Happy Sad (album): Difference between revisions

| released = MarchApril 1969

| studio = [[Elektra Sound Recorders|Elektra]], Los Angeles, California

'''''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.

==Composition==
The sound of the album is characterized by [[David Friedman (percussionist)|David Friedman]]'s [[vibraphone]], an instrument which gives the album a more relaxed tone than Buckley's earlier work. The songs are much longer than on previous releases and this style continued through to later works. The vocals on the album are more drawn out than earlier performances and this represents the beginning of Buckley using his voice like an instrument. The [[lyrics]] on ''Happy Sad'' represent a change as Buckley stopped working with [[Larry Beckett]], his lyricist on the two previous albums ''[[Tim Buckley (album)|Tim Buckley]]'' and ''[[Goodbye and Hello (Tim Buckley album)|Goodbye and Hello]]'', and began writing the lyrics himself. Buckley's self-penned efforts stand in contrast to Beckett's occasionally [[Political song|political]] and literary-style work.<ref name="TimBuckleyBiography">Underwood,{{cite Lee.web|last=Unterberger|first=Richie|author-link=Richie RetrievedUnterberger|title=Biography on- MayTim 1, 2008 [Buckley|url=http://www.timbuckley.com/biography/|access-date=May 1, 2008|publisher=Tim Buckley|archive-date=January Biography]5, ''2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105094037/http://www.timbuckley.com''/biography/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Buckley would also go on to author all his own material on the following two albums.

''Happy Sad'' shares much in common with his later albums, ''[[Lorca (album)|Lorca]]'' and ''[[Blue Afternoon]]''. Much of the material that would appear on those albums was written at the same time as the songs that appear on this album, representing the most productive and prolific period of Buckley's career. Buckley's musical tastes expanded during the period that the album was written and the.

The first track, "Strange Feelin", was directlyinstrumentally inspired by [[Miles Davis]]' "[[All Blues]]" from ''[[Kind of Blue]]'', andwhile the melody of the song is directlytotally taken from the songoriginal.<ref name=TimBuckleyBiography/>

"Buzzin' Fly" was written much earlier than the rest of the work and was originally performed with a group Buckley had during high school, the Harlequin 3, with bassist [[Jim Fielder]] and later lyricist, [[Larry Beckett]].<ref name=DreamB>[[Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley]], [[David Browne (journalist)|David Browne]]</ref>

"Gypsy Woman" is a long track highlighting Buckley's vocal acrobatics and on the record has some qualities of a [[jam session]]. Buckley and his band were disappointed with its recording but the song would remain as part of Buckley's live repertoire for the following years.<ref name=TimBuckleyBiography/> The closer of the album, "Sing a Song For You", is more similar to Buckley's work on ''Goodbye and Hello'' than to the songs on the rest of the album. It shares the verse/chorus style and folk leanings of "[[Song to the Siren (Tim Buckley song)|Song to the Siren]]", which though released on ''[[Starsailor (album)|Starsailor]]'', was written around the same period.

|rev1 = [[AllmusicAllMusic]]

|rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>[{{Allmusiccite web|classlast=albumGreenwald|idfirst=r2886Matthew|pure_urltitle=yesHappy Sad - Tim Buckley {{!}} AllmusicSongs, reviewReviews, Credits|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/happy-sad-mw0000653100|publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>

|rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|edition=4th|isbn=978-0195313734|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=_NNmFiUnSmUC&pg=PA2941 2941]}}</ref>

Released at the height of his popularity, ''Happy Sad'' was his highest charting album, reaching No. 81 in the US Pop albums chart,<ref>{{cite web |title=Allmusic Chart data: Happy Sad |url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r2886|pure_url=yes}} |accessdate=May 15, 2008}}</ref> but Buckley's experimentation on this album would alienate some of the fanbase and his mainstream appeal he gained with ''Goodbye and Hello''. However, this was only the beginning of Buckley's experimentation with sound and genre, and subsequent releases would further reduce his mainstream popularity and see his sales take a downturn.

In 2000 it was voted number 954 in [[Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]|authorlast=Colin Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2000|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=289}}</ref>

*[[Tim Buckley]] – vocals, [[12 -string guitar]]

*[[Lee Underwood]] – lead guitar, keyboards

*[[John Miller (bass guitarist)|John Miller]] – double bass

*[[Carter C.C. Collins]] – [[congas]], conductor

*[[William S. Harvey]] – art direction

*[http''Blue Melody://www.timbuckley.com/biography "Tim Buckley Biography"]Remembered'' by [[Lee Underwood]]

*''[[Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley]]'', by [[David Browne (journalist)|David Browne]]