's got the chops (vocal & emotional) to actually go there and know about what he's getting in for.

and this, maybe maybe just because? Drag about the drummer, but oh well.

 

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37 minutes ago, Joe said:

BLUE AFTERNOON is a good disc for those looking for an introduction to Buckley's most fertile period, IMO. Once you're really ready for the adventurous stuff: LORCA, then STARSAILOR. 

I agree that Blue Afternoon is a gem, to me his second best album and last good one.   Lorca is half good (literally, one side is really good), Starsailor is unlistenable to me.   I think it was Robert Christgau said about that one that it sounded like Buckely was having his liver torn out, slowly.  

3 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Live shows, thoiugh...not sure if that's gonna be for me or not, that was a long time ago...when did Lee Underwood get on board? And does it really matter?

I'll almost fully agree with Felser about the late-period studio albums, but with two exceptions (songs, not albums)

 

I agree with you on "The Dolphins", hard to do wrong on that song.   The live albums discussed are more circa "Happy Sad", "Blue Afternoon", and "Lorca", and are uniformly excellent.

Edited by felser
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3 hours ago, erwbol said:

We need a Starsailor era live release on CD. 

The MY FLEETING HOUSE DVD might be the closest we ever get to that. 

HAPPY/SAD has "Love from Room 109 at the Islander (On Pacific Coast Highway)" and "Dream Letter," two of Buckley's more enduring compositions, IMO. It's also the album where he really begins to free himself from folksinger orthodoxy, a process also nicely documented on that WORKS IN PROGRESS disc. 

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2 hours ago, Joe said:

The MY FLEETING HOUSE DVD might be the closest we ever get to that. 

HAPPY/SAD has "Love from Room 109 at the Islander (On Pacific Coast Highway)" and "Dream Letter," two of Buckley's more enduring compositions, IMO. It's also the album where he really begins to free himself from folksinger orthodoxy, a process also nicely documented on that WORKS IN PROGRESS disc. 

The Starsailor-era concert TV clips included on the My Fleeting House DVD exist as an entire TV broadcast on bootleg DVD. The picture quality is somewhat less, but the audio is fine, I recall. I also believe more exists, so a Starsailor special edition with additional live material is entirely possible.

Edited by erwbol
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27 minutes ago, erwbol said:

The Starsailor-era concert TV clips included on the My Fleeting House DVD exist as an entire TV broadcast on bootleg DVD. The picture quality is somewhat less, but the audio is fine, I recall. I also believe more exists, so a Starsailor special edition with additional live material is entirely possible.

Did he Bunk & Buzz Gardner playing with him live?

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2 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Did he Bunk & Buzz Gardner playing with him live?

Buzz, no Bunk. The whole thing has been ripped and posted to YouTube. I will hold off on posting a link here, as that's technically a bootleg (IMO).

 

32 minutes ago, erwbol said:

The Starsailor-era concert TV clips included on the My Fleeting House DVD exist as an entire TV broadcast on bootleg DVD. The picture quality is somewhat less, but the audio is fine, I recall. I also believe more exists, so a Starsailor special edition with additional live material is entirely possible.

Will have to look for that; thanks!

Has anyone here ever seen WHY? https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0324550/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm

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40 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Did he Bunk & Buzz Gardner playing with him live?

Tim Buckley Starsailor Band

 

1970-09-15   Los Angeles, CA

(DVDfull pro-shot)

 

Boboquivari Show Kcet PBS

 

Tim Buckley - vocals, guitars

Lee Underwood - electric guitar

Jon Balking - string bass

Maury Baker - drums, timpani

Charles “Buzz” Guarnera - trumpet, flugelhorn

 

1. I Woke Up

2. Come Here Woman

3. Blue Melody

4. Moulin Rouge

5. Venice Beach

6. Jungle Fire

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36 minutes ago, Joe said:

I had never heard of this before now, but leave it to YouTube:

 

13 hours ago, JSngry said:

Yeah...Blue Afternoon put me to sleep then and now. Happy/Sad just doesn't "meet expectations" for me...I like the WTFuckly?!?! Side of Tim Buckley!

Jim, this might satisfy you...start with the track after the opening Buzzin' Fly:

 

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