[edit] Jeff Buckley: Grace

Columbia Records

U.K./Europe release date: August 15, 1994 U.S. release date: August 23, 1994 Japan release date: September 1, 1994 Australia release date: September 19, 1994

Track list:

Mojo Pin (Buckley/G. Lucas) 5:41 Grace (J. Buckley/G. Lucas) 5:21 Last Goodbye (J. Buckley) 4:33 Lilac Wine (J. Shelton) 4:31 So Real (J. Buckley/M. Tighe) 4:41 Hallelujah (L. Cohen) 6:52 Lover, You Should've Come Over (J. Buckley) 6:42 Corpus Christi Carol (B. Britten) 2:56 Eternal Life (J. Buckley) 4:52 Dream Brother (J. Buckley/M. Grondahl/M. Johnson) 5:26

total time: 51:49

To even attempt to put into words the importance and brilliance of ‘Grace’ seems only to fail to do justice to the album and the artist, but if words don’t do justice how can we review. I will try.

Every track on this album is a belter, I could dress the facts up in as much poetic speech and eloquent language, but the term belter seems fine for now.

The album’s only possible flaw is in the cover version of ‘corpus Christie carol’, and that is only for its deviance from the other tracks on the album. But even then we are shown the purity of Jeff’s voice and the emotion he can put into any song, even those he has not wrote. The fact that, alongside being a songwriting genius and musical phenomenon, he is simply one of the best singers ever to be recorded, shines through on this album. Songs penned by other writers such as ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘Lilac Wine’ take on a whole new feeling and poignancy when Jeff allows his falsetto to take off.

Jeff’s own songs simply put the listener into a whole other world. I think it is fair to say that the emotions hammered through in songs such as ‘Lover you should have come over’, ‘Last Goodbye’ and ‘Eternal life’ are basically unmatched since their release. The poetry and feeling in these songs, in my opinion, have yet to be matched by any artist I’ve heard since. Jeff is not simply a poetic escapist or a theatrical writer, he bases all of his fantastical feelings and poetic terms in real life, highlighting the imagination and awareness of a musician coming into his own.

The lyrics on ‘mojo pin’ and ‘Dream Brother’ are haunting, and brilliant at the same time. Honestly, I could go on about the guy all day. The only problem some people may have is perhaps seeing him as egotistical or as a show off, but if you’ve ever seen interviews of him you’ll see he was very introverted and just allowed his music to let itself go. Another possible problem for some is the fact that a few of the songs he didn’t write. I totally understand this but he performed them like no-one else, and in my opinion surpasses the original in every case. Although Hallelujah, the original is possibly just as good.

The title track ‘Grace’ is one of the most beautifully arranged songs of all time, in my opinion, and a must for guitar fans. It highlights the fact that, despite all the hype about Buckley’s voice and lyrics and personality, at the root of it all lay a genius who took guitar playing to new levels(if you get the chance watch the video of him playing ‘satisfied mind’ and you’ll see what I mean, mixing complex arpeggios and amazing blues riffs to make a tragically beautiful song, even though I don’t think he wrote it). I put it forward that without Jeff Buckley’s innovation, imagination and vocal abilities, we wouldn’t have such self-indulgant acts as Radiohead and Muse today.

Every track on this album is just pure stunning talent, in every sense of the word. The more I try to put into words how important this album is the more I feel I’m not doing it justice. The arrangements, skills and emotions on this album are so beautifully put together and illustrated that this is a must for any music lover.

Personel:

Produced, engineered, & mixed by Andy Wallace, with the exception of "So Real", which was produced by Jeff Buckley, engineered by Clif Norrell, & mixed by Andy Wallace. Jeff Buckley: voice, guitars, organ, dulcimer, additional tabla on "Dream Brother" Mick Grondahl: bass Matt Johnson: drums, percussion, vibes on "Dream Brother" Michael Tighe: guitar on "So Real" Gary Lucas: magicalguitarness on "Mojo Pin" & "Grace" Loris Holland: organ on "Lover, You Should've Come Over" Misha Masud: tabla on "Dream Brother" Karl Berger: string arrangements

[edit] Jeff Buckley: Grace

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