Tim Buckley
Sefronia

This writing has only one purpose: to complete Buckley's discography on DeBaser.

If I didn't know the myth of Tim Buckley, one of the greatest experimenters both vocally and musically, a genius and disorder that resulted in masterpieces like "Lorca" and "Starsailor", pure magic in music like "Happy Sad" and "Blue Afternoon", and they put this "Sefronia" in my hands, I would find it just a sufficient album seasoned with a very particular voice.

If I didn't know Tim Buckley...

I would be fascinated by the very sweet "Dolphins", a cover of Fred Neil, always present in Tim's live repertoire (the version in Live in London 1968 is unbeatable), but never recorded in a studio album, with the guitar (perhaps by friend and travel companion Underwood) crafting superb, very soft phrases, giving the piece a sort of ethereal, elusive beauty.

This opening offers hope for a return to the origins, to the better times of the first adventures ("Goodbye and Hello"), indeed...

But I don't know Buckley...

"Honey Man" makes me smile; I didn't expect a blues... The piece isn't bad, nothing exceptional, for heaven's sake, especially the vocal interpretation that would have positively highlighted any blues singer in the eyes of the recording industry. But here we're talking about Tim Buckley, and as I said, I don't know him...

"Because of You" sounds like something arranged specifically for a '70s TV show, with violins and a little guitar in the background, and it actually feels a bit indigestible to my ears; I'm getting annoyed...

I'm already eager to remove the album from the player and consign it to the bottom of the pile of records to gather dust... There's no continuity or logical thread in the first three tracks, let alone the rest... I'm starting to remember hearing this name before...

Buckley, Buckley mmmh...

A one-of-a-kind experimenter, so ahead as to surpass even himself, endowed with one of the greatest voices ever heard, author of true milestones carved in fiery letters on the long road of music...

Well, I'm listening to "Peanut Man", a somewhat bland funky, neither head nor tail, with an irreverent singing, at times also slightly annoying, and I think they're pulling my leg...

As I move forward, I find another cover, "Martha", by Tom Waits, where Tim manages to extract some emotion from me with his voice, but nothing special... I don't like the pompous arrangement with all those strings...

The poverty of ideas continues with the duet with a female voice in "I Know I'd Recognize Your Face", really too much for me...

The other tracks leave me with nothing, and I finish with the pleasant "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", but it's not enough to make this album enter my future regular listening.

I remove the disc, put it back in the case, look at the cover, and scrutinize Tim's face...

I hadn't noticed but I see that he too is looking at me quite puzzled, and now I understand why...

Sorry if I pretended not to know you...

You weren't convinced either, were you? "The King's Chain", indeed...