Blue Afternoon

Few singer-songwriters took chances like Tim Buckley. Granted, few had his impressive vocal range, but it isn't just the adventurous vocal swoops that made his music such an intriguing challenge, but the stylistic inventions where flowing, jazz-inspired rhythms expanded upon Buckley's initial folk inspirations. Buckley heard music as an extension of the human spirit and many of his songs are extremely self-conscious of the music's place within himself ("Blue Melody"). Blue Afternoon, Buckley's fourth album, is among his most artistically rewarding collections, building on the great progress of his previous album Happy / Sad with songs that further wandered into a free-form beauty without losing the simple magic of their original creation. "Happy Time," "Chase the Blues Away," and, especially, the somber "The River" are among Buckley's most compelling songs, underpinned by the great supportive guitar work of Lee Underwood and the vibes of David Friedman. From here he would experiment more with avant-garde technique for a spell (Lorca, Starsailor) before returning to more conventional rock.