Greetings from L.A. by Tim Buckley

When I reviewed Buckley’s second album Goodbye and Hello I noted that his reputation as a fey romantic folk singer was a misconception as it turned out he was actually a cheating lowlife who had walked out on his wife and infant son early in their marriage. This 1972 release only amplifies the impression that he was pretty much a sex addict on a path to inevitable self destruction.

The album opens with a cheery number about sleeping with a black woman and hiding from a jealous husband, and moves on to songs about asking someone to get on top, creaking bed springs and there are no prizes for guessing what ‘talking in tongues’ is referring to. There is no love or romance here, just drunken screwing around with the morals of an alley cat.

Musically, it’s pretty much by the numbers sleazy blues sung in a throaty croak which reminded me of Jim Morrison’s voice on LA Woman - another ‘romantic’ who was on a similar downward spiral. No coincidence that they both died without ever seeing their 30th birthdays.