Bob Dylan To Me : Richard Buckner

I first heard Richard Buckner early on in my Uncle Tupelo/Jayhawks/Bottle Rockets re-awakening. Uncle Tupelo came first on December 9, 1993, the day after I passed up a free ticket to see UT in favor of some crappy band on my college campus (Blues Traveler, maybe?). When the summer of 1994 rolled around, I was fully immersed in this thing someone dubbed alt.country. Most rejected the label, but I loved just about every act that fell within this emerging "genre." I joined listservs, subscribed to magazines, and went to as many shows as possible. Joe Henry, 16 Horsepower, Steve Earle, Hazeldine, Blue Mountain, and somewhere in there, Richard Buckner.

Buckner's first release, Bloomed, was initially far too folk for my ears. Armed with vocal chords that bounced and scaled notes, it was his cadence that took me even longer to warm to. But the lyrics hit me immediately. I think it was the words of "This Is Where" when Buckner finally took hold. "I'm gonna sit here dear, and see who makes the law, this isn't a goodbye letter, this is should I be here at all." Many of my newfound music friends were in awe of this record. I wanted to see what came next.

In 1997 Buckner released Devotion + Doubt, a record that now never falls outside my top five of all-time. This one hit immediately. Opening with "He said, 'I'll pull you down.' She said, 'Yeah, I know you will. But I've been through worse detours and ambulance traps.' As he moves his blind side to the back, she says, 'Yeah, sucker, but you're not going anywhere tonight." and the haunt and shadows build and beckon for the next 40 minutes. This is a record about leaving, longing, love, bitterness, and ultimately, letting go. The lyrics to this masterpiece are as good as anything Dylan or Townes has ever written. The imagery is astounding. "The summer is done, and we are too, dear. Pull back the drapes, and let the silent light in," he sings on "Lil' Wallet Picture." "Tough is as she does, won't you slump on over and stir my shuffle down, for once devotion is enough, but the walk you whittle: another dream, another drink." We're now just into song three. "A Goodbye Rye" is that last night with the one you loved. Or maybe still love. But it's your last. The pacing of the record is simply gorgeous. "4am," which falls just past the midway point, could very well be Buckner's best song. We've all been inside this song. The record closes seemingly below the stars on "Song of 27." "Well, I may be miles a away from her, with years that pass without a word, I've never seen a moon so high, her name hangs down from there tonight." And a few stunning minutes later, it goes quiet.

One year later brought Since, Buckner's "rock" record. Taking pieces of "A Goodbye Rye," songs such as "Jewelbomb" and "Believer" reveal a tougher side of Buckner. But he always falls back into the beauty of the writing and the slow pacing. "Lucky Buzz" and "10-Day Room" are vintage Buckner, while "Slept" would have fit nicely on Bloomed. Altogether, a near-perfect third record.

2000s The Hill was my top record of that year. Recorded as just one song, The Hill is 35 straight minutes of songs from the grave. Taken from stories inside of Edgar Lee Masters' 1915 collection The Spoon River Anthology, aside from the one-track concept, it's another gem. This is the Buckner record that I imagine Townes would've truly loved, but he missed it by three years.

Buckner has released three records since 2001, the highlight being 2006's Meadow. After two sub-Buckner releases, Meadow doesn't match the first four, but made clear that Buckner still has songs scraping to get out. Aside from a Daytrotter session and a handful of shows, there's been nothing from Buckner over the past five years. There have been rumors via Merge of a new record, but Buckner's current involvement in music remains unknown. Whether there's more or he's decided to let it all rest, Richard Buckner's mark on music, writing and poetry can not be overstated.

With the chill a little heat could kill on sight

Where are you tonight

Wasted and well spent

Taken and once wrecked

Oh, you're better than this and that

I thought I was cured of any last chance

Unfastened and floored

Now all I want is just a little nothing more