Product Description

HAPPY SAD was more than just an album title for Tim Buckley. Troubled in life, he left a legacy of beautiful, hauntingly moving songs. Buckley had a piercing, mournful cry in his pliant voice, complemented by a unique jazz-folk delivery. His soaring, octave-spanning voice created an eerie mood of despair--the darker, moody side of the era. His weren't the happy-go-lucky flower-child songs, nor were they the multi-coloured, paisley pop tunes of the time; his was a deep, dark-blue expression of emotion.
His voice was beautiful, well-controlled, and, as exhibited in the breezy "Strange Feelin'", coloured throughout by an underlying sadness. "Love FromRoom 109" is a freewheeling, jazzy track that portrays a man who is as emotionally frayed as he is musically disembodied. The 12-minute "Gypsy Woman" is a raging, gritty, and unbridled epic. Even the more upbeat, pop-oriented "Buzzin' Fly"conveys a sense of melancholy. The closing "To Sing A Song For You" is straightforward, yet rendered complex by Tim's nuances.

Track Listing

1. Strange Feeling
2. Buzzin' Fly
3. Love From Room 109 At The Islander
4. Dream Letter
5. Gypsy Woman
6. Sing A Song For You

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19097 in Music
• Released on: 1993-01-25
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
At the top of the list of doomed cult folkies with the angelic Nick Drake, Tim Buckley built his reputation on his remarkable vocal range, sensitive, moody songwriting and refusal to compromise artistically even when it maddened and confused his most ardent fans. Happy Sad recorded in 1969 with production duties shared by the Lovin Spoonful's Jerry Yester and Zal Yanovsky, showcased what was to become an increasingly jazz tinged direction with intricate song arrangements underpinned by vibes and intricate lead guitar work. The mellow "Buzzin Fly" is the lightest moment here but Happy Sad, only six songs long, is fashioned around two centrepiece numbers, the 10 minute "Love From Room 109 At The Islander [On Pacific Coast Highway"], a darkly romantic meditation set against a backdrop of rolling breakers and the 12 minute stoned groove "Gypsy Woman" in which Buckley sets that incredible voice loose. --Mike Pattenden

Customer Reviews

One for the right mood
Moving, elegaic music - this can soundtrack the right hour perfectly, but it is very much for the right mood. If you like him, check out Nick Drake and vice versa.

The title is Happy Sad
This album is incorrectly listed here. Amazon can you fix this error? Happy/Sad is a great album if you like melancholic, jazzy, improvisational singers, which I do. Tim is comparable to Astral Weeks and Common One type Van Morrison. Others (like my wife) find Tim a droning bore and that's ok too. It's not compulsory to like Tim, and it doesn't mean you have poor taste if you think Starsailor is unlistenable noise.

Off the Rails Folk/Jazz/Rock Brilliance
Buckley was never going to be a star after releasing this gem. Too far before his time and (in my opinion) to good for this world.
With 2 songs reaching over 10 minutes (Love from Room 109 & Gypsy Woman) many deem this to hard to listen to, but those same people rave about it... why?
In my opinion Buckley is the man (with quite possibly only Nick Drake, Dylan & Shawn Phillips who can hold a candle to him) and this (or Lorca) are his best albums. His voice is, as usual, marvellous especially on Sing a Song For You (my favourite!)
This is a good start to buy Tim Buckley and is definetly 1 of his best