One of the most talented singer/songwriters of the late 1960s/early 1970s, Tim Buckley took the experimentation of the times to new musical heights, his all-too-brief career dazzling listeners with masterful mixtures of folk, psychedelia, jazz, avant garde, and funk.
In the spring and summer of 1968, Tim Buckley and band began a series of recording sessions for what-would then have been the follow-up to his 1967 album Goodbye And Hello. The direction for this particular album evolved midstream, and the initial session recordings were, for the most part, set aside.
While two tracks from these various 1968 sessions did end up being used on his 1968 album Happy Sad, the remainder of the recordings ended up not being used on anything at all. The complete sessions themselves seem to have disappeared, but the best of them had been set aside on compilation reels which were filed away decades ago, forgotten until their discovery a few years back.
Tim Buckley’s Works In Progress is a 16-track collection of the surviving recordings from these 1968 studio sessions, along with one survivor from a 1967 session. All tracks, except those two which ended up more or less intact on Happy Sad, are previously unreleased. And, because each and every track on this compact disc was remixed from the original multitracks in August 1999, even those two later-released tracks have never before sounded so good.
Works In Progress contains a 20-page booklet with insightful liner notes by longtime Buckley guitarist/friend/biographer Lee Underwood as well as lyrics for all of the performed songs Tim wrote or co-wrote.
While many of the song titles will be very familiar to fans, the versions on Works In Progress will certainly not be. In addition to showcasing two compositions which have never before been released, most every other track contains lyrics, or verses, which appear only in the versions from these 1968 sessions. There are studio recordings of songs which have only previously been released as live recordings, and versions of Buckley favorites which you can hear transform from session to session.
Altogether, Works In Progress offers astounding insight into the unique creative process, and the irreplaceable genius, of both Tim Buckley the writer and Tim Buckley the performer.
by Michael Goldberg, May 21, 2001
Tracks
1. Danang - 6:31
2. Sing A Song For You - 5:44
3. Buzzin' Fly - 6:44
4. Song To The Siren (Larry Beckett, Tim Buckley) - 3:28
5. Happy Time - 3:14
6. Sing A Song For You - 2:40
7. Chase The Blues Away - 4:01
8. Hi Lily Hi Lo (Bronislau Kaper, Helen Deutsch) - 3:37
9. Buzzin' Fly - 5:07
10.Wayfaring Stranger (Take 4) (Traditional) - 4:24
11.Ashbury Park (Version 1) - 2:47
12.Ashbury Park (Version 2) - 3:22
13.Ashbury Park (Version 2 Take 25) - 3:28
14.Dream Letter - 5:13
15.The Father Song - 2:45
16.The Fiddler - 3:26
All compositions by Tim Buckley except where indicated
Personnel
*Tim Buckley - Vocals, 12 String Guitar
*Lee Underwood - Guitar
*Carter Collins - Congas, Bells
*Jim Fielder, Eddie Hoh, John David Miller - Bass
*Don Randi - Piano
*Jerry Yester - Piano
1966 Tim Buckley - Tim Buckley (Part 1 of 2017 eight cds box set)
1967 Tim Buckley - Goodbye And Hello (Part 2 of 2017 eight cds box set)
1969 Tim Buckley - Happy Sad (Part 3 of 2017 eight cds box set)
1969 Tim Buckley - Blue Afternoon (Part 4 of the 2017 eight cds box set)
1970 Tim Buckley - Lorca (Part 5 of the 2017 eight cds box set)
1970 Tim Buckley - Starsailor (Part 6 of the 2017 eight cds box set)
1972 Tim Buckley - Greetings From L.A. (Part 7 of the 2017 eight cds box set)
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