Morning Glory

Tim Buckley died before he turned 30. He signed his first record deal at 19, and it’s easy to see what attracted Elektra to the young folksinger in 1965—Buckley’s strong tenor. But if that were all he had to his credit, it’s unlikely that both Elektra and Rhino Records would have seen fit to release this decent two-disc overview of Buckley’s work. Quite beyond his powerful voice with its impressive range, Buckley also left us with an intriguing variety of music (much of it co-written with Larry Beckett), particularly his experimental rhythm pieces. "Hallucinations" marks the beginning of his move away from strictly folk-based tunes and into somewhat more avant-garde arrangements. "Morning Glory," "Buzzin’ Fly," and the beautiful "Song to a Siren" (of which we get an alternate version culled from an episode of The Monkees TV show!) more than justify this overdue retrospective.