Starsailor (album)
Encyclopedia
Starsailor is a 1970 album
by Tim Buckley
(see 1970 in music
), released on Herb Cohen
's Straight Records
label. It marks the moment Buckley's folk rock
origins became invisible as he fully incorporated jazz rock and avant-garde
styles in to his music. Although it is often regarded as not being accessible to many people, it also contains his best known song "Song to the Siren
". This more accessible song was written much earlier than Starsailors newer material, originally in a more traditional folk arrangement, as shown on the later released compilation album
Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology
. Bunk Gardner
, a former member of the Mothers of Invention, joined Buckley's normal band to record the album. Also, Buckley began working again with lyricist
Larry Beckett
, after a three-album absence.
Leontyne Price
attended a concert in New York
during the supporting tour and told Buckley, "Boy, I wish they were writing things like that for us opera singers," to which Buckley responded, "Well, do what I did; get your own band."
has been covered by a variety of artists, most notably This Mortal Coil
, which featured on the 1984 album It'll End in Tears
. John Frusciante
, in 2009, covered this song on his album The Empyrean
. The British trance
act Lost Witness
also released a remix single; "Did I Dream (Song to the Siren)".
While the revival of "Song to the Siren" renewed interest in Buckley amongst independent artists in the 1980s, the success of his estranged son, Jeff Buckley
, in the 1990s, inspired indie rock
artists to look at the career of his father. The British band Starsailor
took their name from this album.
The album had a brief reissue on CD by the Enigma Retro
label, but like the other Tim Buckley release on the Straight Records
label, Blue Afternoon
, it drifted out of print due to legal battles over who owned the rights to the music. This stems back to a 1976 separation and lawsuit between Herb Cohen
and Frank Zappa, the co-owners of Straight Records. As a result, many of the albums released on Straight (including Captain Beefheart
's Lick My Decals Off, Baby
) are very difficult to find on CD. In 2006, the album was released on the iTunes Music Store, making it available to the general public once more. In 2007, 4 Men With Beards reissued the album on vinyl, as well as the rest of Tim Buckley's nine-album catalogue. However, CD copies of this and Blue Afternoon
remain out of print and difficult to find on the market.
's Top 100 1970's album, falling just behind Marvin Gaye
's What's Going On
.
In addition, Starsailor was selected as the 47th best rock record of all time in the 1987 book The Top 100 Rock 'n' Roll Albums of All Time.
and all music by Tim Buckley
, except where noted.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Tim Buckley
Tim Buckley
Timothy Charles Buckley III was an American vocalist, and musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years; his first album was mostly folk oriented, but over time his music incorporated jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul, avant-garde and an evolving "voice as instrument," sound...
(see 1970 in music
1970 in music
- Events :*January 3**Davy Jones announces he is leaving the Monkees**Former Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett releases his first solo album The Madcap Laughs....
), released on Herb Cohen
Herb Cohen
Herbert "Herb" Cohen was an American personal manager, record company executive, and music publisher, best known as the manager of Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, and many other Los Angeles-based musicians in the 1960s and 1970s.-Life and career:Cohen was born in New York...
's Straight Records
Straight Records
Straight Records was a record label formed in 1969 to distribute productions and discoveries of Frank Zappa and his business partner/manager Herb Cohen. Straight was formed at the same time as a companion label, Bizarre Records. Straight and Bizarre were manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by...
label. It marks the moment Buckley's folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
origins became invisible as he fully incorporated jazz rock and avant-garde
Avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres....
styles in to his music. Although it is often regarded as not being accessible to many people, it also contains his best known song "Song to the Siren
Song to the Siren (Tim Buckley song)
"Song to the Siren" is a song written by Tim Buckley and his writing partner Larry Beckett and was first released on Buckley's 1970 album Starsailor...
". This more accessible song was written much earlier than Starsailors newer material, originally in a more traditional folk arrangement, as shown on the later released compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology
Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology
Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology is a compilation album by Tim Buckley. The two cds give an overview of Tim Buckley's career. The compilation contains material from the many phases of Buckley's career, and includes a previously unreleased version of "Song to the Siren", as performed in 1968...
. Bunk Gardner
Bunk Gardner
John Leon "Bunk" Gardner born . Gardner is a American musician who most notably played for Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention until the group disbanded in 1969. He plays woodwinds and tenor sax....
, a former member of the Mothers of Invention, joined Buckley's normal band to record the album. Also, Buckley began working again with lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
Larry Beckett
Larry Beckett
Larry Beckett is a poet and songwriter, best known for his collaborations with Tim Buckley in the late-1960s.-Early life:...
, after a three-album absence.
Leontyne Price
Leontyne Price
Mary Violet Leontyne Price is an American soprano. Born and raised in the Deep South, she rose to international acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s, and was one of the first African Americans to become a leading artist at the Metropolitan Opera.One critic characterized Price's voice as "vibrant",...
attended a concert in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
during the supporting tour and told Buckley, "Boy, I wish they were writing things like that for us opera singers," to which Buckley responded, "Well, do what I did; get your own band."
Renewed interest
"Song to the Siren"Song to the Siren (Tim Buckley song)
"Song to the Siren" is a song written by Tim Buckley and his writing partner Larry Beckett and was first released on Buckley's 1970 album Starsailor...
has been covered by a variety of artists, most notably This Mortal Coil
This Mortal Coil
This Mortal Coil was a gothic dream pop supergroup led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were technically the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotating cast of supporting artists, many of whom...
, which featured on the 1984 album It'll End in Tears
It'll End in Tears
It'll End in Tears was an album released in 1984 by 4AD using the name This Mortal Coil as an umbrella title for a loose grouping of guest musicians and vocalists brought together by label boss Ivo Watts-Russell. When released in late 1984, the album reached #38 on the UK Albums Chart...
. John Frusciante
John Frusciante
John Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, record and film producer. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he had been for a number of years and recorded five studio albums...
, in 2009, covered this song on his album The Empyrean
The Empyrean
The Empyrean is the tenth solo album by John Frusciante, released worldwide on January 20, 2009 through Record Collection. Frusciante does not plan on a following tour, as he instead wants to focus on writing and recording. The Empyrean peaked at number 151 on the US Billboard 200 as well as number...
. The British trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
act Lost Witness
Lost Witness
Lost Witness is an English trance production and DJ , composed of Simon Paul . Also part of the collaboration are songwriter Edward Barton, writer of the 1983 Jane & Barton single, "It's a Fine Day" , as well as vocalist Danielle Alexander.He also recorded under the aliases Dusk Til Dawn and The...
also released a remix single; "Did I Dream (Song to the Siren)".
While the revival of "Song to the Siren" renewed interest in Buckley amongst independent artists in the 1980s, the success of his estranged son, Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
, in the 1990s, inspired indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
artists to look at the career of his father. The British band Starsailor
Starsailor (band)
Starsailor is an English post-britpop band, formed in Leigh, Warrington and Greater Manchester. By 2009, they had four charting albums and ten Top 40 singles in the UK since 2001.-Early history:...
took their name from this album.
The album had a brief reissue on CD by the Enigma Retro
Enigma Records
Enigma Records was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. It was initially a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/distributor, which it split-off from in 1985 to become its own company...
label, but like the other Tim Buckley release on the Straight Records
Straight Records
Straight Records was a record label formed in 1969 to distribute productions and discoveries of Frank Zappa and his business partner/manager Herb Cohen. Straight was formed at the same time as a companion label, Bizarre Records. Straight and Bizarre were manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by...
label, Blue Afternoon
Blue Afternoon
Blue Afternoon, released in 1969, was Tim Buckley's first self-produced record and his debut for Herb Cohen and Frank Zappa's Straight record label. This was Buckley's fourth album after Tim Buckley, Goodbye and Hello, and Happy Sad...
, it drifted out of print due to legal battles over who owned the rights to the music. This stems back to a 1976 separation and lawsuit between Herb Cohen
Herb Cohen
Herbert "Herb" Cohen was an American personal manager, record company executive, and music publisher, best known as the manager of Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, and many other Los Angeles-based musicians in the 1960s and 1970s.-Life and career:Cohen was born in New York...
and Frank Zappa, the co-owners of Straight Records. As a result, many of the albums released on Straight (including Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
's Lick My Decals Off, Baby
Lick My Decals Off, Baby
-Personnel:* Captain Beefheart – vocals, bass clarinet, tenor sax, soprano sax, harmonica* Zoot Horn Rollo – guitar and glass finger guitar* Rockette Morton – "bassius-o-pheilius"...
) are very difficult to find on CD. In 2006, the album was released on the iTunes Music Store, making it available to the general public once more. In 2007, 4 Men With Beards reissued the album on vinyl, as well as the rest of Tim Buckley's nine-album catalogue. However, CD copies of this and Blue Afternoon
Blue Afternoon
Blue Afternoon, released in 1969, was Tim Buckley's first self-produced record and his debut for Herb Cohen and Frank Zappa's Straight record label. This was Buckley's fourth album after Tim Buckley, Goodbye and Hello, and Happy Sad...
remain out of print and difficult to find on the market.
Legacy
It was featured at #50 in Pitchfork MediaPitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's Top 100 1970's album, falling just behind Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
's What's Going On
What's Going On
What's Going On is the eleventh studio album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released May 21, 1971, on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records...
.
In addition, Starsailor was selected as the 47th best rock record of all time in the 1987 book The Top 100 Rock 'n' Roll Albums of All Time.
Track listing
All lyrics by Larry BeckettLarry Beckett
Larry Beckett is a poet and songwriter, best known for his collaborations with Tim Buckley in the late-1960s.-Early life:...
and all music by Tim Buckley
Tim Buckley
Timothy Charles Buckley III was an American vocalist, and musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years; his first album was mostly folk oriented, but over time his music incorporated jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul, avant-garde and an evolving "voice as instrument," sound...
, except where noted.
- "Come Here Woman" (Buckley) – 4:09
- "I Woke Up" – 4:02
- "Monterey" – 4:30
- "Moulin Rouge" – 1:57
- "Song to the SirenSong to the Siren (Tim Buckley song)"Song to the Siren" is a song written by Tim Buckley and his writing partner Larry Beckett and was first released on Buckley's 1970 album Starsailor...
" (Beckett/Buckley) – 3:20 - "Jungle Fire" (Buckley) – 4:42
- "Starsailor" (John Balkin/Buckley) – 4:36
- "The Healing Festival" (Buckley) – 3:16
- "Down by the Borderline" (Buckley) – 5:22
Personnel
- John Balkin – double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Lee UnderwoodLee UnderwoodLee Underwood is an American musician and writer notable for performing on lead guitar with Tim Buckley for most of Buckley's career. Underwood appeared on seven of the nine albums Buckley recorded during his brief life, and on several posthumous releases, including Live in London...
– guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
, pipe organPipe organThe pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass... - Buzz Gardner – trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
, solo on "Down by the Borderline" - Maury Baker – percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
- Tim BuckleyTim BuckleyTimothy Charles Buckley III was an American vocalist, and musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years; his first album was mostly folk oriented, but over time his music incorporated jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul, avant-garde and an evolving "voice as instrument," sound...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, 12-string guitar, vocals - Bunk Gardner – alto fluteAlto fluteThe alto flute is a type of Western concert flute, a musical instrument in the woodwind family. It is the next extension downward of the C flute after the flûte d'amour. It is characterized by its distinct, mellow tone in the lower portion of its range...
, tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, solo on "The Healing Festival"
- Art Direction and Photography - Ed Thrasher
- Repackaging for 1989 remastered CD version - L.J. Moche