Hello, welcome to the My Northern Skies website, home of my two weekly radio shows, which alternate here each week, The Jazz File every Tuesday (8pm) and Flick the Dust Off every Friday (10am).

Featured Album | 407

Tim Buckley | Happy Sad | Elektra EKS 74045 | 1969

Tim Buckley’s third studio album ventures into jazz territory by incorporating certain motifs, most notably on “Strange Feeling”, the Miles Davis modal jazz feel being instantly evident.  Produced by the Lovin’ Spoonful’s Zal Yanovsky and Jerry Yester, ‘Happy Sad’ features some empathetic guitar playing courtesy of Lee Underwood, with John Miller on bass and Carter CC Collins and David Friedman taking care of the percussion department, most notably the latter’s warm vibraphone sound.  The absence of lyricist Larry Beckett, who had worked with Buckley on his two previous albums ‘Tim Buckley’ and ‘Goodbye and Hello’, allowed Buckley to further advance his own songwriting, all six songs here written in full by Buckley.  There’s little doubt that “Strange Feeling” owes a huge debt to “All Blues” from the classic Miles Davis album ‘Kind of Blue’, though it’s probably “Buzzing Fly” that fully grabs the listener’s attention midway through the first side.  If modal jazz was referenced in “Strange Feeling”, then Jazz Funk was the inspiration behind the spirited “Gypsy Woman”, its percussive quality driving the song along through its sprawling twelve minutes.  The album also includes “Dream Letter”, a song Buckley written by way of an apology to his ex-wife and abandoned son Jeff Buckley, who would make his short-lived contribution to rock music a couple of decades later.  Sadly, both father and son would die under tragic circumstances, the former from a drug overdose, the latter from drowning.  One can’t help but feel that the Buckley’s were cursed.           

Playlist:

Low Budget – Kinks (Low Budget)

Things We Said Today – Beatles (A Hard Day’s Night)

Buzzin’ Fly – Tim Buckley (Happy Sad)

Turn on Your Radio – Harry Nilsson (Son of Schmilsson)

Little Child Runnin’ Wild – Curtis Mayfield (Super Fly)

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door – Bob Dylan (Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid)

Wonderous Stories – Yes (Going for the One)

A Passion Play Excerpt – Jethro Tull (A Passion Play)

Death of an Electric Citizen – Edgar Broughton Band (Wasa Wasa)

Painting Box – Incredible String Band (The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion)

Strange Feeling – Tim Buckley (Happy Sad)

An hour of the best in jazz, join me for The Jazz File on Tuesday 14 July.