May 04 2022
1
In high school, I had a crush on a girl. She had long since decided we should only be friends. I had my head buried deep in the self-absorbed teenage sands and I was unfoundedly convinced that the time for our true relationship was imminent. You would've thought I'd have known better, given she already had a boyfriend.
One day, she asked me to drive her to boyfriend's house, to which I agreed because ... of course I wanted to hang out with her! We got there and the plan somehow turned into the three of us hanging out in my car, in the dude's driveway. They chatted and cuddled while I strummed my guitar. In hindsight, I'm sure there were numerous clear signals that I should have gone for a walk or something, but as I said I was oblivious.
In fact, as the plan went on, I became progressively convinced that I had been invited along because somewhere deep down inside she wanted to leave this guy and be with me. The masterstroke of my subterfuge, most certainly, would be my musical prowess.
In reality, I was shit at playing the guitar and the main reason I was there is primarily because I had a car.
I feel like Tim Buckley and young me, were on a similar wavelength.
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Nov 10 2021
1
Tim Suckley
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May 25 2022
1
That's boring. You're boring everybody. Quit Boring Everyone.
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Jul 05 2023
2
crappy bad
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Apr 12 2021
4
I was gonna make a joke, but holy cr*p, it's actually Jeff Buckley's dad. I've never heard of this guy, but I was immediately excited by how few tracks were on here. These are long songs, with time for Tim and his audience to settle into the tunes together. I really like this, "happy sad" is spot on. The instrumentals sound bright due to what I think is the vibraphone - I'm getting that from wikipedia. The production is meandering and jazzy, while his lyrics and vocals are much more melancholy. "Gypsy Woman" is a nice shot of adrenaline too. I really don't have any complaints with this one, I think it's really cohesive and ruminative in all the right ways. Sign me up for more from Buckley, Sr.
Favorite tracks: Buzzin' Fly, Gypsy Woman, Love from Room 109, Dream Letter.
Album art: Just a simple headshot (or HS for those of us in showbiz, gracias amigas) but It's a good shot. More sad than happy but I like the angle and everything. Very cool.
4.5/5
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May 09 2023
1
i think Tim misunderstood what the word happy means. some depressing shit right here.
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Jan 28 2021
2
I suppose it was ok. It probably helped lots of people get laid in the early 70s.
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Mar 25 2022
4
Psychedelic-Folk crossed with Jazz Fusion is a combination of genres that I did not expect to see together. And I gotta say it's pretty enjoyable. I normally have a tendency to complain about albums having an excess of long songs. But I think it is something that both Tim and Jeff Buckley manage to do very well. "Love from Room 109 at the Islander (On Pacific Coast Highway)" Has as many words to the title as it does minutes in the song, but it was a great song to just sit there and vibe out to. "Dream Letter" is similarly wonderful to vibe to. "Gypsy Woman" is where it gets more experimental and feels like too long of a song. It isn't a bad song, but it's just not for me.
Happy Sad is basically how I describe my personal musical style of both what I make and what I listen to. So this album resonates with me very well.
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Feb 24 2021
4
This album was interesting. It reminded me a bit of Gary Burton (with Chick Corea) but that was most likely just because of the vibraphone. I liked the album more as it went on and thought the opening track was the weakest. It's quite laid back and it certainly doesn't demand attention in the way some other albums do. That being said there is a lot of variety between slow ballads like Dream Letter and much more upbeat folk-rock songs like Gypsy Woman. I didn't get the chance to listen to the album all the way through twice but I would like to come back to it.
Favorite Songs: Buzzin' Fly, Love from Room 109 at the Islander (On Pacific Coast Highway), Dream Letter, Gypsy Woman, Sing a Song for You
Least Favorite Song: Strange Feelin'
Strong 8/10
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Mar 26 2021
4
I couldn’t quite place it but this album sounded so familiar at times. It was just different enough to have its own personality and overall enjoyed it throughout. Saved gypsy woman as a favorite for future listens
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Jan 22 2025
2
I went from being happy to sad.
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May 25 2023
1
Was a solid 2 until 12 minutes of Gypsy Women came on
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May 11 2023
1
Meandering rubbish
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Apr 07 2023
1
crappy bad
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Feb 02 2023
1
Dear God this sucks. What the fuck is this? 6 versions of the same shitty wannabe jazz. How did this get made? How is it considered socially relevant? Ugh
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Jun 24 2024
5
Liedermacher und Jazz. Kann das funktionieren? Es funktioniert. Und wie. Ein große Freude und Entdeckung für mich. Ich danke der Challenge und Tim Buckley. Happy sad. Für mich nach diesem Genuss: Happy Happy
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Dec 13 2023
4
This is a lovely record, a bath of relaxed jazz guitar, vibes, cheerful strumming and Buckley sounding somehow both casual and sublime. I’m in the mood for this today; some days, he’s too angelic for me, but I may play Dream Letter later as a chaser.
An of-its-time content warning is merited for the witchy gipsy woman song, but I suppose his fantasising about Romani is kinder than Enid Blyton’s. As my Uncle Feroz pointed out when he snatched a Famous Five book out of my eight-year-old hands, man she was racist as heck.
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Nov 03 2022
4
Beautiful, but perhaps just a bit too introspectively maudlin
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Jan 31 2025
3
Tim Buckley is that bleak prick who turns up at a house party with an acoustic when all everyone wants is to drink, get stoned, and fuck.
This is fine, but completely unremarkable.
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May 15 2023
1
Absolutely pants - Drivel dirges
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Apr 23 2023
1
oh I don't have enough time in my life for this.
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Sep 13 2022
1
This is genuinely shit. Drawn out, offensively bland shit. 1/5.
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May 18 2025
5
Incredible album. Need to revisit this one. I could definitely hear a bit of jeff in his voice.
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Mar 28 2025
5
Extraordinary music from a tragic hero.
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Jan 24 2025
5
The Buckleys were a gifted but ultimately tragic family, and this is the first example of it that my group has gotten. What a voice the elder Buckley has. Solid 5 Stars.
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Nov 20 2024
5
It was exceptional. I loved everything.
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Mar 10 2023
5
No longer feeling beholden to whatever barricade that stood in his way, Tim Buckley created Happy Sad to allow listeners become witnesses to his immersion into jazzier terrain and folkier ruminations. Using his sprawling yet engaging musical explorations to full effect, this album is a journey from which one would not emerge the same; it could perhaps be said of Tim in regards to the most watershed work of his career.
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Mar 01 2023
5
Brill
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Feb 09 2023
5
Great album!!
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Dec 12 2023
3
Some pretty good moments in songs, but the songs are too long, and there's a lot of not great stuff in between the good stuff.
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Dec 11 2023
3
These Tim Buckley records are pretty good so far, they seem to breeze by with subtle instrumentation and atmospherics and aren’t very intrusive - good music if you need to concentrate on another task while listening. A bit melancholic for my taste, especially towards the end (expected from an album called happy/sad), but not to the point of being a drag.
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Mar 27 2024
2
The music on this album is so calm and relaxed that it risks not leaving any impression at all. I’m usually down for some slow, meditative music and I generally like this sort of jazzy singer-songwriter style but these songs are pretty boring.
“Gypsy Woman” is a nice surprise. I like this wild energy. The song is still a bit formless though. I’m not sure there was a strong enough song to begin with before it breaks down into jazzy riffing and improvisations.
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Feb 02 2024
2
NOT GOOD
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Aug 08 2023
2
This is the third Tom Buckley album that I’ve listened to and it just doesn’t seem to get better. Buckley obviously has some good ideas and his playing is standard for the time, but his lyrical content leans far too into the sensitive artist trope. There is a lack of self awareness that makes this album a slog to get through. I will grant that his leaning onto the experimental and utilizing jazz elements was a good move for him.
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May 31 2021
2
Jeff Buckley is an artist whose voice I appreciate quite a lot, but I only recently found out he was not the first in his family with a significant reputation in the music world. On this record, the first track does not inspire the same confidence in me. I find the instrumentals on it (Strange Feelin') to be very confusing, not fitting with the lyrics or tone of the song at all. This same feeling continues in the rest of this record, I find it mostly too slow, with mismatched sounds and weird choices in song length, and uninspiring. I can appreciate the vocal quality and theme, but it is not something I would find myself listening to with enthusiasm in the near future. Overall score, 2/5.
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Feb 14 2024
1
Trite lyrics ruined by excessive vibraphone and weird guitar noodling.
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Nov 24 2022
1
God I hate giving this album a one but it's just so... all over the place. It meanders constantly. The jazziness is definitely noticeable, but it doesn't save the record from getting super boring. The songs are long, and it all just feels like a marimba-heavy jam session that got recorded and Tim Buckley said, "Yeah, good enough, send it." Just... not for me, I guess.
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Jul 25 2025
5
Great find!
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Jul 25 2025
5
jazz / blues / folk
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Jul 25 2025
5
Almost thought this was Jeff Buckley for a minute 😂
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Jun 20 2025
5
First time really spending any time with Tim Buckley. Oddly calm and yet chaotic at the same time… in a late 60s ditch weed kinda way.
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Apr 05 2025
5
This was the first Tim Buckley album I’ve heard, and I really enjoyed it. It’s a more avant-garde and experimental take on singer/songwriter music, with a strong freeform jazz influence in the instrumentation. The entire album puts a lot of focus on mood and atmosphere, and what really stood out to me was Buckley’s vocal range—shifting from quiet, intimate whispers to wild, emotional outbursts that are often wordless and improvised.
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Feb 14 2025
5
He was great, great composer, great voice, great at all. But completely aged for these fast times.
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Oct 30 2024
5
Looks like it runs in the family, and by it, I mean. Well, let’s just say. Talent
Rush could learn a thing or two from Tim
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Jul 05 2024
5
Buzzin Fly
Strange Feelin
sing a song for you
gypsy woman
dream letter
Love from room 109
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Jun 30 2024
5
beautiful
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May 26 2024
5
Nice to the ears
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May 09 2024
5
O instrumental simples não tem refrões ou solos, parece uma constante improvisação lenta. Junto com o vocal langue e as músicas de longuíssima duração, o álbum ganha um tom intensamente introspectivo. Definitivamente não é para qualquer momento, mas em nenhum momento me senti entediado - diferente de outros álbuns que eram mais agitados mas tinham uma construção melódica repetitiva e sem graça - e sim muito calmo e centrado. Por não parecido com nada do que ouvi aqui até agora ainda ganha pontos de originalidade.
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Apr 28 2024
5
A transitional album between his folk beginnings and later free jazz and funk leanings.
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Apr 18 2024
5
holy shit i love this album, one of the only albuns im proud of enjoying cause no one else talks about it. it has such a mystic vibe to it while being extremely folk, i guess thats what buckley is all about really.
the range on his voice too is very clear here on songs like gypsy woman and buzzin fly, roars to whispers.
probably my favorite of his, love to listen to it as i fall asleep.
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Apr 10 2024
5
Chill album.Every song is good.
Strange feeling:8/10
Buzzing fly:18/10 sounds so chill and I'd play this if I was on a train even this entire album
Love from Room 109 at the Islander(On the Pacific Coast Highway):9/10 very jazzy
Dream letter:9.9/10 It is so chilling and sounds so soothing and kinda scary.
Gypsy Women:6/10 tbh wtf is this song?
Sing a Song for You:20/10 it sounds like western lullaby and is the best song on the album by far.
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Feb 19 2024
5
Very surprised by how much I liked this. Heavy on the vibraphone, but a very relaxing experience.
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Jan 17 2024
5
I am really Happy Sad now. Great album!
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Dec 16 2023
5
I really enjoyed this album and will be checking out more of his work! Well written and sung!
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Nov 29 2023
5
Jazz Rock is always an automatic 10/10 for me
and Tim Buckley is one of the most talented, and tragically short-lived artists I’ve ever had the privilege of listening to
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Nov 15 2023
5
Like a long sunny trip on a drunk summers day
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May 17 2023
5
Sad Sad
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May 17 2023
5
PREFS : TOUT
MOINS PREF : RIEN
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Mar 12 2023
5
Very good. Too short. I didn't think I would ever say that about an album. Favorite song: Strange Feeling.
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Aug 04 2022
5
This is really a great album and, at the same time, such an unassuming one. Except for the last song, which is concise and more straightforward (but nevertheless a gem), this album doesn't try to win you over with catchy melody, unique chord progressions or instrumental pyrotechnics. Rather, it is mood music of the best kind, creating its own sense of atmosphere, almost existing in its own world and letting you stay in it from the beginning to the end.
It's also one of the best albums to listen to while taking a bath or shower.
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Aug 04 2022
5
What a gorgeous album, what a beautiful man. This is folk pop but the instrumentals are syncopated and idiosyncratic, jazzy really. Together with Tim's extraordinary expressive powers, both lyrical and vocal, the effect is poignant, magical. "Happy Sad" is exactly right -- like the album cover, the tones are warm and the songs express earnest wistfulness in the best folk tradition. Buzzin' Fly made my heart feel tighter and lighter at the same time. The mood and sound remind me of Nick Drake (with the exception of Gypsy Woman which is interesting and well executed but seems misplaced here). Clearly something special was happening in pop music in the years 1968-69.
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Jul 21 2022
5
This album is like a warm bath to my soul; I just feel good when I listen to it. I feel my mind being transported to another time and place I’ve never been and it’s intoxicating. Tragic story Tim Buckley has… fantastic album.
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May 23 2022
5
Where has this been all my life?
Astral Weeks via Kind of Blue, Stevie Wonder's Visions and Eddie Vedder.
Not what I was expecting at all. Love it.
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May 19 2022
5
Endlessly relaxed jazz infused singersongwriting. Songs ebb and flow creating his own magical world
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Apr 21 2022
5
pretty wonderful
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Dec 16 2021
5
this is so pretty. listening to this was a whole experience. amazed.
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Sep 05 2021
5
The lyrics and vocals on this album are incredibly gorgeous ;-;
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Jun 21 2021
5
It got better with each song !! I wasn't super into it during the first two songs but when I listened to Dream Letter I was transported to a different place while I was washing dishes. I was at a farm at night and the more I listened the different I felt and the more I imagined !! The song just kept painting different pictures in my mind and it was very interesting to see what my mind would come up with at different points during the song. Dream Letter and Love from Room 109 were my favorites and I really liked Gypsy Woman and Buzzin' Fly. Cool experience genuinely because it's been a bit since a song has made me imagine 20 different things in the span of five minutes.
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Jul 19 2021
5
Beautiful, listened to this in my teens and didn't wow me that much but glad I revisited - an outstanding album
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Jun 08 2021
5
Great sound. Very surprising
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Mar 11 2021
5
Amazing
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Sep 15 2020
5
This one is amazing!
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Jul 25 2025
4
koskaan nähny tällaista surua.happy pois pois sellanen tämä on vaan surua.. synkää synkkäää... ikävää ikävää... valitettavaa valitettavaa.. surkeaa surkeaa... säälittävää säällittävää... haikeaa haikeaa... leinoa leinoa... apeaa apeaa... murheellinen mies tehnyt tämän.. ja niin lähellä on itku kuvassa niin pirun lähellä ollaan pillittää.. pillittäminen tämän hepun primäärifunktio... huulet vipsattaa värisee konsanaan nyyyh nyyyh nyyhkytellään ja pyyhkytellään paperiin älä katso!! älä katso!! vittu julkisella paikalla vielä. keskellä katua hengenvetäytyminen moneen otteeseen lyhyellä aikavälillä suu mutrussa silmät kuin kiinalaisella vapisevalla kansalla..
strange feelinGGGG.
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Jul 10 2025
4
Henry Mancini and Steven Stills had a baby...
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Jul 06 2025
4
i think this guy had a bone in his body that made it impossible for him to make music that wasn't extremely lovely and beautiful
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Jul 04 2025
4
Soulful, ephemeral, delicate, beautiful, and powerful. Tragic that we lost both Buckleys too soon.
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Jun 23 2025
4
As I understand, Jeff Buckley always lived and worked under fear of his father's shadow, which is a bit funny and ironic considering that when this album came up my response, as I imagine many people's, was "hey, it's Jeff's dad!".
In his time, though, Tim was of course pretty successful in his own right and listening to this album, Jeff's fear makes more sense to me. This is a really beautiful, really cool album. There is a very rich use of percussion throughout the album that colors the songs with a particular kind of warmth and depth that most folk records just don't have. The songs are given the space and length to breathe and stretch their legs, and his lyrics, while not necessarily of the highest caliber, are nice and at times quite touching and pretty.
The weak point on this album for me is "Gypsy Woman", in which the ample breathing room seems to have let the recording meander too long and too far and it loses the plot a bit, and I also find it to be the weakest song lyrically. "Buzzin' Fly" and "Dream Letter" were my favorite songs. His pain over being an absent father is expressed poignantly in both tracks and "Buzzin' Fly" especially is just a really cool song.
I had never actually listened to Tim Buckley's music before and it was very much a pleasure. If "Gypsy Woman" were different this album would be a 5 ⭐️. I will probably check out more of what the elder Buckley has to offer.
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Jun 20 2025
4
Did not realize Tim was Jeff’s father, but makes sense. Tragic deaths for both of them. Can’t help but wonder what each of them would have gone on to do with more time. ❤️
4/5
Highlights:
Buzzing’ Fly
Gypsy Woman
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Jun 19 2025
4
Kind of trippy, kind of cool. I really liked this album; had never heard any of it before.
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Jun 19 2025
4
This album is a hidden gem. Almost has a Santana sound to it at some points, especially Gypsy Woman. Cheer up Tim Buckley, you made good music. 7.75/10 (3.875/5)
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Jun 16 2025
4
Solid stuff.
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Jun 14 2025
4
Beautiful subtle melancholic folk-jazz album by the great late Tim Buckley. It's one of his best albums, though I prefer Goodbye Hello to this (which is more psychedelic). Buzzin' Fly is my favorite song from the album, it's so calm and makes me feel good.
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Jun 08 2025
4
I’d listened to this album at least a couple of times before this and couldn’t really get into it. This time around I gave it two spins back to back, and I can tell it’s a grower. Buckley’s voice grew on me, and I noticed the excellent guitar work more than I had before.
Strange Feelin’ is a great opener that seems to allude to the drugs that would sadly cut his life short. Love From Room 109 At The Islander is a great example of his subtle but intricate guitar work. Gypsy Woman is a strange and intriguing hippie song.
A gorgeous album that I’m glad I’ve given enough chances to make it click.
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Jun 04 2025
4
Tim Buckley — aka the father of the late, great Jeff Buckley. Sometimes I catch myself being a little too opinionated about singer-songwriters, and then feel weird calling myself one. But I’ll chill out here. I think some people just don’t love when folks sing about their feelings in a super melodic way — kinda like how some people hate Bob Dylan for, well, Dylan-ing. And the voice. I think Tim Buckley falls into that camp for some folks too.
But honestly? I’m into it. “Strange Feelin’” is just a really fun, vibey track. “Buzzin’ Fly” is fantastic — and it’s been covered a bunch, most recently by Bonny Light Horseman. “Sing a Song for You” is another standout. I know his earlier stuff gets more love, but there’s some gems here. Plus, shoutout to him for bringing Jeff Buckley into the world. Total legend gone way too soon.
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Jun 04 2025
4
Classic and nice. 4 Stars
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Jun 03 2025
4
A primeira música é muito boa. Além do instrumental ser criativo, as vocalizações são originais, o que fornece um resultado estético excelente. A segunda também é... A partir da terceira as coisas ficam bem experimentais, o que torna um desafio. Mas não que seja ruim, é apenas bem diferente do padrão. Gypsy Woman é um caos. A última música é muito boa, que junto com as 2 primeiras formam as melhores do disco. Não dou nota máxima pq o experimentalismo é um pouco além da conta
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May 26 2025
4
Such a nice groove
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May 23 2025
4
i get that tim buckley is not everyone's bag and he definitely doesn't try to be but man if you really get past the initial shock there's so much good stuff here. he is so captivating and unique as an artist
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May 23 2025
4
Country. Fungerer bra, positiv opplevelse.
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May 09 2025
4
Another one I enjoyed more I expected to. Interesting fusion of styles. The vibraphone is on almost every track and used in ways I’ve never heard before. Definitely inspires a relisten.
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May 07 2025
4
A father and a son, both with the voices of angels, both taken too soon. Tim branched out much further than Jeff, though he had some more time to develop his experimental tastes. This is yet another transitional album, and maybe not my favorite of his with Starsailor. When he’s sticking more to composition and folk, it works much better than a poppier sound. The two extended tracks are proof - “Love from Room 109” is a beautiful meandering path while “Gypsy Woman” almost feels like Tim doing a Jim Morrison impression, albeit with much better musicianship. It’s a really good record, just a bit uneven.
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May 07 2025
4
so lush. this is a fav
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Apr 28 2025
4
Pretty bloody lovely. Nepo dad
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Apr 28 2025
4
was a huge tim b fan in hs... guess what... i still am
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Apr 25 2025
4
Not as good as goodbye hello and a lot longer/jazzier jams with a lot of vibe playing but still a good record.
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Apr 25 2025
4
Ok, but I like Jeff’s stuff better.
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Apr 17 2025
4
Personally I don't understand all the hate this album send to be getting here.
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Apr 14 2025
4
Strange Feelin' had me feeling good about this album and then Love from Room 109 stands out with Gypsy Woman giving me some Led Zep vibes.
Sing a Song for You just leaves me fealling melencholy so I guess the album does what it says on the tin.
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Apr 11 2025
4
The jazz tendencies continue throughout the album and make for a great departure from his previously folk-inflected albums.
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Apr 02 2025
4
wonderful voice and lovely psychedelia
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