Lorca | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 1970 | |||
Recorded | 18, 19 & 26 September 1969 | |||
Studio | Whitney Studios, Glendale, CA | |||
Genre | Avant-folk, experimental [1] | |||
Length | 39:24 | |||
Label | Elektra | |||
Producer | Dick Kunc | |||
Tim Buckley chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Lorca is the fifth studio album by singer-songwriter Tim Buckley, released in 1970 on Elektra Records. It was named after Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, [3] and was recorded simultaneously with Blue Afternoon (1969), though notably different in style. Its avant-garde approach breaks away from traditional songwriting styles, such as the verse/chorus binary form. [4]
Lorca is a move away from traditional pop music forms towards a free-form mix of jazz, avant-garde and folk. [4] Musically, Buckley uses the lack of a constant rhythm section to drive the songs forward with his voice. Many songs make use of a chromatic scale which makes them stand in stark contrast to Buckley's earlier melodic works. The lyrics of Lorca also represent a departure from his previous traditional pop-music writing, instead Buckley uses a more abstract descriptive style, avoiding direct narratives and standard song themes. This is a reflection of the poetry, such as the works of poet Federico García Lorca, that Buckley and guitarist Lee Underwood were reading at the time. [5] The album's opener and title track is a much less guitar-based song, something in contrast to Buckley's previous works, and this would be a theme Buckley would explore further in his later avant-garde works.
According to Larry Beckett, his songwriting partner from Tim Buckley and Goodbye and Hello , he was purposely trying to alienate fans at this point. Buckley described it as an album that, "To this day, you can't put...on at a party without stopping things; it doesn't fit in."[ citation needed ]
Buckley describes the second track as a "real advance," and that "It deals with a ballad in a totally personal, physical presentation... It has to be done slowly; it has to take five or six minutes; it has to be a movement. It has to hold you there and make you aware that someone is telling you something about himself in the dark." [4]
The album was written during a very prolific time for Buckley as he recorded and released four albums within a space of less than two years. Two of the albums, Blue Afternoon and Lorca were recorded in the space of a single month. [4] Buckley completed these albums around the same time as an obligation to Warner Bros. Records, and also separately, Elektra Records owner Jac Holzman. Holzman, responsible for signing the artist, was in the process of selling the company and Buckley wanted to fulfil his contract in the time before Holzman's departure.
All tracks written by Tim Buckley.
Side One
Side Two
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca, known as Federico García Lorca, was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a group consisting mostly of poets who introduced the tenets of European movements into Spanish literature.
The Marble Index is the second studio album by the German musician Nico, released in November 1968 on Elektra Records. The avant-garde sound introduced in the album—a stark contrast with her folk pop debut, Chelsea Girl (1967)—was the result of the combination of Nico's droning harmonium and somber vocals, and the producer John Cale's musical arrangements, which were inspired by modern European classical music. Nico envisioned the release as an attempt to get artistic legitimacy and changing the looks that had made her famous as a fashion model.
Timothy Charles Buckley III was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He began his career based in folk rock, but subsequently experimented with genres such as psychedelia, jazz, the avant-garde, and funk as well as unconventional vocal stylings. His commercial peak came with the 1969 album Happy Sad, reaching No. 81 on the charts, while his experimental 1970 album Starsailor went on to became a cult favorite. The latter contained his best known song, "Song to the Siren." Buckley died at the age of 28 from a heroin and morphine overdose, leaving behind sons Taylor and Jeff.
Starsailor is the sixth studio album by Tim Buckley, released on Herb Cohen's Straight Records label in November 1970. Starsailor marks Buckley's full embrace of avant-garde and jazz-rock styles into his music. Although it alienated elements of his fanbase upon release, it also contains his best known song, "Song to the Siren", which was written much earlier than the rest of the material. Bunk Gardner, a former member of the Mothers of Invention, joined Buckley's backing band to record the album. Also, Buckley began working again with lyricist Larry Beckett, after a three-album hiatus.
Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records, and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch has developed into a label that records critically acclaimed music from a wide range of genres. Robert Hurwitz was president of the company from 1984 to 2017.
The Stooges is the debut studio album by American rock band the Stooges, released on August 5, 1969 by Elektra Records. Considered a landmark proto-punk release, the album peaked at number 106 on the US Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. The tracks "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "1969" were released as singles; "1969" was featured on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs" at number 35.
Blue Afternoon is the fourth studio album by Tim Buckley, released in November 1969. It is Tim Buckley's first self-produced record and his debut for Herb Cohen and Frank Zappa's label Straight Records. The album used the same group of musicians as Happy Sad (1969) with the addition of drummer Jimmy Madison. It presaged Buckley's most experimental work on his subsequent two albums.
Goodbye and Hello is the second album by Tim Buckley, released in August 1967, recorded in Los Angeles, California, in June of the same year.
Happy Sad is the third album by American singer-songwriter Tim Buckley, released in April 1969. It was recorded at Elektra Sound Recorders in Los Angeles, California and was produced by former Lovin' Spoonful members Zal Yanovsky and, coincidentally, his subsequent replacement Jerry Yester. It marked the beginning of Buckley's experimental period, as it incorporated elements of jazz that he had never used before. Many of the songs here represent a departure from the binary form that dominated much of his previous work.
Tim Buckley is the debut album by Los Angeles based singer-songwriter Tim Buckley, released in October 1966. Most of the songs on it were co-written by Buckley and Larry Beckett while they were in high school. It was recorded at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, California.
Liberation Music Orchestra is a band and jazz album by Charlie Haden released in 1970, Haden's first as a band leader.
Dream Letter: Live in London 1968 is a live album by Tim Buckley. The album was recorded in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, England on October 7, 1968. Due to a lack of available funds Buckley was unable to tour with regular bass player John Miller and conga player Carter "C.C." Collins. The concert instead features bassist Danny Thompson, guitarist Lee Underwood and vibraphone player David Friedman.
Ancient Voices of Children is a musical composition written in 1970 by the American composer George Crumb. The work was given the subtitle "A Cycle of Songs on Texts by Federico García Lorca."
La leyenda del tiempo is the tenth album by Spanish flamenco singer Camarón de la Isla, and the first one not to feature his long-time collaborator, guitarist Paco de Lucía. It is regarded as a turning point in the history of flamenco, contributing to the popularization of nuevo flamenco. A commercial failure due to its departure from traditional flamenco, which "scandalised purists", the album has received widespread critical acclaim.
Peel Sessions is a live album by Tim Buckley. It was recorded in studio 1 at 201 Piccadilly London, UK on 1 April 1968, as a session recording for BBC radio DJ John Peel. The session was subsequently broadcast six days later on 7 April 7, 1968. The session consists of folk-oriented songs from Buckley's Goodbye and Hello - Blue Afternoon period recorded in a sparse manner with only Tim's vocals, two guitars and percussion. Peel would later comment on this session as one that "defines essential music".
The Best of Tim Buckley is a compilation LP by Tim Buckley. It presents Buckley as a folk artist with songs written between 1966 and 1970. The album features material from the studio albums Tim Buckley, Goodbye and Hello, Happy Sad and Blue Afternoon, in addition to "Song to the Siren" from his avant garde album Starsailor. This was the first new release, outside of Australia after Buckley's death. The album provides an overview of Buckley's folk beginnings, excluding material from his later albums.
Mezzogiorno sulle Alpi is the twelfth studio album by Italian singer-songwriter Alice, released in 1992 on EMI Music.
Lee Underwood is an American musician and journalist who played lead guitar with Tim Buckley for most of Buckley's career.
William Stanley Harvey was an American graphic designer and art director, responsible for the design of Elektra Records' logos and many of its album covers between the 1950s and 1970s including those by Love, The Doors, MC5, The Stooges, Judy Collins, Tim Buckley and others.
Transformer is the only album by American musician David Stoughton, released in 1968 by Elektra Records. Produced by Stoughton, the album is a mix of folk and pop songwriting with sound collages and musique concrète. The musician had drawn influence from composer John Cage and created the group The Cambridge Electric Opera Company to explore electronic and traditionally-based music; although the group perform on the album, it was credited to Stoughton alone to avoid confusion with fellow Elektra band Earth Opera.