Album Review: Lady, Give Me Your Key: The Unissued 1967 Solo Acoustic Sessions by Tim Buckley

Given Tim Buckley’s initial artistic trajectory, from folk-rock troubadour to fearless explorer of the avant-garde, you’d quite easily assume that he was initially above the restrictive demands of a mere pop single. Not so. Elektra head Jac Holzman decided that the best way to follow Buckley’s self-titled debut would be to reposition him as a singles artist.

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Lady, Give Me Your Key contains expository notes by Thomas as well his in-depth interviews with Beckett and Yester. The sound is far better than acceptable considering the original sources, and the material is a true boon for Buckley's most devoted followers..

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While their recorded output was inversely proportional, the earthly fates for father and son Tim and Jeff Buckley were eerily similar. Whereas Tim released nine studio albums in his lifetime before a heroin overdose at the age of 28, his son Jeff released but one studio LP before drowning in the Mississippi River at the age of 30. And after their too young deaths, their posthumous fates have also been parallel, with a plethora of live recordings and outtakes swelling both Buckleys’ legacies.

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Tim Buckley released nine incredibly diverse records in an eight-year span (1966-1974) before succumbing to a drug overdose potentially related to his ongoing commercial and financial struggles. Paradoxically, the very source of his commercial failures contributes to his current favored status among cult artists: his stylistic restlessness. Where his first album was fairly standard late-‘60s singer/songwriter fair, he quickly delved into elements of acid folk and chamber pop for his follow-up, Goodbye and Hello (1968).

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