Customer Reviews

The Dream Belongs To Me

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I came across Tim Buckley's music for the first time in a discount record shop in San Francisco several years ago - since then I have collected all his albums (even the out of print ones - here's to online music file sharing!). At his best (as in "Dream Letter: Live in London 1968") he will simply blow you away - his voice is so soaring, so magnificent, so utterly beautiful, and his style so brazen, so heartbreakingly courageous, that his performance overwhelms. There's simply no one else like him. His albums, both studio and concert, range tremendously in style (folk/jazz/avant-garde/funk/etc) - he was a tireless experimenter, who exhausted many of his contemporaries. This album, in contrast to his many of his incredibly energetic, masterful, and often deeply touching live and studio performances, is quiet and subdued, if pleasantly so. It's "mellow Buckley" - gentle on the ears and mood but somewhat lacking in the tremendous intensity which is a trademark of most of his work. The gem of the album is the title track, "The Dream Belongs to Me" - a song that makes you chuckle ("I had a love affair with a crosseyed flamingo...") but which features Tim's rich, unmistakable tenor giving you a taste of the passionate emotional depth that made him such a powerful performer. Aside from this song, if you're into unreleased stuff, you might prefer "Tim Buckley: Works in Progress" by Rhino Handmade. It's a similiar collection from the same period, but somehow richer and stronger, and it also has some previously unknown songs ("The Father Song" is one). I have found myself listening to this more than "Dream". But I'm delighted to have both - you really can't go wrong owning anything by Tim Buckley!

I first heard this album when I found it amongst the "heavy rotation" CDs at my college radio station. I had no idea who Tim Buckley was or that he was in any way popular. The very first song I selected to play was "Happy Time" and I was absolutely floored by the beauty of the song and, especially, of his voice. It is sad that he can be lumped together with so many other fantastic artists in the rock-and-roll drug-overdose roster. But what output he had in his short time on this earth! His melodies are soulful and his singing is superb and unique. You'll not mistake his voice for any other. If you enjoy Cat Stevens or any other great singer/songwriters, you will truly enjoy Tim Buckley. All the songs are good on this album, especially "Happy Time", "Song to the Siren" and "Ashbury Park". If this is just his B-sides and unreleased tracks, I can't imagine what the music that *was* picked for albums sounds like! I can't wait to get them all!

This must be a compilation put together for the yuppies.Tim definitely nowhere near how good he can sing.He sounds restrained and on best behaviour.'sefronia' begins to break away and about the best track- a good show case for how beautiful his voice is.The others-poor.This CD doesn't come near the similar ballards he sings on 'Live at the troubador' notably 'blue melody','chase the blues away', 'driftin' that are so damn moving.The rest of the album a better show case too.

It is wise to be wary of "vault" releases - often such dug up recordings are of poor quality and just cynically exploitative. But "The dream belongs to me" is worthy of a release, especially the first half.
It is an odd package, to be sure - 6 songs from 1968 and 8 from 1973, and it's not just the time gap that's huge - the music's very different too.

The first six songs (apparently available before as the internet-only "Works in progress") are most likely to appeal. These songs can be seen as the missing link between the still folky "Goodbye and hello" and the jazzy "Happy/sad" and they're very, very good, if only for the fact that they, in their uncluttered simplicity, show off Tim's beautiful voice more than a lot of other recordings - although some may find them a bit slow.

"Song to the siren", in a more mature version included on his brilliant "Starsailor", is still very folky here, with the line "I'm a puzzled as the oyster", which may have delayed its appearance back then - apparently this line was ridiculed. "Ashbury park" and "Danang" would later be merged into the "Happy/sad" track "Love from room 109 ....".

Of the 1973 tracks, tellingly recorded with "unidentified players assumed to be ...", "Sefronia" is a slow, moody piece and quite appealing. This holds for "Because of you" and "The dream belongs to me" as well, but the tracks that follow, though suitably funky and quite good, are too much alike for my taste, lacking individuality. These recordings sound more like jam sessions and try-outs than finished songs.

This cd is not for the more casual Tim Buckley fan - but for someone more seriously interested this should prove to be an excellent choice.

Beautiful man-child? Yes. Crummy father? Yes. Temperamental artist? Yes. Poet? Yes. And undeniably......WHAT A VOICE! It's almost incomprehensible how his life and the life of his son (Jeff) were both cut so short.

Tim was such a great singer and songwriter that loved music and sang for himself and for the love of music and not for money and fame. Unfortunate for him the business dosent work that way. This cd is great as it reflects all of Tims talent and passion and pain. Jeff his son is absoulutely awesome...great voice and great songwriter like his dad so if you like Tim check out Jeff--you will love them both. Such a shame that we lost out on the places their talents would have taken them. You should check out the biography on them both...tells their story brilliantly and makes you love and respect them both even more. Its called "Dream Brother". Their story would make a great movie...very sad but great--not many people know of either Tim or Jeff but if you love music it doesnt matter. Enjoy the music and the message that they both send........"Have no shame in who you are."