Blue Melody: Tim Buckley Remembered

by Lee Underwood

(Book). Celebrating the personal and musical legacy of Tim Buckley, Blue Melody tells the untold story of an exceptionally gifted and charismatic singer-songwriter rebel of the 1960s. Written by Buckley's lead guitarist and close friend, this combination of fond memoir and incisive biography is a remembrance of concerts, tours, recording sessions, friends, family and fellow musicians and the tumultuous times in which they lived. It is also an informed appraisal of Buckley's dramatic creative odyssey, offering in-depth insight into his complex and sometimes self-destructive personality. The vivid narrative depicts Buckley's panoramic evolution across folk, folk-rock, jazz, avant-garde, and funk-rock, highlighting his refusal to be defined by critical or commercial success. Revealing Buckley's poetic intelligence and captivating humor, Blue Melody recounts dozens of behind-the-scenes stories, plus new information on the circumstances surrounding his alcohol and heroin overdose in 1975 at age 28.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

290 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

Reviews

[Ani Vardanyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tim Buckley became an inspiration and forever seized me with his music from the very first time I heard it...

I have read some biographies and autobiographical books, and I've always enjoyed them, but Lee Underwood's "Blue Melody" is unlike anything I've read before. It's actually one of the most beautiful, inspiring, luminous, influential and unforgettable books I've ever read, one that does change a person, a life. It's an utterly, unbelievably honest tale of life and love, anger and compassion, joy and grief. It's so, so, so human, so tender and so touching. It's as beautiful and fair as Lee's guitar solo in the middle of "Chase the Blues Away" on Live at the Troubadour 1969. :)

I would love to have a chance to say "thank you" to Mr. Underwood for this book and, of course, for his invaluable contribution to and influence on Tim Buckley music.

I would recommend the book to absolutely everyone, even to people, who have never heard Tim's music. But for those who find the latter close to their soul, it's a must-read: it made me discover and re-discover Tim's music again and again, deeply and truly appreciate all of the musical phases he passed through... The book expanded my musical horizons unlike anything, and maybe it will become a great help in my own musical endeavours.

:')

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blue Melody is a biography of musician Tim Buckley by his long-time lead guitarist Lee Underwood, who worked with Buckley from before this recording of his first album in 1966 to his tragic death in 1975. Underwood not only knew Buckley intimately and can share many stories of his life, but he also appreciated him selflessly and at times the book approaches hagiography.

While the strongest part of Underwood's biography is Buckley's folk period, up until around 1969, I was happy to see him dedicate a great deal of space to the era of Starsailor, which Buckley--as well as many fans--considered his masterpiece. Underwood discusses the impact of the album on the music world and concert-goers, and speaks about the musical innovations of that superlative album. The work is divided into two sections, in which the first--the bulk of the book--charts Buckley's life, and the second recounts the circumstances of his death and lasting impact.

This book has a lot of problems. For one, it appears to be a vanity-press offering with little professional editing. Underwood's writing is cliched and repetitious, with the same handful of positive adjectives (“beautiful”, “sensitive”, “immaculate”) used to describe every person he liked. His biggest failing, however, is that he often gets so lost in his memories that Tim Buckley is left beside and the reader wades through Underwood's fond recollections of his own personal life, with all its drug use and illicit road sex.

The last chapter of the book concerns Jeff Buckley, and Underwood swings between lightly praising him and harshly criticizing him as an unappreciative son and a man of limited talent and even more limited achievement. I found this last section incoherent and quite unfair, for there are many people who are fans of both Tim and Jeff without feeling that the father's career was betrayed by the son's.

Blue Melody is a poorly-written and edited recollection that is only for diehard fans of Tim Buckley. I would encourage those looking to know something about the all-too-brief life of this great artist to turn to David Browne's biography of Tim and Jeff Dream Brother.

[Nisha-Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable book, inasmuch for its literary skill as well as the way it manages to combine personal memoir and consciously objective appraisal. I'm not sure the objectivity was ever fully gained but, you know, that's okay because Lee Underwood did treasure Tim as a friend and that makes me respect his struggle to be objective all the more. It also makes me treasure the conversations related, the discussions about creative struggle set out on the page ... even if part of me murmurs constantly that it can't be verbatim over the intervention of so many years. And I like so much that Underwood acknowledges that right off the bat, acknowledges that this is a personal memoir. Even more so do I respect the fact that he manages to pull his own story away, sublimate his own ego to tell Tim's story as he saw it. A damned admirable accomplishment, this book.

As for me, I found this book when I was about to embark on my own creative challenge, to write a novel that deeply scared me, that I was terrified of butchering. And then this appeared on the shelf and I nearly fell over in my shock. Stood there and read snippets of it for a whole hour without even thinking of going to buy it. The book practically fell open at the conversations that tapped right into my screaming fears about what I could do and wanted to do. It was one of three rather eerie things that seemed to come directly from Tim.

So I've dogeared several pages, copied out a few lines and passages. Things to remember. Because Tim --- whatever he was to other people --- is a ruthless fire of inspiration and a creative mentor for me. I'm now three years older than him and still I think "When I grow up, I want to be like Tim Buckley. I want to be brave like Tim Buckley."

There's no saying how grateful I am for this book.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The quintessential book on Tim Buckley. He was the most beautiful face and the most eloquent musical talent. He died way too soon, and I wonder what he would have become had he lived longer. Lee Underwood has done a truly masterful job in bringing Tim and his musical years to life. I feel like I knew him.

[Seth Arnopole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lee Underwood played lead guitar on most of Tim Buckley's albums and tours. He puts Buckley's music and personal struggles into context, and details his artistic achievements. He does not shy away from the man's flaws, or his own, but at the same time, he provides justification for all sorts of questionable conduct by Buckley, no matter how obnoxious. Underwood also seems to believe that he is the person who best understood Tim Buckley, not Tim's wife, other friends, or other sidemen.

[Samantha Glasser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tim Buckley had a musical career that spanned the 60s and 70s before his life ended at age 28 due to a heroin overdose. His style is hard to categorize because he was influenced by a wide variety of artists and because he always pushed himself to try new things.

Lee Underwood was Buckley's guitarist and best friend for many years. He recounts their experiences together in this book, and his personal relationship provides insight into the conflicted and sometimes erratic artist. On the downside, Underwood's relationship makes him quite biased and he raves about Buckley's talent. It is not written chronologically so the stories meander based on the author's recollections. For those who are new to Buckley's music, this might be a difficult book to get into, but stick with it.

[Larry-bob Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biography of Tim Buckley written by his guitarist. Underwood was there from the time of the first record and played on seven of Buckley's nine studio albums, which were made in nine years. Over the course of that time Buckley went from folk to folk-rock to improv music and into boogie rock. Underwood managed to overcome the chemical abuse that did in Buckley (though the is critical of those who overemphasize or distort the alcohol and drugs to the detriment of the music.) He delves into the events of Buckley's life, the psychology behind his actions, musical analysis of the various sonic stages, and the critical response to Buckley's music.

[Nat K · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely haunting voice and amazing talent who left us too soon.

I love that Lee Underwood's book brought Tim Buckley to life for me. It was a fascinating insight into what drove such a ferocious talent & the frustrations that came with the gift of such an amazing voice.

[False · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a re-read for me. Covering the very brief life of Tim Buckley, the author, Lee Underwood, remembers the musician he worked so closely with for many years, the music itself and the era of the 1960's into the mid 1970's. I first read Underwood's eulogy piece for Downbeat magazine and thought it was excellent: an articulate reflection on an unarticulate age. Looking back at the sixties as if from a great distance, it seems to me how badly young women suffered during this era of "liberation." Just recently, Joni Mitchell and others have come forth and described what it was like trying to build a relationship while men had all of the sexual freedom and women, wanting commitment, shared responsibility, a caring if you will and got little in return. I just watched James Taylor being interviewed the other day and asked about Joni Mitchell. He gave faint praise to her work, avowed they never collaborated (lie) nor did he mention he was strung out on heroin during the bulk of their period together. It's amazing it lasted as long as it did (one year) and speaks to the tenacity of the woman to make it work, rather than his sad mess of drugs and drifting. Someone after seeing this Taylor interview wrote, "I give until his young twins reach college age that his current wife finally gives up and says "enough" because his behaviors (not drugs per se, but self absorption and nothing to give back) have reached their limit. Buckley comes across as the hero you'd never want to meet: drunk or on drugs, carrying around a lot of unresolved Daddy issues, small man complex, a certain arrogance (I remember him putting down Bob Dylan in an interview with Steve Allen back in the '60's.) Treated women poorly, which even Underwood addresses. I've met the type over time. Doesn't mind F*** them, but doesn't want to be around them. Still, with all of that said, he sang like an angel...only not in five octaves.

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm in a Buckley phase right now, and what better place to go to than a memoir by one of Tim's close friends to glean more info on Jeff's absentee father? At least, that was my thinking when I purchased this book anyway. What I found, though, was that Lee ended up making a lot of excuses for Tim. I understand the impulse, considering Lee was very close to Tim. Still, a lot of the stuff he was making excuses for was simply inexcusable, such as dragging Lee, who was uncomfortable with this breach of privacy, to watch two men have sex on the beach, lashing out violently, rampant womanizing, letting a friend take the fall for his drug possession, and especially abandoning his pregnant wife and unborn son - "He didn't abandon Jeff. He abandoned Mary." I also skimmed large portions of the book because Lee had a habit of going on lengthy tangents about his own life. If he were writing a book about his own life, I would understand the impulse, but in a biography about Tim Buckley, that's not what I came here to read. Although I guess the fact that he sees nothing wrong in recounting himself having sex with a sixteen-year-old girl explains a lot in regards to excusing Tim's worst behaviors. He also spends the entire last chapter raking Jeff over the coals. It's like Lee has no sympathy for Jeff's rage at being abandoned (which I find completely understandable as someone else who grew up without a father), and considers Jeff a pretender merely riding off his father's legacy. I've listened to all nine of Tim's albums and both of Jeff's studio albums, and I really don't see the need to compare. Yes, I prefer Jeff's music, but I also appreciate Tim's (when he's not being racist/misogynistic). They were both talented musicians and flawed people who were taken before their time. I would still recommend this book to anyone wanting to read about Tim, but there are large swaths of the book that should be taken with a pinch of salt.

[Patrick Macke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six days ago I had never heard the name Tim Buckley, I didn't know any of his songs ... I heard his name on the radio, found this book ... The author is in love with Tim, now I kinda love him too ... Never was a book so passionately written ... It's a head trip, a philosophical journey riding on the back of a song, a groovy experience that could have only happened in Tim's time and space ... Perhaps the only real art is that which is created without any thought given to the audience ... The true artist must sell-out to the art and Tim is one of the very few who have had the courage to live that reality ... Tim's tear-inuducing earthly visit turns out to be a wonderful story beautifully written

[Killian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat rambling account of Lee Underwood's take on Tim Buckley's life. A bit out there in parts but interesting about Jeff's take on his father's music. You would need a working knowledge of Tim Buckley

[Francesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro bellissimo scritto da chi ha conosciuto da vicino Tim. Non si capisce perché non venga tradotto in italiano. La versione inglese da me letta trovata usata è comunque bellissima

[Ian]

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