Happy Sad

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.

That's boring. You're boring everybody. Quit Boring Everyone.

Tim Suckley

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

crappy bad

i think Tim misunderstood what the word happy means. some depressing shit right here.

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.

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

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

I suppose it was ok. It probably helped lots of people get laid in the early 70s.

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.

Beautiful, but perhaps just a bit too introspectively maudlin

Meandering rubbish

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

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

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.

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.

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.

NOT GOOD

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.

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.

Trite lyrics ruined by excessive vibraphone and weird guitar noodling.

Was a solid 2 until 12 minutes of Gypsy Women came on

Absolutely pants - Drivel dirges

oh I don't have enough time in my life for this.

crappy bad

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.

This is genuinely shit. Drawn out, offensively bland shit. 1/5.

It was exceptional. I loved everything.

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

Buzzin Fly Strange Feelin sing a song for you gypsy woman dream letter Love from room 109

beautiful

Nice to the ears

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.

A transitional album between his folk beginnings and later free jazz and funk leanings.

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.

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.

Very surprised by how much I liked this. Heavy on the vibraphone, but a very relaxing experience.

I am really Happy Sad now. Great album!

I really enjoyed this album and will be checking out more of his work! Well written and sung!

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

Like a long sunny trip on a drunk summers day

Sad Sad

PREFS : TOUT MOINS PREF : RIEN

Very good. Too short. I didn't think I would ever say that about an album. Favorite song: Strange Feeling.

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.

Brill

Great album!!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Endlessly relaxed jazz infused singersongwriting. Songs ebb and flow creating his own magical world

pretty wonderful

this is so pretty. listening to this was a whole experience. amazed.

The lyrics and vocals on this album are incredibly gorgeous ;-;

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.

Beautiful, listened to this in my teens and didn't wow me that much but glad I revisited - an outstanding album

Great sound. Very surprising

Amazing

This one is amazing!

Jazzy. I think I'm slowly getting into jazz, thanks to this generator. I actually enjoyed it, it's quite joyful and satisfying, I would probably give it a 3.5-4/5. Strange Feelin' is an amazing track. Love the marimba or whatever that sound is. People really should use marimba in modern music more. Don't quite like the folk and rock side of this album (e.g. Gypsy Woman), overall it's quite pleasant though.

As someone who has recently taking a liking to Nick Drake, I found this album quite pleasant

I feel I'm in the minority but I like this album.. Jazz-psych-folk and vibraphone!!! I don't why but I love that sound. Yes not for everyone but Buzzin' Fly is an outstanding song.

Good vibe, bit of an incoherent overall experience. I like the expansive jazziness of it in principal, but some tracks don't really land. Fave Tracks: Love From Room 109 at The Islander (On Pacific Coast Highway), Gypsy Woman 3.5/5

new to me and I really like it!

This is a subtle album, but if give it your patient attention you can hear the musicians get in the zone. First couple songs were really the best for me but it had quality throughout.

Happy Sad is the third album by Tim Buckley, originally released in 1969. Most people will only recognize Tim Buckley as "Jeff Buckley's dad", but Tim was an amazing musician in his own right. He was very experimental, so he obviously won't fit everyone's tastes. This is one of his records that signified his movement to more experimental music. He started out as a folkie in the mid 60s and by this record he moved firmly into spacey-psychedelic-jazz-folk, and beginning to use his voice as an instrument. He would later move to funk and free jazz, but this album serves as a very interesting bridge between his folk and jazz phases. You can even hear that funk influence beginning to creep in on songs like "Gypsy Woman". It may meander a bit but that was the 60s man! Gotta drop some acid in a field and listen to this. Tim Buckley was a super interesting person and artist and I encourage others to dig a bit into his discography because there's some real cool stuff.

Palpable emotion in this album. Wasn't what I was expecting really with the longer song lengths and sort of atmospheric jams but I thought it worked, and I liked Tim Buckley's vocals as well they really tied it together

Good, interesting

Jeff Buckleys dad goes alright. I thought this was gonna be one of his proper out there weird ones but was fairly tame, still enjoyable His voice sounded like Alice in Chains at the start of Gypsy Woman

first listen i can hear the smoky haze in the room as i listen to this

Don't know that this was that significant, but for some reason I enjoyed the vibe(raphone)

"Strange Feelin'" starts with a huge wink to Miles Davis's "All Blues" -- dissonant at first, then a little less anguished. And when Tim Buckley's vocals enter the scene, it's as if Fred Neil was covering the legendary jazzman. A match made in heaven, if you really want to know about my opinion here. With this idiosyncratic mix of influences, such a perfect opener actually perfectly encapsulates the jazz influences bobbing up on the surface in many other great moments of this nice LP -- with a lot of those influences conveyed by that wonderful, dreamy vibraphone in the background. Tim's angelic voice also does wonders on follow-up track "Buzzin' Fly" or the delicate moving closer "Sing A Song For You". "Love from Room 109 at the Islander" and "Gypsy Woman" are more complex, sprawling affairs -- two cuts drawing on lengthier jam dirges that might phase in and out your consciousness but never overstay their welcome. I had to work on my computer while listening to today's album, and I gotta say that session was pleasant and quite productive. Wish I can find some time later to listen to those two compositions with more attention. Probably not as arresting as *Goodbye And Hello* and *Starsailor* -- but still far better than the generally ridiculous and hackneyed *Greetings From L.A.* -- I can understand why someone would wish to include this LP in a list of albums to listen to at least once in your life. Not sure if I would do that myself -- at this point of my own project, it seems to me there's not much room left in my list, and maybe having more than one or two Tim Buckley albums in it would be overkill. But I'll leave the door open to it. At least for today. 3.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 4 8.5/10 grade for more general purposes (5 + 3.5). Number of albums left to review: 41 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 413 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 242 (including this one) Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 306

I enjoyed this record, it's got some interesting instrumentation and songwriting.

Moments of Perfection on This Album.

Enjoyed this more than I expected. More interesting than a lot of singer songwriter stuff. On another day, I might have found the pace a bit boring and the tracks too long, but for whatever reason, this just hit right today

The best song is by far the first, where the Jazz influence is most clearly showing, but props to Gypsy Woman for the showcase of Buckley’s vocal abilities. Happy Sad is probably the best example of Folk Jazz I’ve listened to outside of Van Morrison, and although I liked it quite a lot, I think I’ve reached the conclusion that I’m not a huge fan of the mixture. I like Jazz, I like Folk, but Jazz Folk almost never quite blends for me. Also, isn’t it crazy that Tim Buckley was 2 years younger than Jeff Buckley when he died, but Buckley Pere recorded 7 albums to Buckley Fils’ 1?

A lovely album, with lots of interesting things going on. Not his best work, in my view, but pretty damn good.

The use of xylophone gives every song an almost Cal Tjader vibe. Very chill

As a big Jeff Buckley fan, I’ve tried to get into Tim Buckley’s music before, mostly because I was curious how he compared to his son. But I had a hard time getting into some of his most well-known songs like Song of the Siren because of the overuse of falsetto. This album is definitely much better in terms of his voice — the lower register he uses here is a lot more pleasing to the ears. Musically, this album is an interesting mix of blues, country-western, and pop. The influence of The Lovin’ Spoonful, who produced it, is very clear. It also reminds me of Roy Orbison, as well as — oddly — Don Johnson’s foray into singing in the 80s. The album as a whole gives off a slightly more country Doors vibe. The vibraphone gives the music an interesting mood. As a millennial, vibraphone often reminds me of Sesame Street before anything else, so it can be very hit and miss for me. Here it’s sort of a mixed bag — used to the right effect it adds to the bluesy vibe, but it also comes close to going too far over into lounge-music territory at times. Take “Strange Feelin’” for instance. If the song had ended at the 6:20 mark it would’ve been better (and even that’s pretty long) — but there’s no reason for the track to go on for almost 8 minutes just to have an extended vibraphone solo. I think my biggest issue with this album is the length of the songs. With the exception of the closing track, which is 2:41, the shortest song on this album is still over 5 minutes, with two tracks running longer than 10 minutes. “Gypsy Woman” could be a fun jam song, but it’s just way too long. Less vibraphone and shorter songs would’ve made this album way better. I’ll give it a 4/5, but it’s more of a 3.5 for me.

Fed! Vildt god stemme og pladen har et rigtig godt flow!

Experimental folk-jazz? Uh, apparently sign me up. A bit of an out there listen. And he’s no Jeff Buckley, amiright? But I dug it.

I used to prefer his earlier Goodbye and Hello, but this one just may have overtaken it.

Beautiful, but totally fucking depressing. This makes Elliott Smith sound like the Spice Girls.

Loved this. I liked the way that it feels experimental but within limits.

I really liked this album-I knew Tim, but a whole album from a-z was perfect to get to know and appreciate him better. I LOVED his son Jeff and bought and listened to everything he made in his short career, which is why I paid any attn to Tim in the 1st place.

Грустный и трогательный альбом и история музыканта

The author of these books is a coward for having multiple Tim Buckley albums on this list, but not including Lorca or Starsailor. The people deserve to hear Tim at his peak weirdness, 'Gypsy Woman' on here starts to come close to that realm, but it's not enough for me. Listen to those albums please (this one is still great though).

Contains some of Tim's most accessible songs, but also breaking the barrier into his primal side with songs like Gypsy Woman.

I got the perfect sunday morning album on a perfect sunny sunday morning. 4/5

enjoyed it, that calming late 60 Pop.

3.5/5

I really enjoyed this one. Added to my spotify library, which has been a rare result so far. The first track had a tune that reminded me of what I think was a Miles Davis track but I just can't place it. I want to listen to this a few more times and really absorb it. I'm surprised I never heard of him before. Thank you 1001 Albums!

my second favorite tim buckley album. im surprised by the bad rating this has here because i find it to be a stunning album. not as experimental as starsailor but much more listenable. 8/10

Not Bad

Enjoyed the mix of singer-songwriter with the more freestyle jazz format

For the 60's, even the tail end, this was a unique sound. Could have been released today and still have an audience

Lovely album.

Proof voices are hereditary