Tim Buckley - Lorca
I just love the subtleties of solidly written and produced music. The ranges of texture, color, intensity, focus, mood, pace, attainability, they just never end. There is something for every state of mind.
But it's this exact sort of variety that sets a contradiction with albums like Tim Buckley's Lorca. It is at the same time an enveloping masterpiece - among the best compositions in the modern canon - and an unapproachable fortress of brooding subtleties.
The bottom line to this album is mood. These loosely structured and intensely performed arrangements have one clear purpose, which is to establish a deep, thick mood. To just lather you in it. Total visceral energy. But for the same reasons it's a hard egg to crack open. To truly enjoy this album (that is, to give it what it deserves), you need to be in the right mood. Almost prepared for it. It's good late night stuff. Good driving stuff. GREAT late night driving stuff.
This is the first track, the title track. The best on the album, in my opinion. A Miles Davis homage musically, with Buckley's strung out crooning as a dark and dreadful centerpiece. This song sounds wonderful cranked up to 11 in my house, and must be played more than once in a row. It could be 45 minutes long in my opinion.
'NEXT'
I've recently been enjoying a song which in its heyday back in the late 60s enjoyed a range of covers by some extremely talented artists. The song is 'Next', originally of the frenchaman jacques Brel,though each of the following three renditions are worthy of praise ...
It should be pretty easy to figure out that the secret sauce to this song's greatness is it's delivery. The passionate and over the top performance is the common theme here, and is essential to the song's obvious greatness. And how perfect is it! So good, so good.