It’s impossible for schooled listeners to not hear the bucolic beauty of the late Tim Buckley’s finest work in the music of midwestern troubadour Ryley Walker. Elements of Buckley’s Happy/ Sad, Blue Afternoon and Starsailor can be heard in the wild improvisations of “Same Minds” where stand-up bass, vibraphone and acoustic-electric guitars coalesce with drummer Frank Rosaly’s raucous groove. These jazz elements yield a restless wanderlust that evokes the best of Van Morrison, John Martyn and Terry Reid (River-era). Walker’s skilled fingerpicking empowers “Griffiths Bucks Blues” and “Sweet Satisfaction.” First-rate work throughout.
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