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THE REVIEW
Perhaps I am not able to speak about this album; and this is one of those cases where stepping back and not putting oneself in the forefront, when listening, is an act owed to the mastery of someone who knew how to be ahead of their time with a skill that is nothing short of prophetic.
Tim Buckley, born in 1947, had an angelic voice and the appearance of a young god... he played the impossible and soared, soared so high that he was not understood by most.
His entire musical production today wouldn't faze the most ardent listener of "contemporary" or "art music," without wanting to attribute undue importance to these domains. Buckley managed, in his improvisational ability, in the dramatic flair of his voice, to be a Charon of the skies, ferrying you among the Seraphim and leaving you there to contemplate. Then with a tug at your sleeve, he would gently invite you to descend the steps towards the abyss... with his guttural play and animalistic distortions that would evoke envy today from all vocal experimenters.
This album is, and always will be, an unclassifiable gem: a panegyric of diversified emotions where talking about songs is impossible and the only way to listen is to surrender to the multiple transformations of space and time that this minstrel knows how to accomplish.
A highlight in the repertoire remains "Song to the Siren," also covered by This Mortal Coil but incomparable, the only linear song in the entire album where a sailor is drawn to and repelled by his siren countless times... don't touch me! Don't touch me! Come back tomorrow! Meanwhile, against a sky of notes, a voice that seems like the high, but not disturbing, cry of one of the many victims of the creature is pushed.
I adore Tim Buckley, very much, and I am sorry that today, among people who listen to music "seriously," his son Jeff is more remembered: he too is a great artist but dwelling infinitely below his father in the Cohenian Tower of Song.
This man was searching for something... the undefinable... he died at 28 with eight albums behind him... always remaining a "cult" author.
Rest in peace Tim.
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Summary by Bot
Tim Buckley's album Starsailor is praised as a visionary and unclassifiable gem that blends angelic vocals with raw, experimental vocal improvisation. The reviewer highlights the emotional depth and dramatic flair throughout the album, with special attention to the iconic track "Song to the Siren." Buckley's pioneering spirit and his profound, almost prophetic artistry remain unmatched even today. The review regrets Buckley being overshadowed by his son Jeff but celebrates his lasting cult status.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Tim Buckley
Timothy Charles Buckley III (1947–1975) was an American singer-songwriter known for an exceptional vocal range and for expanding folk into jazz, psychedelia, and avant-garde forms across late-1960s/early-1970s albums. He died in 1975 at age 28.24 Reviews
Other reviews
By Blackdog
"Song To The Siren is the emblem of a unique interstellar journey, Tim’s voice a turbulent rise and fall of daring and impossible notes that tear your heart and hold it to you."
"Starsailor represented yet another attempt by Buckley to investigate the musical 'unknown', endowed with the suicidal talent for record companies that avoided him like the plague."
By Alecasti
Tim Buckley burns everything he has produced and meticulously recomposes its ashes.
Starsailor is not rock, it is not jazz, it is not even music. It is a course charted at great cost by the navigator of the stars.
By filippobelar
It is equally challenging to find in the history of contemporary music a voice-instrument so overflowing and eclectic, capable of moving with great ease from baritone to falsetto.
The star navigator does with his voice what John Coltrane did with the saxophone and Jimi Hendrix with the guitar, and he does it consuming himself existentially.
