Tim Buckley: Greetings From L.A. (Warner Bros/Straight)
Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 21 October 1972
AFTER THE gradual progression through Lorca, Blue Afternoon, and Starsailor, one might have expected Buckley to continue with such a startlingly fresh line of development into his latest album, the first in about 18 months. Not so. Whereas those earlier albums were influenced by his exposure to avant-garde jazz musicians like Coltrane and Ayler, since Starsailor Buckley has apparently been listening to the radio. Greetings From L.A. is largely a distillation of what he's heard, and although in one sense it's a move sideways and back, in others it's a real treat.
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