Stepping back from the swooping avant-garde touches of Starsailor for a fairly greasy, funky, honky tonk set of songs, the opening lines of Greetings from L.A.
set the tone: "I went down to the meat rack tavern/And I found myself a big ol' healthy girl." Sassy backing vocalists, honking sax, and more add to the atmosphere, while Tim Buckley himself blends his vocal acrobatics with touches not unfamiliar to fans of Mick Jagger or Jim Morrison.
The studio band backing him up might not be the equal to, say, War, but in their own way they do the business; extra touches like the string arrangement on "Sweet Surrender" help all the more.
The argument that this was all somehow a compromise or sellout doesn't seem to entirely wash.
While no doubt there were commercial pressures at play, given Buckley's constant change from album to album it seems like he simply found something else to try, which he did with gusto.
"Get On Top," one of his best numbers, certainly doesn't sound like something aimed for the charts.
The music may have a solid groove to it (Kevin Kelly's organ is worth a mention), but Buckley's frank lyrics and improv scatting both show it as him following his own muse.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Move with MeTim Buckley, Jerry Goldstein | Tim Buckley | Play | 04:52 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 2 | Get on TopTim Buckley | Tim Buckley | Play | 06:33 | 15 MB | 40 MB |
| 3 | Sweet SurrenderTim Buckley | Tim Buckley | Play | 06:47 | 15 MB | 38 MB |
| 4 | Nighthawkin'Tim Buckley | Tim Buckley | Play | 03:21 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 5 | Devil EyesTim Buckley | Tim Buckley | Play | 06:50 | 15 MB | 42 MB |
| 6 | Hong Kong BarTim Buckley, Joe Falsia | Tim Buckley | Play | 07:08 | 16 MB | 31 MB |
| 7 | Make It RightLarry Beckett, Tim Buckley, Joe Falsia, Jerry Goldstein | Tim Buckley | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 39 mins | 91 MB | |||||
| 39 mins | 228 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stan Agol | Engineer |
| 2 | Alena | Dancer |
| 3 | Larry Beckett | Composer |
| 4 | Tim Buckley | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (12 String), Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 5 | Carter Collins | Conductor, Congas |
| 6 | Jesse Ehrlich | Cello |
| 7 | Joe Falsia | Composer, Guest Artist, Guitar, String Arrangements |
| 8 | Venetta Fields | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 9 | Jerry Goldstein | Arranger, Composer, Percussion, Producer |
| 10 | Bob Gordon | Photography |
| 11 | Ed Greene | Drums |
| 12 | Chris Huston | Engineer, Remixing |
| 13 | Harry Hyams | Viola |
| 14 | Kevin Kelly | Organ, Piano |
| 15 | Louis Kievman | Violin |
| 16 | Clydie King | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 17 | Robert Konrad | Guitar (12 String), Violin |
| 18 | William Kurash | Violin |
| 19 | Paul Norros | Saxophone |
| 20 | Reinie Press | Bass |
| 21 | Chuck Rainey | Bass, Guest Artist |
| 22 | Ralph Schaeffer | Viola |
| 23 | Cal Schenkel | Design |
| 24 | Eugene Siegel | Saxophone |
| 25 | Lee Underwood | Guitar, Keyboards |
| 26 | Lorna Willard | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |