Personnel: Tim Buckley (vocals, guitar, 12-string guitar, bottleneck guitar, vibraphone, kalimba); Tim Buckley; Clydie King, Lorna Willard, Venetta Fields (vocals); Lee Underwood (guitar, piano); Brian Hartzler, John Forsha, Joe Falsia, Bob Rafkin (guitar); Jesse Erlich (cello); Don Randi (piano, harpsichord, harmonium); Jerry Yester (piano, harmonium, organ); Kevin Kelly (piano); Mark Tieman (electric piano); Chuck Rainey (bass guitar); Billy Mundi (drums, percussion); Ed Greene, Eddie Hoh, Jimmy Madison (drums); Carter C.C. Collins (congas, percussion); King Errisson (congas); Dave Guard (kalimba, tambourine); Van Dyke Parks (celesta, harpsichord); David Friedman (vibraphone); Earl Palmer (drums).

Audio Mixer: Bruce Botnick.

Audio Remasterer: Bill Inglot.

Liner Note Author: Matthew Specktor.

Photographers: Ed Caraeff; Jack Robinson.

For an artist like Tim Buckley, compiling a Best Of may be a Herculean task. Like all musical visionaries, Buckley consistently changed his own rules for how to define his best, so a collection may do only cursory justice to such an extraordinary career. Of course, Buckley's unearthly gifted voice, with its multi-octave pyrotechnic range, remains a constant in all of his work, and BEST OF TIM BUCKLEY compiles some of his most memorable performances in one place.

The disc highlights everything from his baroque folk-rock records of the late 1960s to his more experimental jazz and soul records of the '70s, including, from the former, such gems as "Strange Feelin'" and "Morning Glory" and, from the latter, "Song to the Siren" and a fantastic cover of Fred Neil's epic "Dolphins," a song Buckley was born to sing. While not for Buckley completists, this collection is a great start for the uninitiated.

While there are numerous Tim Buckley compilations, this is the one that tells a real story of restless artist hard at work in pursuit of that slipstream where the Muse resides, album by album -- and this latter point cannot be overstated. Buckley was, in fact, an album-driven artist who saw his work in terms of set pieces rather than collections of songs. The 2001 double-disc Morning Glory was thorough as far as it went; it leaned heavily on songs from his earliest efforts (as does this one). Neither Morning Glory or this Best Of gives more than a glimpse of an artist who resisted compiling since he blazed his way through styles and vocal techniques in a short life. In any case, that double-disc, which contained 33 tracks, might be too much of an introduction with its hefty list price. This one is much more manageable economically. The "best of" Tim Buckley is always going to be debatable, but Bill Inglot's selections are well-placed. There are three cuts from the self-titled debut album (including "I Can't See You"), and four from Goodbye and Hello ( "Morning Glory" is among them), as well as an alternate take of "Sing A Song for You." From here the tale goes winding around a rather strange road. The actual studio version of "I Had a Talk With My Woman" from Federico Garc¡a Lorca is here (there was a live read of the song on the Morning Glory set), as are three from Blue Afternoon ("The River" and "Happy Time"). Inexplicably, only "Strange Feelin'" is included off the delightfully weird Happy Sad. While "Song to the Siren," has become a defining moment in Buckley's legend since it was covered by This Mortal Coil, there should have been another cut from Starsailor here in addition to it. It gives the wrong impression of an album that is complex, strange, and at times harsh and off-putting (it, like Lorca and Greetings From L.A.) are also brilliant. At the time of this writing, Starsailor and Blue Afternoon remain out of print on CD. "Dolphins" and "Martha" are here from Sefronia, as is "Move With Me," from Greetings From L.A. (which remains in print only as an import), but "Get on Top" or "Sweet Surrender" should have been here as well. Finally, the title track from Look at the Fool, Buckley's final studio album, is here as well. This track offers another view of Buckley as a soul singer. He may have regarded the music as commercial and a sell-out, but there is nothing remotely "accessible" about his sound on this record. As a single disc, this one is as good as it gets despite its shortcomings. ~ Thom Jurek

Q (p.147) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Tim Buckley sang with one of the most beautiful voices to grace any era..."

Dirty Linen (p.59) - "[This collection] includes several of his gorgeous tracks from HELLO AND GOODBYE....The collection is rounded out with several tracks from his lesser-known recordings..."

Global Rhythm (Publication) (p.45) - "[H]e glided through songs with his improvisational style and peculiar arrangements. His unique relationship with the world was present in his songs."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.128) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The earliest material remains as pure and thrilling as on the day it was born, Buckley's remarkably supple, multi-octave voice is a thing of wonder."