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Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals,dense productions,and effects such as reverb,echo,tremolo,and chorus. It often overlaps with the related genre of shoegaze,and the two genre terms have at times been used interchangeably.
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth by Robin Guthrie and Will Heggie (bass),adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981. In 1983,Heggie was replaced with multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde. The group earned critical praise for their ethereal,effects-laden sound and the soprano vocals of Fraser,whose lyrics often eschew any recognisable language. They pioneered the 1980s alternative subgenre of dream pop and helped define what would become shoegaze.
Timothy Charles Buckley III was an American musician. He began his career based in folk rock,but subsequently experimented with genres such as psychedelia,jazz,the avant-garde,and funk paired with his unique five-octave vocal range. 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 become a cult classic. 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 one biological son,Jeff,and one adopted son,Taylor.
Elizabeth Davidson Fraser is a Scottish singer. She was the vocalist for the band Cocteau Twins who achieved success in the UK primarily during the fifteen years from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. Their studio albums Victorialand (1986) and Heaven or Las Vegas (1990) both reached the top ten of the UK Album Charts,as well as other albums including Blue Bell Knoll (1988),Four-Calendar Café (1993) and Milk &Kisses (1996) charting on the Billboard 200 album charts in the United States as well as the top 20 in the UK. She also performed as part of the 4AD group This Mortal Coil,including the successful 1983 single "Song to the Siren",and as a guest with Massive Attack on their 1998 hit single "Teardrop".
This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell,founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were the only two official members,the band's recorded output featured a large rotating cast of supporting artists,many of whom were otherwise associated with 4AD,including members of Cocteau Twins,Pixies and Dead Can Dance. The project became known for its gothic,dream pop sound,and released three full albums,beginning in 1984 with It'll End in Tears.
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.
Brendan Michael Perry is a British singer and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work as half of the duo Dead Can Dance with Lisa Gerrard.
It'll End in Tears is the first album released by 4AD collective This Mortal Coil,a loose grouping of artists on the label brought together by label boss Ivo Watts-Russell. The album was released by 4AD on 8 October 1984,and reached #38 on the UK Albums Chart.
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.
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 on The Monkees. The photo used for the cover art was taken by Linda Eastman,more commonly known as Linda McCartney.
Larry Beckett is an American poet,playwright,songwriter,musician,translator,and literary critic. As a songwriter and music arranger,Beckett collaborated with Tim Buckley in the late 1960s and early 1970s on several songs and albums,including the critically acclaimed "Song to the Siren" which has been recorded by many artists,from This Mortal Coil to Robert Plant to George Michael to Kitty Macfarlane and Jann Klose. He has also collaborated with British group The Long Lost Band,and local Portland indie band Eyelids.
"This Woman's Work" is a song written and performed by the English singer-songwriter Kate Bush. It was initially featured on the soundtrack of the American film She's Having a Baby (1988). The song was released as the second single from her album The Sensual World in 1989 and peaked at 25 in the UK Singles Chart.
The Dream Belongs to Me:Rare and Unreleased 1968 –1973 is a compilation album by Tim Buckley. The album consists of three demo sessions,two recorded in 1968 and the other in 1973.
Thin Wires In The Voice is a 120-page booklet written by Italian writer Luca Ferrari with a 3 track EP by Tim Buckley. The EP is a compilation of "Song to the Siren",featuring just Buckley's guitar and voice,recorded for the TV show The Monkees and two live recordings taken from a 1968 Danish radio broadcast. This earlier version of Starsailor track "Song to the Siren" is more folk-oriented and can also be found on Morning Glory:The Tim Buckley Anthology. The two live recordings are also found on Buckley's 1968 live album Copenhagen Tapes. The booklet is dual language appraisal of Tim Buckley in Italian and English. It also contains selected lyrics and poetry.
Tim Buckley:My Fleeting House is a DVD-Video collection of live appearances and performances by Tim Buckley. It features footage from throughout his career,starting from a 1967 performance of "Song to the Siren" on The Monkees TV show and ending with a performance from May 21,1974 of "Dolphins" for The Old Grey Whistle Test. Broadcasts from WITF-TV's The Show from 1970 has performances of "I Woke Up" and "Come Here Woman". The DVD also contains recorded interviews with occasional songwriting partner Larry Beckett,regular lead guitarist Lee Underwood and David Browne,author of Dream Brother:The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley,a dual biography of Tim Buckley and his son Jeff Buckley. The release also contains a 12-page photo booklet with liner notes.
The Late Great Tim Buckley is a compilation LP by Tim Buckley. The album consists of recordings from five of Buckley's studio albums:Tim Buckley,Goodbye and Hello,Happy Sad,Greetings from L.A. and Sefronia. The compilation was the first Buckley LP to be released posthumously and was only released in Australia. It would be another 5 years until the next release,The Best of Tim Buckley,highlighting the decline of Buckley's popularity in the latter stages of his career before his death. The compilation provides a sparse overview of Buckley's career,omitting music from Lorca,Blue Afternoon and Starsailor and focusing instead on the more commercial periods of Buckley's recording years. The album is currently out of print.
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.
Sixteen Days / Gathering Dust is an EP released in 1983 by This Mortal Coil,a supergroup assembled by Ivo Watts-Russell for his record label,4AD.
Sleeps with the Fishes is the lone collaborative album from Clan of Xymox founding member Pieter Nooten and Canadian guitarist/producer Michael Brook,released by 4AD on 12 October 1987. Intended as Nooten's debut solo album after a brief split from Clan of Xymox,the record turned into a collaboration with Brook after a suggestion from 4AD label founder and boss Ivo Watts-Russell. Though not a huge commercial success,Sleeps with the Fishes was described by AllMusic as "essential listening for fans of 4AD,ambient music,minimalism,experimental electronic music,and morose themes alike... an overlooked masterpiece."
Rose Betts is an English singer-songwriter. She came to attention with viral TikTok hits "Driving Myself Home" in 2022,and "Irish Eyes" in 2023. In 2021,she produced and performed a cover of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren",on the soundtrack to Zack Snyder's Justice League,and collaborated with Bazzi on "Young &Alive",which was nominated for a Grammy award.
References
- ↑ Welch, Rosanne (2016). Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture. McFarland. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-4766-2602-4.
- ↑ Cheal, David (22 April 2016). "The Life of a Song: 'Song to the Siren'". Financial Times. The Financial Times Ltd. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
- 1 2 ""'Song to the Siren' Tim Buckley (1967)" by Robert Webb, The Independent (London), April 13, 2007". Archived from the original on October 22, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
- ↑ Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley , David Browne
- ↑ "Tim Buckley interview "The High Flyer"". Archived from the original on October 22, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2008.
- ↑ "Larry Beckett Interview". Album Liner Notes. September 12, 2015. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
- 1 2 "WALKING ON THE CLOUDS". Record Collector . August 14, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
- ↑ Ainscoe, Mike (November 1, 2016). "The Long Lost Band and Larry Beckett: Song To The Siren – Single Review". Louder Than War . Retrieved November 5, 2016.
- ↑ "Unique recording sees classic song retold for new generation". Lancaster Guardian. October 28, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
- ↑ "Greatest Hits: 35 Essential 4AD Tracks". Treble. November 17, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ↑ Burbeck, Rodney, ed. (24 September 1983). "Indies: Top Singles Chart" (PDF). Music Week . London: Morgan Grampian plc. p. 33.
- ↑ Burbeck, Rodney, ed. (5 November 1983). "Indies: Top Singles Chart" (PDF). Music Week . London: Morgan Grampian plc. p. 35.
- ↑ "Song to the Siren: Chart facts". Official Charts . Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- ↑ "Indie Hits 1980–1989" (Cherry Red Books, 1997)
- ↑ "Jeff Buckley: Everybody Here Wants You". Archived from the original on August 11, 2003. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ↑ Saunders, Luke (June 30, 2021). "Here are the 10 best covers of all time from here to eternity". Happy Mag. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
- 1 2 "The Rough Guide to Rock". Archived from the original on February 26, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2008.
- ↑ Garvey, Meaghan. "Blue Velvet (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- ↑ Buckley, Tim (17 November 2011). "Song to the Siren's irresistible tang". The Guardian . Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ↑ Farnsworth, Mark (22 February 2010). ""The Lovely Bones": flawed, but gorgeous". Global Comment. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ↑ Clinton, Jane (December 23, 2012). "The song that made me fall in love again says Dawn French". Daily Express .
- ↑ "Soul Music "Song To The Siren"". BBC. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- ↑ Cheal, David (22 April 2016). "The Life of a Song: 'Song to the Siren'". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ↑ Aston, Martin (17 November 2011). "'Song to the Siren's Irresistible Tang'". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ↑ Behbakht, Andy (March 18, 2021). "Every Song in Zack Snyder's Justice League". Screen Rant. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
Brendan Perry also covered the song in 2012 performing the song live on KEXP video on YouTube.com|access=date 24th May 2024.
