Tim Buckley

VINYL FORMAT. "With Tim Buckley barely out of high school, he hadn't yet moved towards the lengthy, jazz-influenced arrangements of his mature period. So here he sticks with two- to three-minute running times and a folk-rock formula that's sometimes derivative (the Byrds-like blues 'Understand Your Man'). He works with Elektra/Doors production regulars Paul Rothchild, Jac Holzman, and Bruce Botnick, with Jack Nitzsche arranging the strings, Van Dyke Parks playing keyboards, Frank Zappa associate Billy Mundi on drums, and a few more obscure musicians like Lee Underwood (guitar), who became Buckley's most reliable sideman. Buckley's already writing tons of catchy and clever tunes ('Song For Janie'), and his amazing vocal abilities are already apparent." --John Alroy