I never tire of losing myself in a little Tim Buckley and today’s song is an extra special treat, 12.19 minutes of it in fact!
At the best of times Buckley’s voice massively impresses me but this song is exceptional. When he unleashes his acrobatic vocals in ‘Gypsy Woman’ they expel from him like some crazed voodoo chant, bewitching and dazzling, dancing fierce as a flame one minute and then smouldering like a fading ember the next.
Taken from his third LP ‘Happy Sad’ which was released in 1969, this album marked the beginning of a transitional and experimental period for Buckley and was to be the point at which significant changes began to take place. Structurally his songs became longer, also incorporating elements of jazz which he had never used before, whilst vocally he began to use his voice more as an instrument. This exploratory time was also a key moment for lyrical developments as Happy Sad was the point at which Buckley stopped working with Larry Beckett, his lyricist on his first two albums. From this moment on Buckley would go on to write all of his own material on the following two albums.
‘Gypsy Woman’ is a song which, with its unbounded jam session-feel to it, has the power to wrap your attention around its musical finger and if it fails to impress, I want to hear why!
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