Personnel: Tim Buckley (vocals, guitar, 12-string guitar); Lee Underwood (guitar, electric guitar, electric piano, keyboards); John Balkin (upright bass, electric bass); Carter C.C. Collins (congas).

Photographer: Ed Caraeff.

Buckley stunned and, to a rare degree, alienated fans with the dissonant, at times wearying, avant-garde exercises in vocal gymnastics that took up the entire first side of this LP. Side two was far more accessible, though Buckley's fusion of folk instrumentation with jazzy improvisation on extended compositions continued to take him further away from his folk-rock roots. ~ Richie Unterberger

Buckley was far too restless of a spirit and far too pure an artist to be concerned with commerciality, and LORCA effectively closed the door on Buckley's already slim chances at becoming a star. Inaccessible, unconvential, occasionally just plain difficult, it was exactly what he felt like creating at the time. The five extended cuts mix free jazz, folk, rock and avant-garde experimentalism to an unprecedented degree.

Buckley's superhuman multi-octave range gets a workout on the title cut's wide melodic leaps and bizarre intervals. "Anonymous Proposition" stretches it's gracefully ominous melody out so long that you have to pay strict attention to follow the musical thread. The poignant "I Had a Talk WIth My Woman" harks back to the hypnotic folk-rock balladry of BLUE AFTERNOON. Things come to a head on the frenetic, bluesy closer "Nobody Walkin'," where Buckley wails like a banshee over staccato electric piano riffs. His thorniest creation, LORCA is nevertheless one of Buckley's most rewarding albums for those adventurous enough to dive into it.