Starsailor

I bought this album because I thought any album that cradles the song ‘Song of the Siren’ on it must be epic. But unfortunately, it is not. The album sounds to be a bit more psychedelic jazz-influenced than his other works. Besides the ‘Song of the Siren,’ it is not an easy album to listen to.

It's a shame that Buckley's complete discography is not on iTunes. However, "Starsailor" is one of his greatest albums and a treat to be able to actually find on iTunes. "Starsailor" is a beautiful album. It is strange: Buckley stretches his extraordinary range to its limits, taking more than just a dip into the avant-garde and the experimental. If you are willing to open your mind and let the music transport you to Buckley's chaotic and ecstatic dream-world, you will be duly rewarded. Music as daring as the stuff on "Starsailor" was not heard again until the post-punk outputs of bands such as Public Image Ltd. and The Birthday Party - and that's saying a lot, considering this album was released a full decade before post-punk reached its height. "Song to the Siren" is absolutely gorgeous, and songs like "I Woke Up" and "Down By the Borderline" more than just sample free-form jazz music. Buckley's music is in a realm of its own, really, but comparisons can be drawn to Captain Beefheart, and fans of his will most definitely enjoy "Starsailor." For true fans of music, this album is required listening. Tim Buckley, in my opinion, was one of the greatest vocalists of the 20th century. Those who have heard Jeff Buckley's music will find it rather tame compared to the fantastic output of his father - and that's a good thing. Five stars, absolutely essential.

I have to admit that this can be a difficult listen with the abnormal time signatures and shifting song structures. Yet there are many memorable moments here as well. Above all, this is intelligent, hearfelt, distinctive music and what you get is Buckley's heart, soul, bones, skin...all of him plus that incredible voice. In other words, this is unique, daring music from an artist who stretched himself to his limits (and hence the limits of pop music) and gave us everything he had in the process. A courageous and timeless work.

I've got a copy of this on LP sitting up on the shelf, but I'm pleased to be able to download it off of iTunes and listen to it any time I want. Okay, I admit, I used to sit around in college, totally high, listening to this...but I never forgot it, and it still blows me away over 30 years later. You'll likely either love it or hate it, but if you love it you know there's probably nothing else like it out there. Incredible music straight from the heart. Saw him live once in a small club in Boston and he did this stuff. I couldn't believe that voice came out of a human being.

This along with Blue afternoon is out of print and is quite pricey if you want to buy the cd. I got it cheap as a twofor with Blue Afternoon. This is not his best it is actually kind of weird if you want his best get Happy/Sad. If you are throwing a party and want to get rid of you guest put this on. I like other people got into Tim beacause of his son but i actually think Tim had the more richer deeper voice. If you like Jeff buy his dads stuff instead of the after death junk that he felt was garbage.

i am always impressed and pleased when i meet people who know of Tim and Jeff..so I am equally pleased when I find them in music downloads sites. This is a very hard album to find and I have been looking for it for some time...thanx.

..or what they heard in their head, or what they tried to do unencumbered by outsider expectaions and limitations. Tim's strange but beautiful performance of Song To The Siren on The Monkees TV show is worth watching on youtube, but I recommend this... wait for a supremely warm (or even miserably sticky humid) summer night. Leave your windows open and let the night insects and birds stir.. as the sun fades to a gloam, the gloam to night's shade.. let this album rise up and force its way into your body. Ahhhh.....

That was my first response upon finding Starsailor here on ITunes. As you probably know if you're looking for it, this is a hard album to find. But when you do find it -- either through eBay, a used record shop or more, er, legally questionable electronic means -- that makes the strange, wonderful, brutal music here that much more special, I'd say. To call this album a "grower" is kind of an understatement. A lot of people will hate it, even those who adore the rest of Buckley's music. If you're not sure about it, I'd suggest downloading the first two tracks from Lora, "Lorca" and "Anonymous Proposition." Those two set the basic template for this album: ostinato instrumental phrases that provide the foundation for vocal improvisation and variation, and arhythmic free-floating pieces more akin to classical recitatif than anything in the pop world. If neither of the songs from Lorca do anything for you, then I'd suggest not even bother with Starsailor, since the album is nothing if not a further exploration of those two song types. Which may sound reductive, but scanning through the previews here you'll find there's a good deal more going on than cold formalism. There's some intense, butt-whooping music here, the second half of "Jungle Fire" and "Down by the Borderline" especially. There's really gorgeous stuff here, too, like the much-covered "Song to the Siren." And then there's "Starsailor," one of the most awe-inspiring things you'll ever hear -- intricate and scary and primal and mystical all at once, plus a bunch of other adjectives I can't think of right now but can't really describe it anyway. If you're a fan of Buckley's, you should definitely check this out, if only to form an opinion about the album itself, not its reputation. I think you'll be glad you found it.