| Grace | 1994 |
| Sketches (For My Sweetheart The Drunk) | 1998 |
| Mystery White Boy (live) | 2000 |
A tremendously talented singer-songwriter with a voice thought of as either absolutely beautiful, affecting and priceless or one that many despise. Whether or not you love or hate Jeff Buckley kinda depends on this, but he was undoubtedly a first-rate songwriter with a nice sense of melody, a very understated, technically great guitarist, and a phenomenal and emotional lyricist. His only real full length studio album, Grace, is a towering and eclectic collection that I consider one of the greatest albums of the decade, and one that only now is really getting the appreciation it deserves, a few years after his tragic drowning death in May of 1997.
Even his unfinished songs and leftovers collection Sketches (For My Sweetheart The Drunk) contains a great deal of priceless, creative, diverse and astonishing moments, as does the posthumous live release Mystery White Boy, leaving one to wonder what he could have accomplished afterwards. As it stands, though, Jeff Buckley is surely among my favorite musicians
--Nick Karn
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Jeff Buckley's debut album Grace is one that has very real emotional and beautiful power to it. From the very beginning of the album there is true evidence that Buckley is a one-of-a-kind musical talent, not only in his amazing lyrics and soaring vocals, but there's also quite a few tunes like the opening "Mojo Pin" (with twisting guitar and an atmosphere moving from soft and heavenly to heavy and intense) and the heartbreaking album highlight "Last Goodbye" (which was a minor hit single, that can truly take your breath away with its' atmosphere and emotion -- the song also features a great bassline) that can give even the most experienced of aspiring guitarists' fits.
Buckley really hits the mark here with an astounding but prophetic title track, "So Real" (with lyrics like "I'm not afraid to die", it's sadly apparent), which soars to the maximum and boasts excellent vocal range, the hard and aggressive rocking hopeful tune "Eternal Life", and the incredible gripping, dark and unsettling closer "Dream Brother" (the atmospheric guitar is unparalleled, and is perhaps one of the ultimate songs to listen to alone in the dark with only a candle lighting the room).
Of course, it doesn't stop there. There's also the very intimate and haunting cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (stripped down to only the guitar and vocals, and a huge improvement over the monotonous vocals of the original, so it's a song perfectly suited for Buckley). The amazing epic "Lover, You Should've Come Over" is also a stunner -- with more sadly prophetic moments within the lyrics ('as my shoes fill up with water') and the somber "funeral organ" intro. The song's acoustic vibe and breathtaking chorus make it a huge highlight.
The only songs that keep this album from achieving classic status in my mind are the other two (out of three) cover versions -- "Lilac Wine" is a little too soft and doesn't do too much for me, and when his vocals become almost "choirboy" on "Corpus Christi Carol", it makes me cringe somewhat. No doubt in my mind that this is a stunning debut besides those tracks, though, as Grace is an absolute essential.
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COMMENTS
[email protected] (Jacob Polwarth)
I agree utterly with the reviewers comments. Grace by Buckley is perhaps my favorite album of the latter half of the 90's, which was unfortunately cluttered with insincere and uninspiring artists. Putting this album on however gives one the chance to just close your eyes and listen, often you find yourself at the end of the album not expecting to listen to the whole thing, but you did not have the willpower to stop the greatness.
As for lowpoints, i agree that Corpus Christi Carol is slightly out of place and jarring, but i find lilac wine to be very good song, albiet a little slower than other efforts on the album, however it stills tops 90% of the songs out there.
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Sketches basically serves as a double disc compilation of tracks Jeff Buckley was working on at the time of his death, and is a great final chapter to the legacy he left behind. The first disc of nearly finished Tom Verlaine-produced songs that apparently were to be thrown out by Buckley, as he felt they didn't live up to the standard of his debut Grace. It's very hard to see why he wanted to get rid of these songs, as they are all basically first-rate tunes that flow together very nicely, and showcase his diversity and creativity in an effective fashion.
Buckley appears angry and bitter on Disc One's opening track "The Sky Is A Landfill" (with very convincing guitar and vocals), but the next song is dramatically different from the opener -- a nice, relaxing, lounge-ish tune "Everybody Here Wants You", which has a nice bridge. "Opened Once" is another one of his more stripped down tunes with a brilliant, incredibly melodic, and heartfelt chorus that stands out as the best tune from Sketches, and arguably his finest moment.
More great highlights appear later in the first disc, including the spine chilling "You And I" (featuring only his vocals with background reverb), that is positively haunting and unsettling, "Nightmares By The Sea" (another song on the darker side that moves nicely, especially in the chorus), "Morning Theft" (heartbreaking and emotional magic that's something special), the atmospheric "New Year's Prayer" and another first-rate cover version in "Yard Of Blonde Girls".
Disc two is composed of demo-quality songs recorded in his home studio (the songs, as the liner notes say, "he had all down black and white, but just needed the band to supply the colors"). Unfortunately, a few of them are so patchy-sounding and unfinished that they're unlistenable, like "Demon John", "Murder Suicide Meteor Slave", and the unexpected cover of the Genesis tune "Back In NYC".
However, there are even brilliant highlights featured on this half of the collection, as the raunchy "Your Flesh Is So Nice" has an awesome and catchy riff (and with the nasty lyrics, it's quite unlike anything he's ever done), the acoustic "Jewel Box" (with some beautiful lyrics like "you left some stars in my belly"), the ambitious sounding "I Know We Could Be So Happy Baby (If We Wanted To Be)", which has more great standout guitar and typically great poetic lyrics ('I'm not with you, but of you'), are among his best. Also noteworthy is the disc's closer, an early, poignant, and touching cover version "Satisfied Mind", which was played at his funeral.
Overall, this collection is surely worth buying even for those who aren't the most devoted of Jeff Buckley fans, as there are a great deal of brilliant moments that are highlights of his career. I'd say disc one is actually more consistent, enjoyable, and powerful than Grace in my opinion and merits a 10, while the raw, unfinished, and sometimes unlistenable disc two gets a 6 -- hence the rating overall.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
This is another posthumous release, this time a live released with the songs taken from good quality soundboard recordings on his 1995-96 supporting tour for Grace, which is where this album get its' name. You may rightly ask what the point would be for owning a live effort from someone who only released one proper studio album, but Mystery White Boy is an absolutely essential release for anyone who is even casually interested in Jeff Buckley for several reasons. Seven of the ten Grace songs appear here, but they are definitely not by the book renditions - plus, at best the songs blow away the studio counterparts, and at the very least they closely rival the original in quality. There's also the added attraction of three previously unreleased originals, and three new cover versions, which are for the most part every bit as good as the album songs.
The collection opens with one of the most stellar performances here, as the haunting "Dream Brother" is made even more powerful with an extended, almost progressive and flowing, intro of great guitar lines and an utterly amazing showcase of high notes following the first verse. "I Woke Up In A Strange Place", meanwhile, is the first non-album Buckley original here, and is a fantastic rocker that would have felt right at home on Grace, while "Mojo Pin" features more essential vocal dramatics and has an explosive ending. Even "Lilac Wine", which in its' original form I don't quite care for, has vocals that tread more toward beautiful than sappy here.
The next unreleased original is "What Will You Say", which features a magnificent, mesmerizing chord progression that's quite repetitive but never feels overlong or unexciting for a second, being a perfect counterpoint to the slide guitar intro that begins the majesty of the classic ballad "Last Goodbye". It's the closest thing you get to a song that sounds similar to its' album counterpart, though, and the next Grace tune "Eternal Life" is totally altered into an angry punk/metal song full of riff-heavy feedback and startling screams near the end, giving it a totally new perspective. "Grace" also borders on improvement to the original, as its' pre-verse guitar part is arguably more powerful than the original, especially with the electric guitar backing.
The third new Buckley original "Moodswing Whiskey" is quite compelling as well, made even more interesting by its' 'stumbling' nature just before the chorus. It's followed by the first unreleased cover of "The Man That Got Away", which I'm not too much of a fan of at all, but it's also the only track under 4 minutes on this 78 minute affair, so it hardly dents the album, especially when it's followed by an over 9 minute rendition of Alex Chilton's "Kanga Roo", which is a candidate for the best Buckley performance ever, and believe me, that's saying something, as combining those startlingly majestic riffs and the punkish guitar burst near the end with his amazing range really makes for something truly special.
Finally, the last performance featured here is a medley of two more covers, his celebrated version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (one of the Grace highlights) and "I Know It's Over", which beautifully captures Buckley in its' intimacy. That's certainly not the only thing Mystery White Boy captures, as this has got to be one of the greatest live albums of all time as far as I'm concerned, even if it isn't one continuous show (although it does a great job of giving that illusion) as his amazing gift for reinventing songs on stage makes a set of already fabulous songs come alive even more, and in my mind cements his reputation as one of the greatest vocalists in rock history, certainly one of the more gifted, eclectic songwriters as well.
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[email protected] (ra.screech)
i read your review of jeff buckleys live album, and was brought extreme satisfaction. i have been a fan for over a year now, and he has only become more interesting and intense to listen to. i started with grace and loved it straight away. so real does have to be one of the greatest songs with that soaring ending. but mystery white boy in the past few weeks i have just loved, although i brought it long ago. kangaroo is by far the highlight of jeff buckley and will remain one of my favourite songs of all time (Big Stars version is also "Phat"). anyhowdedoo, the guy is a fantastic musician and lyricist and will remain one of the greatest musical influences for me at least. yeah this email is very sloppy but i just had to agree with your reviews, he is the man.