24 June 2013 (Day 175) – Father And Son

Back at work and back to deciding upon a theme based on the first album played in the day.  I knew what that would be as soon as I selected;

(# 461) Tim Buckley – Honeyman.  Recorded 1973 (released 1995)

During the 1990’s three amazing live albums were released showcasing the skills of this folkie turned psychedelic/jazz/soul/whatever musician.   Each is different; Dream Letter is a folk concert recorded in London in 1968, the extraordinary Live At The Troubadour is a live album recorded in the noted club during 1969 and this one, a live radio broadcast from 1973.  This is a pretty good representation of his latter day vocal style without coming anywhere near the gymnastics of the 1969 album.  The opening tracks, Dolphins and Buzzin’ Fly are nicely understated.  Get On Top ups the tempo and the funky Devil Eyes maintains the groove.  Honey Man has a nice jam feel to it and Sweet Surrender is an effective closer.   Unfortunately, he died 2 years later without ever threatening to become famous.  Despite fine albums like these, today he is more famous for being the father of;

(# 462) Jeff Buckley – Grace (1994)

I was fortunate enough to have seen Jeff Buckley live twice in my lifetime.  The first occasion, in September 1995, was unquestionably one of the finest gigs I have ever witnessed.  This was during Buckley's promo tour of Australia to support this album.  Having already bought Live At Sin-e, I had tuned into 3JJJ to hear an incredible one hour performance with his full band.  By this stage, Grace had been out for a year and the band had worked up some amazing arrangements for many of its songs including an almost heavy metal version of Eternal Life that ended the show.  At the end of the broadcast it was announced that tickets were going on sale the following morning for a gig at The Athenaeum Theatre, an intimate 1000 seater in the centre of Melbourne. Thanks to a ticket outlet being in the same building as my office at the time, I was able to be first in the queue the following morning. and still only managed seats in the very last row of the upper level. 

The gig itself was one for the ages.  It was essentially a longer version of the JJJ show but contained the same pumped up arrangement of Eternal Life, inspired takes on Mojo Pin and So Real, lengthy excursions of Last Goodbye and Love You Should’ve Come Over and, of course, Halleljulah.  The roar of the audience and sustained applause at its end was amongst the loudest and most sustained I’ve ever heard.  And afterwards everyone reluctantly walking out was reaching out to each other in their incredulity.

Now the Athenaeum Theatre has occupied the same site in Melbourne since it was established in 1839.  In fact, it is the only building to have ever occupied the site.  It has stood there for approaching 200 years as Melbourne developed from a tiny settlement to a modern metropolis of 4 million people.  And in many ways, Grace is a musical equivalent, Buckley's only real album that has stood the test of time and which continues to attract admirers as the world changes around it.

Yet, when I first played it, I was unimpressed.  Numerous spins later, I’ve realised this was due to the gig and the impossibly high standards it raised.  In reality it is a different beast, an ethereal, almost religious sounding recording.  It is the type of album that should be played in cathedrals around the world should religious orders ever tire of playing Georgian Chants or baroque organ music. 

After playing this I started to look for another father/son combination.  Quite a few came to mind but I settled on the Thompsons , starting with:

(#463) Richard Thompson – RT: Shine In The Dark.  Epic Live Workouts

This is the third disc in a six disc set made available initially only via Thompson’s website.  I’m not sure how Thompson defined “epic”, but I originally approached this disc expecting every track to be a 10 minute electric guitar orgy.  Some of the tracks undoubtedly are, especially Calvary Cross and Sloth (both versions I’m sure have been released as bonus tracks on reissues of his albums).  Drowned Dog Black Night also fits the bill, a track that originally appeared on the first French Firth Kaiser Thompson album. Yet the remaining tracks are essentially shorter and not all that noisy at all.  But this doesn’t mean there is any lack of guitar thrills. Valerie is turned from an electric to an acoustic tour de force whilst Don’t Let A Thief Steal Into Your Heart and Ghosts In The Wind demonstrate his powers on the acoustic.

(# 464) Teddy Thompson – Separate Ways (2005)

Richard Thompson has a dedicated audience but in no way could he be called a superstar.  The same thing can also be said about his son Teddy.  This is his second album which consists of 13 folk rock tunes of a consistently high standard that highlighting individual tracks seems pointless.   (Only 12 are listed; there is a 13^th hidden track which is a duet with his mother Linda.)  In many respects, these songs pursue a path not too dissimilar to his father’s acoustic work but with a voice that’s all his own.  Plus, Dad and his unmistakeable guitar add their unmistakeable signature on some tracks.