i had heard of the buckleys, tim here, and his son jeff who recorded in the 90s, but never really had the opportunity to sit down and listen to them. and i must say, i am extremely glad i finally got to listen to 'starsailor,' as it has greatly exceeded my expectations. from the moment i started playing it, i was drawn right in, yet i had it on in the background while i was doing work and it was great background music.
this is a very avant garde, psychedelic album, but at the same time, i think its very accessible and melodic. you might almost call it avant folk rock, or psychedelic folk rock for whatever the deuce that means. the main focus here is buckley's vocals. they're expressive and poetic without being pretentious (at least i dont find them that way). they're very natural and not forced and blend perfectly with the music - actually at times, they lead the music (intro to 'jungle fire'). sometimes he even throws in this weird yodeling, always at the most perfect times, and it sounds so awesome and right. similar vocalists that come to mind are both vocalists that i admire - van morrison and pig pen from the greatful dead (mainly just the kinda frog-in-throat sound, as buckley's delivery and pitch are far superior). but buckley kinda goes all over the place with his voice, but never over does it. needless to say, i am very impressed.
the musical style of this album is also fairly varied. there are a lot of meter-less avant garde moments that are great at setting the mood, always with the band being very conscious of musical space and never falling into the temptation of going balls out free jazz crazy. there are also some folk-rocky numbers, some jazzy parts, and some great 2 chord/repetitive melody psychedelic rock parts that are really hypnotic and draw you in. i never really felt like any part went on for too long, and all the various styles are well mixed throughout the album.
despite the variation in songs, the entire album sounds very coherent, and the flow from one song to the next, even between parts within songs, is my favorite aspect of 'starsailor.' its just kind of all one nice psychedelic flow, the whole band is on the same wavelength the entire time, no one steps on anyone else's toes, and the vocals just shiiiiiine on through, brothah. this album to me is very pure and refreshing sounding, and i just have to wonder how the hell i've never heard this before. for whatever this is worth, the next time anyone asks me 'so man, what have you been listening to lately?' i will proudly tell them 'starsailor,' and recommend it to them highly.
The next time somebody asks me why I hate referring to myself as an artist, I'm going to tie that person to a chair in front of an Annette Labedski painting (http://www.labedzki-art.com/userfiles/image/21.jpg) with his/her eyes pinned open and blast "Come Here Woman" on repeat for 17 hours.
"I plead guilty, your honor. But I had to make my point."
Wow. I don't mean this as a direct insult -- purely indirect, I assure you ;) -- but Dainty, you must be the most pretentious man in the world if you found this album at all accessible and unpretentious. Like, you must be so pretentious that you abjectly REFUSE to floss with dental floss that hasn't been waxed with wax from the ears of cats that spend 22 hours a day listening to Tori Amos albums.
This album was being high, plain and simple. It's a shitty mess up front, with a three-to-four song string of coherence and enjoyment before mumbling nonsense on its way to sleep.
I'm sure it was fun to make. I can hear the talent of the musicians involved, but I, too, had this on while working and found it supremely irritating. Maybe wearing headphones and hearing this to the exclusion of all else amplifies the annoying, IDK...
I'm glad you are versed enough in music to appreciate the ideas behind the sounds, but I need me some populist rock!
PS -- If you haven't listened to Jeff Buckley, go out and get ALL of it :) I had a roomie in college who loved this guy, and for good reason. Grace is very interesting, Live at Sin-e is the best off-key live album out there and My Sweetheart the Drunk is a fantastic coulda been. And maybe it's cliche to say, but yeah, I really think that Jeff's version of Hallelujah is the single best piece of music ever recorded.
you are both right. And I am loving just how right you both are.
This music is so totally out of left field, and then it keeps on running through centerfield, flashing Curtis Granderson a peace sign, then soaring through right field, stopping momentarily to give Nick Swisher a hug and stick a flower in the web of his glove.
It is Josh Groban on LSD channeling Tarzan with blue note studio musicians laughing before realizing that this silly white boy is actually doing something cool.
I agree with D. the vocals are pure, and as ultrasensitive to pretension and ego as I am, I didn't get any of that here. The guy is just Singing. He's not frying his voice or going falsetto or any of the accoutrements of the modern bozo. He's also not depending on heavy riffs or driving beats for support, which is a point not wisely underestimated. He is truly putting himself out there, and in my opinion it comes across as though a muted clarion, a genuine solo voice piercing through a druggy haze.
schnit is absolutely right too. This is getting-high music, there is absolutely no getting around that. I'm not speaking into the intentions of buckley or his musicians; I'm not saying that they were high, or even that they intended there listeners to be high. But let's shine an unbiased eye on the songs: they meander, they almost always lack pulse, they are languidly schizophrenic, and Buckley never seems to resist any vocal mannerisms which strike him in the moment as worthwhile. he fucking warbles and trills like a stoned bird in early morning. this album was, directly or indirectly, a result of drug culture.
But as D said, the whole thing is unbelievably coherent. It is smoothly brave, unselfish, unpresupposing, and in a quiet way, highly bold. I could not have imagined its existence before hearing it. I can't say that I would find many opportunities that would drive me to listen to it too many more times, but it must be said that this is a damn impressive piece of music.
But but but ... as Schnit noted, it does kind of go to sleep on itself. So yeah, you are both right. See if you can make a habit of that.
pitchfork's top 100 of the 70's + top 100 of the 80's, considered, scrutinized, explored, assailed, defended, appreciated and deprecated, fussed over, held up high, kicked to the curb and held back up again. education by fire and a middle finger to disdain. tea, anyone?
i had heard of the buckleys, tim here, and his son jeff who recorded in the 90s, but never really had the opportunity to sit down and listen to them. and i must say, i am extremely glad i finally got to listen to 'starsailor,' as it has greatly exceeded my expectations. from the moment i started playing it, i was drawn right in, yet i had it on in the background while i was doing work and it was great background music.
ReplyDeletethis is a very avant garde, psychedelic album, but at the same time, i think its very accessible and melodic. you might almost call it avant folk rock, or psychedelic folk rock for whatever the deuce that means. the main focus here is buckley's vocals. they're expressive and poetic without being pretentious (at least i dont find them that way). they're very natural and not forced and blend perfectly with the music - actually at times, they lead the music (intro to 'jungle fire'). sometimes he even throws in this weird yodeling, always at the most perfect times, and it sounds so awesome and right. similar vocalists that come to mind are both vocalists that i admire - van morrison and pig pen from the greatful dead (mainly just the kinda frog-in-throat sound, as buckley's delivery and pitch are far superior). but buckley kinda goes all over the place with his voice, but never over does it. needless to say, i am very impressed.
the musical style of this album is also fairly varied. there are a lot of meter-less avant garde moments that are great at setting the mood, always with the band being very conscious of musical space and never falling into the temptation of going balls out free jazz crazy. there are also some folk-rocky numbers, some jazzy parts, and some great 2 chord/repetitive melody psychedelic rock parts that are really hypnotic and draw you in. i never really felt like any part went on for too long, and all the various styles are well mixed throughout the album.
despite the variation in songs, the entire album sounds very coherent, and the flow from one song to the next, even between parts within songs, is my favorite aspect of 'starsailor.' its just kind of all one nice psychedelic flow, the whole band is on the same wavelength the entire time, no one steps on anyone else's toes, and the vocals just shiiiiiine on through, brothah. this album to me is very pure and refreshing sounding, and i just have to wonder how the hell i've never heard this before. for whatever this is worth, the next time anyone asks me 'so man, what have you been listening to lately?' i will proudly tell them 'starsailor,' and recommend it to them highly.
The next time somebody asks me why I hate referring to myself as an artist, I'm going to tie that person to a chair in front of an Annette Labedski painting (http://www.labedzki-art.com/userfiles/image/21.jpg) with his/her eyes pinned open and blast "Come Here Woman" on repeat for 17 hours.
ReplyDelete"I plead guilty, your honor. But I had to make my point."
Wow. I don't mean this as a direct insult -- purely indirect, I assure you ;) -- but Dainty, you must be the most pretentious man in the world if you found this album at all accessible and unpretentious. Like, you must be so pretentious that you abjectly REFUSE to floss with dental floss that hasn't been waxed with wax from the ears of cats that spend 22 hours a day listening to Tori Amos albums.
ReplyDeleteThis album was being high, plain and simple. It's a shitty mess up front, with a three-to-four song string of coherence and enjoyment before mumbling nonsense on its way to sleep.
I'm sure it was fun to make. I can hear the talent of the musicians involved, but I, too, had this on while working and found it supremely irritating. Maybe wearing headphones and hearing this to the exclusion of all else amplifies the annoying, IDK...
I'm glad you are versed enough in music to appreciate the ideas behind the sounds, but I need me some populist rock!
PS -- If you haven't listened to Jeff Buckley, go out and get ALL of it :) I had a roomie in college who loved this guy, and for good reason. Grace is very interesting, Live at Sin-e is the best off-key live album out there and My Sweetheart the Drunk is a fantastic coulda been. And maybe it's cliche to say, but yeah, I really think that Jeff's version of Hallelujah is the single best piece of music ever recorded.
you are both right. And I am loving just how right you both are.
ReplyDeleteThis music is so totally out of left field, and then it keeps on running through centerfield, flashing Curtis Granderson a peace sign, then soaring through right field, stopping momentarily to give Nick Swisher a hug and stick a flower in the web of his glove.
It is Josh Groban on LSD channeling Tarzan with blue note studio musicians laughing before realizing that this silly white boy is actually doing something cool.
I agree with D. the vocals are pure, and as ultrasensitive to pretension and ego as I am, I didn't get any of that here. The guy is just Singing. He's not frying his voice or going falsetto or any of the accoutrements of the modern bozo. He's also not depending on heavy riffs or driving beats for support, which is a point not wisely underestimated. He is truly putting himself out there, and in my opinion it comes across as though a muted clarion, a genuine solo voice piercing through a druggy haze.
schnit is absolutely right too. This is getting-high music, there is absolutely no getting around that. I'm not speaking into the intentions of buckley or his musicians; I'm not saying that they were high, or even that they intended there listeners to be high. But let's shine an unbiased eye on the songs: they meander, they almost always lack pulse, they are languidly schizophrenic, and Buckley never seems to resist any vocal mannerisms which strike him in the moment as worthwhile. he fucking warbles and trills like a stoned bird in early morning. this album was, directly or indirectly, a result of drug culture.
But as D said, the whole thing is unbelievably coherent. It is smoothly brave, unselfish, unpresupposing, and in a quiet way, highly bold. I could not have imagined its existence before hearing it. I can't say that I would find many opportunities that would drive me to listen to it too many more times, but it must be said that this is a damn impressive piece of music.
But but but ... as Schnit noted, it does kind of go to sleep on itself. So yeah, you are both right. See if you can make a habit of that.