#lover you should’ve come over live at sin é

[weepwhileweriot]

[sayingyournames]

who else up thinking about ‘lover, you should’ve come over’ specifically the live at sin-é, new york ny july/august 1993 version?

[maditalksmusic]

An Analysis of Jeff Buckley's Grace (1994)

I still remember vividly the first time I listened to Jeff Buckley’s “Lover, You Should've Come Over". It was a rainy winter evening in 2021, and I was in a bit of a music rut. Everything I’d been listening to on repeat for the last month or two had become annoyingly redundant, and in a rather torpid attempt to reinvigorate my consumption of music, I decided to put my Spotify-generated “Discover Weekly” playlist. A few songs went by that, weren’t bad per se, but certainly weren’t all that memorable. When that opening harmonium passage graced my ears, chills washed over me. I stopped my Pinterest scroll, turned up the volume, then laid back in bed and just listened. Six and a half minutes later, I found myself uncontrollably weeping. To this day, “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” is still my favorite song ever made. 

Jeff Buckley’s charm lies in the fact that, as it was best said by Dominique Leone in her 2004 review of Grace for Pitchfork, he was “a songbird, like the kind that used to receive roses and blown kisses from the debutantes in the balcony after performances.” While technically classified under the extremely broad umbrella that is rock music, Buckley effortlessly blurs the lines of genre on Grace. He incorporates a myriad of sounds characteristic of not only rock, but also jazz, blues, and folk. He got his start in Los Angeles and then moved to New York City and joined guitarist Gary Lucas’ band, Gods & Monsters, prior to entering a record deal as a solo artist. Buckley performed at cafés at tiny venues around Lower Manhattan through 1992 and 1993, most frequently at Sin-é, which inspired the release of his debut solo EP, Live at Sin-é, in 1993. A standout from the EP is “Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin”, which translates to “I do not know the end” is a sort of cover of the original Edith Piaf song, loosely translated to English from the French lyrics. 

Released in August of 1994, Grace is Jeff Buckley’s first and only complete studio album. Since his tragic passing on May 29, 1997, songs from projects titled Sketches for My Sweetheart The Drunk and You and I were released posthumously in 1998 and 2016, respectively. The original version of Grace, distributed by Columbia Records, features ten tracks. However, in 2004, Columbia decided to re-release a “legacy edition” of the album, featuring an eleventh track, "Forget Her", that was never intended to be released. The ethics of that decision are still heavily debated, as Buckley himself stated that he despised the song and did not want it on the album, despite Columbia’s original attempts to convince him to release the track. 

Grace opens with the hauntingly fervent track "Mojo Pin", inspired by a dream of Buckley’s. It’s title is a euphemism for an almost overwhelming sort of addiction to someone, to a point where you have to have them. The term “mojo” originated in the Southern United States in the 1920s, adapted from the Gullah word “moco”, referring to magic, and came to be used as slang for heroin and other drugs in the 1960s. I don’t think this track would have functioned nearly as well anywhere else in the album - it starts off softly, reaching a desperate crescendo by the end of song as Buckley lets his vocals soar with the repetition of “Black beauty, I love you so,” in tandem with an intense snare finish, driving in the sheer emotional power that is held through the duration of the album. 

Following “Mojo Pin” is the album’s title track, "Grace", which sounds completely different, yet still manages to encapsulate the same wretched yet hopeful yearning that is interwoven throughout the whole album. “Grace” was inspired by Buckley’s experience saying goodbye to his girlfriend at the airport. It explores the interplay between the struggle with the passing of time and the ways that love can carry a person through those difficulties. As Buckley croons “it’s my time coming, I’m not afraid / Afraid to die” in the first verse, it’s easy to see death as a sort of beautiful conclusion instead of a violent end. Listening to Grace very closely resembles a religious experience, at least for me. The cover of Leonard Cohen's 1984 "Hallelujah"  featured on the album brings this sentiment to a very literal level. While it isn’t my favorite song on the album, Buckley’s cover is the most beautiful rendition I’ve heard. It remains one of his most popular songs and for many, is a gateway into his music. 

Interestingly, three covers are featured on Grace. “Hallelujah” is known by the vast majority of listeners to be a cover, however "Lilac Wine" was composed by James Shelton in 1950 for the musical Dance Me A Song and "Corpus Christi Carol" is an English hymn written in the sixteenth century. Buckley’s version of “Corpus Christi Carol” is based specifically on an arrangement by Benjamin Britten. Both “Lilac Wine” and “Corpus Christi Carol” have become closely associated with Jeff Buckley as his personal sound still shines brightly through both songs, his unmistakable voice working beautifully with any variety of instrumentation. 

The juxtaposition of “Hallelujah” and “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” immediately next to each other in the track list is a very clever sort of storytelling. Buckley’s cover of “Hallelujah” differs from others in that it doesn’t feel nearly as hymnal. The production is incredibly minimal, putting the width of Buckley’s vocal range on full display. It doesn’t feel like a church service so much as it is akin to finding yourself alone in a cathedral, reaching out from the depths of your soul to bathe yourself in the elusive notion of God’s love. It’s almost as if the music is trying to achieve some sort of salvation before it plunges into the heartbreaking ballad that is “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over”, a song that begs for forgiveness at the cost of mind, body, and soul. Much of Grace has its roots in Jeff Buckley’s relationship with Rebecca Moore, with some even considering her to be his muse. However, “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” is most specifically about the end of their relationship. The track holds some of Buckley’s strongest songwriting, and quite frankly some of the best in history. “All my blood for the sweetness of her laughter” and “She’s the tear that hangs inside my soul forever” are some of my favorite lyrics out there. It’s a particularly gorgeous song on the record, but live, even if only seen through a decades-old recording, is soul-crushing. The performance Buckley did for JBTV Chicago in November of 1994 is forever seared into my mind. 

The conclusion of Grace has become a rather controversial topic due to the 2004 addition of “Forget Her” with the release of the Legacy Edition by Columbia Records. I enjoy the song independently, but I never listen to it as a part of the album. If  it was added at an earlier point in the tracklist it could debatably work, either between "Last Goodbye"  and “Lilac Wine” or between "So Real" and “Hallelujah”, though I believe Jeff Buckley’s original thought process on keeping it off the album was absolutely sound. The final two tracks, "Eternal Life" and "Dream Brother" on the other hand, tie up the album perfectly. 

“Eternal Life” is the ‘heaviest’ song on the album instrumentally, more aligned with a traditional rock song than anything else on Grace. It stands out considerably from the sounds on the rest of the album, even while those sounds are so wonderfully varied, but it does so well. Departing from the more autobiographical lyrics of many of the songs on the album, “Eternal Life” is focused on the struggles of being human, written as a product of Buckley’s anger, according to Genius over world events such as the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, World War II, killings in Guyana, and more. It’s an expression of an anger shared by many at the time of its release, and an anger that many people today continue to feel as we see the horrendous effects of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and feel the stress of the upcoming presidential election. “Dream Brother” is an ideal conclusion to Grace. The song serves as a warning in a sense, inspired by one of Buckley’s friends who left a pregnant girlfriend, telling him not to be like “the one who made me so old”, referencing his father, Tim Buckley, who only met his own son once and died of a drug overdose at 28. “Dream Brother” can serve as a reminder to us all to be accountable for our actions and allow ourselves to fully experience our emotions. 

The constant sense of raw and unbridled emotional vulnerability is what makes Grace what it is. I always do my best creative work after listening to some Buckley, because he’s an artist that can open you up and force you to dig into the depths of your psyche by means of song. That emotional vulnerability is the driving force behind Jeff Buckley’s ability to craft such enchantingly gut-wrenching music, and ultimately that is what every listener can take away from Grace. 

[hella1975]

and what’s stopping me from getting in a car and blasting lover you should’ve come over by jeff buckley 9 minute version live at sin-é new york NY july/august 1993 and driving 80mph into a tree killing me instantly

[foldback]

Jeff Buckley - “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over”

I don’t know what else to say about this song or this guy or whatever. Sometimes the words don’t come, and sometimes they aren’t necessary.

[berezina]

Lover, You Should’ve Come Over (1993) (Jeff Buckley) [buy]

[sweetdreamsjeff]

Voice Type: Tenor Vocal Range: G2 - C6

Significant High Notes C6 ("Monologue - False Start, Apology, Miles Davis" Live at Sin-é 1993) B5 ("Dream Brother" Live À L'Olympia 1995, "Grace" Live at the Palais Theatre, Melbourne 1996, "Kanga Roo" Live at the Roskilde Festival 1995) B♭5 ("Monologue - False Start, Apology, Miles Davis" Live at Sin-é 1993) A5 ("Grace" Live À L'Olympia 1995, "Jolly Street", "Kanga-Roo" Live at the Phoenician Theatre, Sydney 1995, "The Way Young Lovers Do" Live at Sin-é 1993) G♯5 ("Let's Bomb the Moonlight", "The Way Young Lovers Do" Live at Sin-é 1993) G5 ("Dink's Song" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Dream Brother" Live À L'Olympia 1995, "Grace", "Jolly Street", "Mojo Pin" Live at Cabaret Metro 1995, "Sefronia: The King's Chain" Live at Greetings from Tim Buckley 1991, "Sweet Thing" Live at Sin-é 1993, "What Will You Say" Live at the Theatre de Fourvière, Lyon 1995) F♯5 ("Be Your Husband" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Last Goodbye" Live at L'Olympia, Paris 1995, "Lover, You Should've Come Over" Live À L'Olympia 1995, "Night Flight", "So Real", "That's All I Ask" Live À L'Olympia 1995, "Yeh Jo Halka Halka Saroor Hai" Live at Sin-é 1993) F5 ("Cruel" Live at the Knitting Factory 22/03/1992, "Dream Brother" Live at Club Logo, Hamburg 1995, "When the Levee Breaks") E5 ("Corpus Christi Carol", "Dink's Song" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Eternal Life", "Everybody Here Wants You", "Forget Her", "Grace", "Hallelujah" Live À L'Olympia 1995, "How Long Will It Take", "I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain" Live at Greetings from Tim Buckley 1991, "Ivo" Live New York 18/12/1993, "Kick Out the Jams" Grace Legacy Edition live performance, "Let's Bomb the Moonlight", "Lover, You Should've Come Over", "Mojo Pin" Live at the Theatre de Fourvière, Lyon 1995, "Murder Suicide Meteor Slave", "So Real", "Sweet Thing" Live at Sin-é 1993, "That's All I Ask" Live À L'Olympia 1995, "Yeh Jo Halka Halka Saroor Hai" Live at Sin-é 1993) E♭5 ("Alligator Wine", "Be Your Husband" Live at Sin-é 1993, "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side", "Gunshot Glitter", "I Shall Be Released" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Monologue - Musical Chairs" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Night Flight", "Nightmares by the Sea", "Satisfied Mind", "The Way Young Lovers Do" Live at Sin-é 1993) D5 ("Back in N.Y.C.", "Be Your Husband" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Corpus Christi Carol", "Dream Brother" Live at Club Logo, Hamburg 1995, "Drown in My Own Tears" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Everyday People", "Forget Her", "Hymne à l'amour", "I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain" Live at Greetings from Tim Buckley 1991, "Jolly Street", "Kanga-Roo", "Kashmir" Live À L'Olympia 1995, "Last Goodbye", "Lilac Wine" Live À L'Olympia 1995, "Mojo Pin", "Murder Suicide Meteor Slave", "New Year's Prayer", "Nightmares by the Sea", "Satisfied Mind", "Sefronia: The King's Chain" Live at Greetings from Tim Buckley 1991, "So Real", "Vancouver", "What Will You Say" Live at the Theatre de Fourvière, Lyon 1995, "Witches' Rave", "Your Flesh is So Nice") C♯5 ("Calling You" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Demon John", "Dink's Song" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Gunshot Glitter", "Harem Man", "Haven't You Heard", "I Shall Be Released" Live at Sin-é 1993, "I Want Someone Badly", "Just Like a Woman", "Kick Out the Jams" Grace Legacy Edition live performance, "Night Flight", "Strange Fruit" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Strawberry Street", "Sweet Thing" Live at Sin-é 1993, "The Way Young Lovers Do" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Your Flesh is So Nice") C5 ("All Flowers in Time Bend Towards The Sun", "Back in N.Y.C.", "Calling You", "Catnip Dream" Live at the Great American Music Hall, CA 04/05/1995, "Corpus Christi Carol", "Cruel" Live at the Knitting Factory 22/03/1992, "Dream Brother" Live in Chicago 1995, "Eternal Life", "Everybody Here Wants You", "Forget Her", "Grace", "Gunshot Glitter", "How Long Will It Take", "Hallelujah" Live À L'Olympia 1995, "Hymne à l'amour", "If You Knew" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Last Goodbye", "Lilac Wine" Live at the Palais Theatre, Melbourne 1996, "Lover, You Should've Come Over", "Malign Fiesta (No Soul)" Live at the Knitting Factory 22/03/1992, "Mojo Pin", "Satisfied Mind", "Vancouver", "When the Levee Breaks", "Witches' Rave") B4 ("All Flowers in Time Bend Towards The Sun", "Back in N.Y.C.", "Dink's Song" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Dream Brother", "Everyday People", "Haven't You Heard", "I Know We Could Be So Happy Baby (If We Wanted to Be)", "I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain" Live at Greetings from Tim Buckley 1991, "I Woke Up in a Strange Place" Live at the Palais Theatre, Melbourne 1996, "If You See Her, Say Hello" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Just Like a Woman", "Last Goodbye", "Let's Bomb the Moonlight", "Lilac Wine" Live at the Palais Theatre, Melbourne 1996, "Lover, You Should've Come Over", "Malign Fiesta (No Soul)" Live at the Knitting Factory 22/03/1992, "The Man That Got Away" Live at the Great American Music Hall, CA 1995, "Mojo Pin", "Monologue - I'm a Ridiculous Person" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Moodswing Whiskey" Live at the Palais Theatre, Melbourne 1996, "Murder Suicide Meteor Slave", "New Year's Prayer", "The Other Woman", "Peace Offering", "The Sky is a Landfill", "That's All I Ask" Live À L'Olympia 1995, "What Will You Say" Live at the Theatre de Fourvière, Lyon 1995, "Yard of Blonde Girls", "Yeh Jo Halka Halka Saroor Hai" Live at Sin-é 1993) B♭4 ("Alligator Wine", "Calling You", "Drown in My Own Tears" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Gunshot Glitter", "Hallelujah" Live at Sin-é 1993, "I Know It's Over", "I Want Someone Badly", "The Man That Got Away" Live at the Great American Music Hall, CA 1995, "Monologue - Musical Chairs" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Morning Theft", "Parchman Farm Blues/Preachin' Blues", "Sefronia: The King's Chain" Live at Greetings from Tim Buckley 1991, "Sweet Thing" Live at Sin-é 1993, "The Twelfth of Never" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Witches' Rave") A4 ("Be Your Husband" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Beneath the Southern Cross", "Cruel" Live at the Knitting Factory 22/03/1992, "Eternal Life", "Everybody Here Wants You", "Everyday People", "Faith Salons", "Grace", "Harem Man", "Haven't You Heard", "How Long Will It Take", "Hymne à l'amour", "I Know We Could Be So Happy Baby (If We Wanted to Be)", "I Shall Be Released" Live at Sin-é 1993, "I Woke Up in a Strange Place" Live at the Palais Theatre, Melbourne 1996, "Ivo" Live New York 18/12/1993, "Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Just Like a Woman", "Malign Fiesta (No Soul)" Live at the Knitting Factory 22/03/1992, "Mama, You've Been on My Mind", "Moodswing Whiskey" Live at the Palais Theatre, Melbourne 1996, "Murder Suicide Meteor Slave", "Once I Was" Live at Greetings from Tim Buckley 1991, "Once Opened", "Satisfied Mind", "She is Free", "Song to No One", "Strawberry Street", "Thousand Fold", "Vancouver", "The Way Young Lovers Do" Live at Sin-é 1993, "You & I")

Significant Low Notes F3 ("Calling You", "Mama, You've Been on My Mind", "Monologue - Reverb, The Doors" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Morning Theft", "River of Dope", "The Twelfth of Never" Live at Sin-é 1993, "When the Levee Breaks") E3 ("All Flowers in Time Bend Towards The Sun", "Calling You", "Dink's Song" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'", "Eternal Life", "Forget Her", "Hallelujah", "Harem Man", "If You See Her, Say Hello" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Just Like a Woman", "Lost Highway", "New Year's Prayer", "Nightmares by the Sea", "Once Opened", "Parchman Farm Blues/Preachin' Blues", "Satisfied Mind" Live at the Knitting Factory 22/03/1992, "Song to No One", "Sweet Thing" Live at Sin-é 1993, "What Will You Say" Live at the Theatre de Fourvière, Lyon 1995, "Yard of Blonde Girls", "You & I") E♭3 ("Be Your Husband" Live at Sin-é 1993, "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side", "Grace", "I Know It's Over", "I Want Someone Badly", "If You Knew" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Night Flight", "The Other Woman", "Poor Boy Long Way from Home", "Untitled Track" AKA The Man I Am, "The Way Young Lovers Do" Live at Sin-é 1993) D3 ("Demon John", "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'", "Dream Brother", "Everyday People", "Faith Salons", "Grace", "I Know We Could Be So Happy Baby (If We Wanted to Be)", "I Woke Up in a Strange Place" Live at the Palais Theatre, Melbourne 1996, "Jolly Street", "Last Goodbye", "Lilac Wine", "Lost Highway", "Lover, You Should've Come Over", "Mama, You've Been on My Mind", "Murder Suicide Meteor Slave", "Once I Was" Live at Greetings from Tim Buckley 1991, "Peace Offering", "River of Dope", "Sefronia: The King's Chain" Live at Greetings from Tim Buckley 1991, "She is Free", "The Sky is a Landfill", "So Real", "That's All I Ask" Live À L'Olympia 1995) C♯3 ("Calling You" Live at Sin-é 1993, "Eternal Life" Live at the Palais Theatre, Melbourne 1996, "Jewel Box", "Just Like a Woman", "New Year's Prayer", "The Other Woman", "Parchman Farm Blues/Preachin' Blues", "Strange Fruit" Live at Sin-é 1993, "The Way Young Lovers Do" Live at Sin-é 1993, "You & I", "Your Flesh is So Nice") C3 ("Edna Frau" Live at Selina's by the Sea, Sydney 01/03/1996, "Hallelujah", "I Know It's Over", "Jewel Box", "Mojo Pin", "Morning Theft", "Nightmares by the Sea", "The Way Young Lovers Do" Live at Sin-é 1993) B2 ("Everyday People", "Hallelujah" Live À L'Olympia 1995, "Haven't You Heard", "Moodswing Whiskey" Live at the Palais Theatre, Melbourne 1996, "Song to No One", "Thousand Fold") B♭2 ("Demon John", "Lover, You Should've Come Over" Live at Sin-é 1993) A2 ("Thousand Fold", "You & I") G2 ("Dream Brother" Live in Chicago 1995) ....................................................... Blue marks falsetto or whistle notes. Underlines mark notes that are obscured in the song mix. Italics mark non-melodic notes. Boldface marks notes that are considered to be particularly notable examples of this person's vocal capabilities. The story of Jeff Buckley is one of tragic irony. The son of a folk cult legend whose life was tragically cut short, Tim Buckley, Jeff Buckley began his career humbly, very much in the shadow of his father. He gained interest playing cover songs in cafes, eventually being picked up by a label and encouraged to work on his own material. Sadly, Buckley only released one lone studio album, the now legendary "Grace", before his life was also prematurely ended much like his father's, while swimming in the Wolf River Harbour. Buckley has gone on to achieve world renown posthumously, in addition to the aforementioned "Grace", which is frequently listed in publication's "greatest albums of all time", Buckley is also well known for his rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", probably more so than Cohen himself. which is fair enough, since Buckley's version is way fucking better Jeff Buckley's voice was light and ethereal, a high-placed tenor with exceptional agility. While his lower register wasn't the strongest and fairly unreliable in the 2nd octave, his timbrel quality becomes more important, his softness eliciting poignancy in his more sentimental songs. His upper register is known for his androgynous, agile falsetto and powerful, expansive chest/head/whatever voice, which varied from clean to an intentional glottal rasp typical of the grunge scene of the early 90s.

ALBUM RANGES:

*Note: albums listed by recording date, a majority of these were released posthumously (1991) Songs to No One 1991-1992 - (B2 - F5) (1993) You & I - (B♭2 - F♯5) The B♭2 is in "Dreaming of You & I" (1993) Live at Sin-é (Legacy Edition) - (B♭2 - C6) Live recordings from 19/07 and 17/08 1993 (1994) Grace - (C3 - G5) (1995) Mystery White Boy - (B2 - B5) Live recordings from 1995-1996 (1995) Live À L'Olympia - (C3 - B5) Live recordings from 6-7 of July 1995 (1996) Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk - (A2 - E5)

QUESTIONABLE NOTES:

Personal best: passage sustained primarily on E4 in "Hallelujah" for 24 seconds "I dunno who wrote that but *clears throat* you know, It's Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'" F♯6 ("Despite the Tears" Interview on Triple J 1995, [5]) E♭6 ("Gunshot Glitter" [5]) C6 ("Alligator Wine" [1]) B5 ("The Way Young Lovers Do" Live at Sin-é 1993, [1]) A5 ("Let's Bomb the Moonlight" [5]) G♯2 ("Dreaming of You & I" [5]) G2 ("Song to No One" [1]) A1 (Cannibal Corpse impression Unspecified live performance, [5]) G1 ("Back in N.Y.C." [5]). ....................................................... [1] marks yelps and short trills in high range or anacrusis and short dips in low range. [2] marks notes of questionable identity that cannot be confirmed to be the singer in question. [3] marks non-melodic notes that don't have a significant enough pitch to warrant inclusion. [4] marks notes that possess uncertain pitch or have been pitch-shifted. [5] marks notes that do not fit the previous criteria but are not of a substantial enough quality to warrant counting towards the singer's range.

[100albumcountdown]

48. Jeff Buckley - Grace (1994)

The legend of Grace is so dyed into the fabric of the album that it’s difficult to separate the music from the mythology. Being the gifted but forgotten son of the mercurial folk artist Tim Buckley, releasing one single album of striking vision and influence, before drowning in a tragic accident and leaving the world to ask what else he may have achieved had he lived. This story is so well known and so etched into the popular understanding of Jeff Buckley that it almost overshadows what an achievement this album really is. The story suggests an inherited talent and an individual moment of musical genius that struck in the form of an album, but this isn’t really the case. Buckley clearly inherited plenty of his father’s talent and skills, but he also learned a sensitivity and temperament from his mother that stood him in good stead, he worked hard at his guitar playing and became a very accomplished player, he formed a solid band and toured relentlessly to build a following and forge new material. He was also a huge music fan himself – his love of Led Zeppelin is well known, but he also loved world music and poetry, incorporating many varied influences into his own music and working hard to use his fame to bring others to light. Grace itself isn’t a perfect album – it has many of the problems that quickly recorded debuts often suffer from – but its flaws actually add to its many charms. The strange flow, messy climaxes and overly simplistic production style are all part of the sound of a new talent emerging – his wild voice and dramatic song-writing held no pretence at all, and the three covers all presented here show off just how powerful his style and voice were even at such an early stage. It’s his cover of ‘Hallelujah’ that has become inescapable over time, elevating the song from Leonard Cohen’s brooding original to something elemental and fathoms deep. It’s no surprise in the years since that covering the song has become music industry shorthand for vocal prowess and blustering melodrama. Buckley’s version is superlative though, his gentle touch on the guitar and commanding voice taking the simple song to towering heights, and the stark dynamic shifts at the end are still breathtaking. There’s plenty more to love on this album than just covers though – ‘Last Goodbye’ and ‘Lover, You Should’ve Come Over’ are epic, sweeping pop songs, ‘Grace’ and ‘Eternal Life’ are soaring rockers, whilst ‘So Real’ and ‘Dream Brother’ show off an understanding of the kind of rich atmosphere and subtle textures that could’ve gone on to elevate his next album to even greater heights. As the tale states, we’ll never really know what could’ve come next, there are just demos and live performances to pick through for those who can’t get enough. But to have created such a timeless and inspired debut album with so much promise suggests he had no shortage of the talent, drive and vision required to continue improving for some time to come. As it stands, we’ll just have to keep listening to Grace each time another dreadful X-factor contestant decides to cover ‘Hallelujah’ again, just to remind us what raw, yearning talent really sounds like.

Also listen to: Live at Sin-é

[mosquitodecandeeiroderua]

Jeff Buckley: Memórias de um génio perdido

Falar de Jeff Buckley é falar de sensações. Dono de uma voz fora do comum e com reconhecidos dotes na composição, as suas músicas são uma mistura agridoce de emoções exacerbadas no tom melodioso da sua voz. Com uma curta carreira e com apenas um álbum de estúdio lançado, o mundo viu as águas do rio Wolf engolirem um dos maiores talentos do universo musical, há dezasseis anos atrás. E, é em nome dessa prematura e trágica perda que relembramos hoje o legado de Jeff Buckley.

Jeffrey Scott Buckley nasceu a 17 de novembro de 1966 e cedo decidiu que a música era o caminho a seguir. Fruto da controversa relação entre Mary Guibert e Tim Buckley, Jeff foi sempre conhecido por Scott Moorhead, em referência ao seu segundo nome e ao sobrenome do seu padrasto. Após a morte do pai, com quem esteve apenas uma vez aos 8 anos de idade, este passou a usar o seu verdadeiro nome.

As semelhanças com Tim Buckley são notórias e à partida as comparações com o mesmo seriam inevitáveis. As ideias pré concebidas que pudessem existir acerca da sua música levaram Jeff Buckley a dedicar-se inicialmente à guitarra, tendo mesmo aprofundado os estudos na Guitar Institute of Technology. Jeff namorava com a guitarra e a cumplicidade entre ambos ainda se sente no sussurrar de cada nota.

A carreira do cantor envolve-se numa espécie de catarse. Embora pareça irrisório, só quando foi convidado a participar no espectáculo de tributo ao pai Tim Buckley, intitulado “Greetings from Tim Buckley” em 1991, é que o músico decidiu revelar a sua voz e deixou os presentes perplexos com a atmosfera ali criada ao interpretar o tema “I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain”, música de Tim Buckley com referências a uma criança e à sua mãe. Jeff voltou depois a subir ao palco para mais três temas, “Sefronia – The King’s Chain”, “Phantasmagoria in Two” e terminou com “Once I Was”. E, se a ideia era distanciar-se musicalmente do seu pai, o impressionante desempenho no espectáculo tornou-se no empurrão para a carreira musical que se adivinhava. Mais tarde, o músico explica esse contra senso referindo-se ao evento e à sua actuação como uma homenagem ao pai com quem nunca teve a oportunidade de se relacionar. Não se tratava dele próprio, nem da sua música mas de questões pessoais.

Impressionado com a voz de Buckley ficou também Gary Lucas. Ambos começaram em colaborações que resultaram nas músicas “Grace” e “Mojo Pin” e de seguida o músico é convidado por Lucas a juntar-se aos Gods and Monsters, banda da qual pertencia. Para surpresa de todos e quando se preparava para o lançamento de um primeiro álbum, Jeff decide abandonar o projecto justificando que este o reduzia musicalmente.

Acompanhado apenas pela sua guitarra, o músico começa a apresentar-se ao vivo num café chamado “Sin-é”, o impacto foi grande e acabou por dar origem ao álbum “Live at Sin-é”. O contrato com a Columbia Records não se fez demorado e é desta forma que “Grace”, o seu primeiro e único álbum de estúdio começa a ganhar vida.

O álbum chegou às lojas em 1994 e ao longo dos anos tem vindo a ganhar o reconhecimento devido. “Grace” é até hoje aclamado pela crítica musical e Jeff foi ainda considerado a “gota cristalina num oceano de ruídos” dos anos 90. Jeff não era um menino de “modas” e como tal “Grace” não é um álbum passageiro, desses do momento. A poeira assentou e o tempo, aquela sábia e elucidativa conjunção entre a distância e a percepção, espelhou a transcendência de ambos.

A dor e a angústia, assim como a felicidade e ironicamente o sentido da vida ou a constante exploração das emoções e desse nobre sentimento que o cantor parecia carregar na sua essência, o amor, preenchem temas como “Eternal Life”, “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” ou “Last Goodbye”. Todo o trabalho acarreta uma carga emocional e introspectiva que nos aliena do materialismo mundano, faz-nos levitar com o poder da sua voz, numa envolvente e bela dança de sentidos que nos aquece a alma. Neste trabalho o músico dá ainda uma lavagem ao tema de Leonard Cohen, “Hallelujah”, tornando-o irresistível de se ouvir. “Lilac Wine” de James Shelton e mais conhecido pela voz de Nina Simone transformou-se num poderoso “arrepio na espinha”. “Grace” mantém-se fresco tantos anos depois e prosperou à morte do seu criador. Nas suas prestações ao vivo Buckley parecia abstrair-se de todos de forma a alcançar o verdadeiro sentido que cada música carrega.

Apesar de jovem e do crescente sucesso Jeff Buckley, que já se tinha mostrado convicto do seu papel no mundo da música, não se deixou corromper pelas exigências da indústria musical que pretendia um disco mais comercial e pouco trabalhoso para o ouvinte de forma a alcançar um mais vasto público. Mas ainda assim, o músico aquando do término das gravações dos novos temas decidiu não lançar o material por se sentir insatisfeito com o mesmo. De imediato começou a trabalhar em novos temas até maio de 1997 quando, e já com a banda reunida para as novas gravações, este desaparecia enquanto nadava. O corpo só foi encontrado uma semana mais tarde e trouxe aos mais cépticos a lamentável confirmação do seu precoce desaparecimento.

“Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk”, o álbum póstumo do cantor foi lançado um ano mais tarde e é composto pelas gravações outrora denegadas pelo próprio e de alguns dos temas em que trabalhava na data da sua morte.

Em 2000 “Mystery White Boy” veio proporcionar a todos os seguidores do músico uma pequena mostra do que eram as suas prestações ao vivo. Poderemos ainda absorver um pouco mais da essência de Jeff Buckley e ainda conhecer um pouco da história da não relação entre ambos os músicos Buckley, no filme “Greetings from Tim Buckley”.

No ar permanecerá para sempre a dúvida acerca de como teria sido a carreira deste génio perdido, que não teve tempo de construir a mesma. Mas, mais do que falarmos de Jeff Buckley é fundamental ouvi-lo/senti-lo.

#20anos

[personalnyjezus]

jeff buckley! :')

uhhh i’m torn between “lover you should’ve come over” and “grace”….. but i guess it’s “grace”. this is the closest that any human will ever get to perfection and if i could listen to only one song til the end of my life it’d be this one…especially that live version from sin-é with spoken word at the beginning….. always makes me emotional

[marvkelly]

61. Jeff Buckley - Live at Sin-é

61. Jeff Buckley – Live at Sin-é

61. Jeff Buckley – Live at Sin-é (1993/2003)

Disc 1 1. Be Your Husband 2. Lover, You Should’ve Come Over 3. Mojo Pin* 4. Monologue – Duane Eddy, Songs For Lovers 5. Grace 6. Monologue – Reverb, The Doors 7. Strange Fruit 8. Night Flight 9. If You Knew 10. Monologue – Fabulous Time For A Guinness 11. Unforgiven (Last Goodbye) 12. The Twelfth Of Never 13. Monologue – Cafe Days 14. Monologue –…

[50discosparacecilia]

a vida secreta das referências

Escrevi este texto para o Mondobacana há milhões de anos (2007, 2008, por ai) e ressuscitei para o aniversário de 20 anos de morte de Jeff Buckley. Nessa época escrevia compulsivamente e passava horas ouvindo esse homem cantar. Alias, tinha 5Gb de canções dele gravadas em seus shows que nunca foram lançadas e o texto abaixo lista algumas delas. Prometo um capitulo especial para esse rapaz que foi um das 10 pessoas que mudaram minha vida, para o bem ou para o mal. 

10 canções sobre Jeff Buckley

Em maio de 2007, completou-se uma década que Jeff Buckley saía para nadar no Rio Mississipi – quando começaria a gravar o segundo álbum oficial da carreira, que se chamaria My Sweetheart The Drunk - e nunca mais voltaria. Desde então, o culto só tem crescido alimentado por discos póstumos. Há poucas semanas foi lançada (lá fora, apenas)So Real: Songs From Jeff Buckley, uma compilação com o que de melhor ele gravou enquanto vivia. A lista abaixo não é das melhores canções ou das mais importantes. Essas dez canções sequer são de autoria dele, mas dizem muito sobre quem era o cantor Jeff Buckley, dono de uma pequena obra, mas na qual cada canção guarda uma historia e fala por si.

10) “I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain” Jeff sempre evitou falar de Tim Buckley com intimidade, raramente se referia a ele como pai. Chegou a dizer em uma entrevista que não conseguia tecer opinião sobre alguém que conheceu em uma semana na vida. Como reflexo do distanciamento, Jeff nunca gravou nada de seu pai oficialmente. No inicio da carreira musical quando ainda era o guitarrista de uma banda obscura, evitava cantar para fugir das comparações obvias. Foi assim até aceitar interpretar essa canção em um show-tributo a Tim. Foi a partir dessa canção que jeff começou a pensar em se lançar como cantor. Vale lembrar que Tim Buckley morreu com 29 anos de idade, de overdose; Jeff aos 30, afogado [sem qualquer vestígio de drogas ou outras substâncias na corrente sanguínea, embora no dia anterior fora diagnosticado com transtorno bipolar de humor]. 

9) "Je N'en Connais Pas Le Fin” É difícil imaginar disco mais perdido no mundo do que Live At Sin-é, de 1993. Um pequeno EP de quatro faixas, duas delas covers, foi lançado no final do ano, logo após Jeff ser contratado pela grande gravadora Columbia (hoje Sony BMG). Jeff sempre teve mais afinidade com divas do jazz do que com astros do rock. Em 1994, com Kurt Cobain se matando e o tacho do grunge sendo raspado, Jeff Buckley gravava Grace (produzido por Andy Wallace, o cara que mixou Nevermind), seu único álbum de carreira. "Je N'en Connais Pas Le Fin” é uma daquelas canções que Edith Piaf eternizou. 

8) “Beneath The Southern Cross” Patti Smith estava há mais de 15 anos sem gravar. Praticamente desde que encontrou o amor nos braços de Fred “Sonic” Smith, lendário guitarrista, do MC5 não precisou de mais nada para expressar seu amor. Mas em 1994, com a morte de Fred (e logo após de um irmão dela), no ano seguinte Patti voltava a gravar. O álbum Gone Again foi lançado em 1996 e traz Jeff Buckley fazendo vozes, tocando guitarras e instrumentos indianos. Jeff viria morrer no ano seguinte, 1997. 

7) “Song To The Siren” Uma canção obscura de Tim Buckley. Uma das mais belas gravações do Cocteau Twins e do This Mortal Coil. É uma das poucas canções de Tim que Jeff tocou pelos pubs, talvez mais pelo relacionamento que tinha com Liz Fraser, ex-vocalista do Cocteau, do que pela ligação paterna. Além de “Song To The Siren” e “Once I Was”, covers de “Sefronia” e “Sing A Song For You” estão entre as canções de Tim que é possível encontrar pela internet. 

6) “All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun” Os relacionamentos de Jeff Buckley sempre foram especulados pelos fãs após sua morte. De concreto mesmo, apenas Rebecca Moore e Liz Fraser. Com Liz ele gravou “All Flowers...”, que até hoje não sei se foi lançado em algum disco da cantora. Ele fez outros também covers do Cocteau Twins, mas eles nunca foram lançados em discos oficiais. 

5. “Sweet Thing” Van Morrison poderia ter pedido a guarda de Jeff Buckley quando este ainda era uma criança. Jeff nunca escondeu o fato de que se sentia particularmente ligado mais à carreira de Morrison que a do pai. As versões de “Sweet Thing” e “The Way Young Lovers Do” que estão em Live At Sin-é comprovam que Jeff se sentia a vontade nas canções do velho irlandês ranzinza. 

4) “Be Your Husband” Se Van Morrison seria o pai, Nina Simone pode muito bem ser a mãe. “Lilac Wine”, maravilhosa canção de Grace era do repertorio de Simone. Nina, Dylan, Morrison, Piaf e Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (a quem Jeff se refere como “meu Elvis” em Live At Sin-é) são os artistas mais influentes na carreira do cantor, que também re-gravou, entre outros, Billie Holliday e Miles Davis. Há uma versão obscura de “Be Your Husband” rolando pela internet que nunca foi lançada, basicamente levada na marcação de compasso e de gaita de boca. 

3) “I Shall Be Released” Não apenas esta, mas também “Farewell Angelina”, “Lost Highway”, “Just Like A Woman”, “Mama You've Been On My Mind”, “If You See Her Say Hello”… A lista de covers de Bob Dylan é enorme. A influencia de Robert Allen Zimmermann nas letras de Jeff é tanta que Grace foi encarado como um livro de poesias musicadas por alguns críticos. Você pode achar na internet uma versão de “I Shall Be Released” gravada de um programa de radio, onde músicos no estúdio da estação tocam o clássico de Dylan e The Band enquanto Jeff canta (e toca gaita) pelo telefone. Esta versão nunca foi oficialmente lançada. Uma pena. 

2) “Hallelujah” No começo da carreira, Leornard Cohen competia diretamente com Bob Dylan pelo posto de bardo judeu da América. “Hallelujah” está emGrace e é possivelmente a canção mais conhecida na voz de Jeff Buckley. Também já esteve em trilhas de vários filmes (toca inteira em uma cena de Edukators). Alem das gravações de Jeff e de Cohen, há também o registro mais atual de Rufus Wainwright (incluída trilha sonora de Shrek 2) e a versão da qual todo mundo roubou o instrumental, de John Cale. Jeff admitiu que pegou “emprestado” de Cale. 

1) “I Know It’s Over” Jeff Buckley personifica o homem cantado por Morrissey nesta que é uma das belas e tristes canções dos Smiths. O relacionamento de altos e baixos com a mãe Mary Guibert, a beleza do cantor (que em 1995 ocupou o 12° lugar na lista das 50 pessoas mais bonitas organizada pela revista People) e a solidão refletida nas suas canções reforçam as frases de uma suposta conversa entre mãe e filho – como o verso “Se você é tão bonito, porque está sozinho está noite?”. O cover de “I Know It’s Over foi lançado somente neste ano, em So Real: Songs From Jeff Buckley, canção que fecha o disco que relembra os dez anos de sua morte. Triste constatação sem dramas maiores. Apenas “eu sei, é o fim”.

P.S.: O outro lado de Jeff Buckley Quem ouve as canções de Jeff Buckley pode acabar acreditando que o bardo era uma pessoa solitária e triste. Basta uma olhada nos vídeos, na divertida apresentação de Live At Sin-é ou mesmo nos discos piratas ao vivo que circulam pela internet, contudo, para constatar que existiam dois Jeff Buckleys. Existia o poeta que escrevia canções como “Lover, You Should've Come Over” e “The Sky Is A Landfill”. Mas havia também o artista espirituoso e divertido nos palcos, que conseguia cantar “Last Goodbye” e “Ace Of Spades” (clássico do Motorhead) em um mesmo show. Jeff ainda fazia piadas sobre musica e cultura pop, imitava cantores e cantoras de forma bizarra e fazia todo mundo rir junto, para logo depois tocar “Grace” canção que fala sobre amor, morte e vida eterna.

[sweetdreamsjeff]

Jeff Buckely Mystifying Caucasian Male  by KARA VANDERBIJL

Jeff Buckley’s brief intro before launching into a cover of “Dido’s Lament” is murmured in a ghost’s timbre, barely outdoing the white noise on the recording even at highest volume. His audience laughs, spooked, then the piano opens. “Thy hand, Belinda,” Jeff sings. His is a freakish voice, made all the more odd by the grainy quality of the recording; a high falsetto mimicking the dramatic mezzo-soprano for which Purcell wrote the aria. He wails — his voice almost breaks, but doesn’t. Listening, we want it to break; the melody is too pure, its perfect desperation too stringent for this wild, unpredictable thing. Remember me, forget my fate. It’s this drama, the constant rediscovery and redelivery of a familiar, worked-over, oft-repeated tune that defines Jeff Buckley’s work. Like his voice, each song defies an original genre or mood, turning back to a more primal source. Is it a lament? A mockery? A strange self-issued prophecy from a man who, two years later, would walk into the Wolf River in Memphis, TN and drown? Like many of his other performances, this one (a set at the 1995 Meltdown Festival in the UK) now only exists on the web, maybe even on fragments of a video somewhere. Had Jeff Buckley lived past the age of 30, it might have remained among the other, less-than-perfect detritus of a long and successful career. But when the talented die young, we like to watch their home videos. Their unprotected moments. Their failures, blow-ups, fuck-ups. Anything that might give us clarity about their end: what “brought them to this point.” Short of simply accepting that it was death that did Buckley in, we might say it was the success that got him.

Only four years earlier, Jeff had sung in public for the first time, at a tribute concert for his estranged father Tim Buckley. They had met once, when Jeff was eight, after one of Tim’s shows; two months later, Tim overdosed on heroin. Neither Jeff nor his mother Mary Guibert were invited to the funeral. When Jeff stepped onto the stage at Saint Ann’s in Brooklyn to sing Tim’s “I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain”, most people weren’t aware that Tim had a son, and most people who knew Jeff didn’t know he could sing — he’d patented himself, stubbornly, as a guitarist — so the evening unveiled not only Jeff’s vocal talent but also exactly where it had come from. This pissed Jeff off. If anything, he had hoped to use the brief set as his way of paying his respects, of breaking away from Buckley senior. Years later, when a fan shouted a request for one of Tim’s songs, Jeff looked her straight in the eye and said, “I don’t play that hippie shit.”

Jeff escaped Anaheim, CA, where he’d been born, leaving behind what he described as a “rootless trailer trash” existence. He’d been struck by New York fever. Over the next year and a half, he played at coffee shops and nightclubs in Lower Manhattan, and eventually earned a regular Monday night slot at Sin-é in the East Village, accompanying himself on the guitar. He covered Bob Dylan. Nina Simone. Van Morrison. Singing “Sweet Thing” once, with Glen Hansard, a then still-obscure Buckley drew a crowd — so large that people began pressing up against the windows outside the club — by taking the second verse through a series of vocal gymnastics that lasted fifteen minutes. A brief writing streak with Gary Lucas resulted in two original songs, “Mojo Pin” and “Grace”, that Jeff nevertheless rarely played in his set. Lucas also invited Buckley to perform in his band, Gods and Monsters, early in 1992. By that time, however, the streets outside Sin-é were lined with record label executives hoping to snag Buckley for a solo album. That October, Buckley signed with Columbia, hired a drummer and bassist, and recording for what would be his first and only studio album, Grace, began the next summer. A quick EP, Live at Sin-é was released in November ‘93, documenting Jeff’s coffee-shop years, a time he’d long for intensely almost as soon as he left it. Jeff was not prolific; of the ten songs on Grace, he penned only three on his own. Lee Underwood, Tim Buckley’s guitarist, said once that Jeff suffered from an all too-relatable sort of creative inertia. “[He] felt uncertain of his musical direction, not only after signing with Columbia, but before signing, and all the way to the end. He did not know himself — which musical direction he might want to commit himself to, because taking a stand, making a commitment to a direction, or even to composing and then successfully completing the recording of a single song, was extremely difficult for him. One the one hand, creativity was his calling. On the other hand, any creative gesture that offered the possibility of success terrified him.” To speak nothing of the looming shadow of a father he never spoke of, to whom he was inevitably compared, as well as a sort of dogged perfectionism that plagued his studio sessions.

Spending hours, as he did, overdubbing the vocals until he had reached what he felt was the optimal delivery, Jeff seemed reluctant to pin any one mood onto his work. Andy Wallace, Grace’s producer, had to piece several of the songs together from dozens of takes. The music was in constant metamorphosis, to the point where later, live renditions of the songs sounded different, singular, wed to whatever Buckley had learned or felt or needed in between one performance and the next. He seemed to rewrite them each time. Grace is disparate, wavering between the almost cacophonous landscapes of “Mojo Pin”, “Grace”, “Last Goodbye”, and “Eternal Life”, the hushed, sacramental “Corpus Christi Carol”, and the desperate “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over”. Buckley alternately whispers or wails, seems to laugh and growl, shreds remarkably. The music is a story as emotionally complex as its author — calling it simply brooding or romantic minimizes its scope. In reality it is confused, mystifying, indecisive.

The album, like the EP preceding it, sold in a slow trickle. Jeff’s songs rarely made it to the airwaves. Critics were either charmed by its triumph or turned off by what, altogether, seemed to be a confusing melange of emotions and genres. The French loved it, though, and in 1995 awarded Jeff with the Grand Prix International du Disque, an honor he shared with the likes of Edith Piaf, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan. David Bowie claimed that Grace was the one album he’d want with him on a desert island. Meanwhile, Jeff silenced restless crowds in concert halls across the globe with a few strums of his guitar, with a Buddhist-like opening chant called “Chocolate” that hushed chatter until you could hear a pin drop. Only then would he break into “Mojo Pin”. Putting Buckley’s cover of the Cohen song in a separate category — as I undoubtedly must — “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” is Grace’s masterpiece. Jeff introduced it first at Sin-é when he signed with Columbia, luring listeners who had previously doubted his ability to produce a decent song of his own. Back then it was just Jeff and his guitar, sans the divine harmonium intro, the swelling gospel choir, absolutely pure. Lyrically, it’s as seductive as it is sad — as Jeff escalates to “It’s never over/my kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder,” a tingle begins deep down. It’s as much the power of his voice as the power of his poetry. He chokes it out, like an old love letter he’s been forced to read aloud.

I will say this about “Hallelujah” — everything blooms from the single, conquered breath that opens it. Buckley is remembered for these quieter contributions, and appropriately so; in a way they serve as auto-epitaphs. An incredible mimic, he nails Nina’s voice during brief moments in “Lilac Wine” and rivals any choir boy with Britten’s “Corpus Christi Carol”, which had been introduced to him by a friend in high school. But it’s palpable anger that colors the rest of Grace, anger that Jeff would take with him on tour and into the beginnings of his second album, My Sweetheart, The Drunk. He butted heads with the bigwigs at Columbia when he refused to make a music video. He alienated friends, his photographer Merri Cyr, and some of his strongest supporters with careless words. Seamlessly integrated into his public image were frequent moments of conflict, uncertainty, and stubbornness, most of them related to his burgeoning fame, and almost always triggered by casual comparisons with the late Tim Buckley. When People Magazine nominated Jeff as one of their “50 Most Beautiful People” in 1995, something snapped. He dyed his hair black and stopped washing it. He wallowed, thin, in giant thrift-store plaid shirts and Doc Martens. On stage, Grace changed: “Buckley and the band were now playing harder, faster, and louder than ever before, transforming slow-burning epics — ‘Last Goodbye’, ‘So Real’, ‘Eternal Life’ and the title track — into rock and roll firestorms that bordered on the metallic. ‘Mojo Pin’ circa 1996 was almost unrecognizable: Buckley screamed so hard as the song built to its thunderous climax that you feared he’d cough up a vocal cord,” wrote Jeff Apter, one of Buckley’s biographers.

Touring took its toll on Jeff; he needed peace and quiet to work things out, to create, but the frenzy of the road worked up a hysteria in him. Once, in Ireland, he disappeared for a few hours in the afternoon and walked around singing and playing guitar in the pouring rain, skipping interviews and a sound check. Another time he arrived so drunk on stage he broke into a rendition of one of his father’s songs. Yet another time, wasted, he fell asleep underneath a table at a show in Manhattan. Another musician would have been thinking of giving the public a second album to chew on; Jeff was just trying to stay alive. Returning to New York in 1996 after two years on the road, he found the Village, which had once afforded him the comfortable hum of cappuccino machines, the safety of coffee shop anonymity, completely transformed. Sin-é had closed its doors. What few shows he did play, he had to advertise under pseudonyms. He needed a quiet spot, a shrine. So, in early ‘97, he went to Memphis. During the last few months of his life, Jeff Buckley lived in a shotgun house which he rented for a paltry $450 a month. He owned little more than a couch, a telephone, and a telephone book. What time he did not spend cycling back and forth from a Vietnamese restaurant he spent lying in the grass in his backyard, or at the butterfly exhibit at the Memphis Zoo. He played at a beer joint called Barrister’s, quietly. He recorded sketches of new songs on Michael Bolton cassettes that he’d picked up for pennies and sent them to his band in New York. My Sweetheart, The Drunk tremulously came together. On May 29th, the band flew into Memphis to begin recording. That night, Jeff sang Led Zeppelin as he waded into the river.

[sweetdreamsjeff]

OOR, Holland, by Bertvan der Kamp, August 1994

Subhead: A new, huge musical talent has come forward and his name is Jeff Buckley. Questionmarks (appear) on various faces. The music-scene once knew a gifted singer-songwriter who died way too soon. Yes, Jeff is Tim’s son, but he doesn’t like to be compared with him. He is very right to do so, because even without the special family-tie, Grace is one of the best CD’s from this year. After having spoken with both John Lennon’s and Bob Dylan’s son, I’m talking to the son of a third favorite “popstar” of mine. What to do in such a situation? First you try deliberately not to talk about the “old man”, but eventually you’ll wind up doing so. Jeff’s situation is somewhat different from the other sons of famous fathers, because his parents split up when he was barely 6 months old. When he was 8, he spent the Easter holidays with his father who, 2 months later, died of the consequence of a fatal combination of alcohol and drugs. Jeff has always been much closer to his stepfather, who also had a great influence on the development of his musical taste. However, the genes play a role as well and although Jeff sounds different, there definitely is some resemblance in the composition of his songs and in the intense, passionate performance. Grace surely isn’t easy-listening. Just as on the previously released mini-CD Live at Sin-é he doesn’t keep the songs within the 3 minute “limit”, But that surely isn’t disturbing. Jeff has produced the album together with Andy Wallace and he plays with his own, new accompanying band, consisting of Michael Tighe (guitar), Mick Grondahl (bass) and Matt Johnson (not the guy from The The, drums). JB: We played together for the first time 5 weeks prior to recording the album. We did a few gigs as a trio, before Michael joined us. Thereafter we went into the studio and recorded the 10 songs relatively fast. BK: Buckley works with various, digressing styles, from almost whispered, sweet ballads to firm rock songs, in which he seems to be challenging Robert Plant, a childhood hero (of Jeff’s). JB: I have been a fan of Led Zeppelin ever since I was five years of age. My stepfather had all their albums. My mother and stepfather shaped me musically, as a child. They loved The Beatles, and so did I, but the sound of Led Zeppelin sounde much more “anarchist” to my ears. The range of that music was impressive and it “opened me up”. After that I grew to love other music as well, but those earliest influences remain to be very determining. BK: His “glowing” way of singing not only reminds of his father, but occasionally of someone like Morrissey, with his emotional and almost “shameless” performance. At the mention of that name, Jeff reacts immediately: JB: His work with The Smiths hasn’t been equalled up ‘til now. That goes for the composition of the songs, the lyrics and the performance. What Johnny Marr and he did was fabulous, nobody can beat that. If I’d ever start a rockband, I’d want to approximate that level. BK: To my question about whether he was looking for a musical partner like Johnny Marr, he responded: JB: I prefer working solo. Although my songs are created in many different ways, I am the constant factor. Morrissey needs a partner because he can’t play the guitar himself, but I can sing and play guitar. BK: Grace contains 10 songs, from which 3 are remarkable “covers”, Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”, Nina Simone’s “Lilac Wine”, and “Corpus Christi Carol”, written by the classical com[poser Benjamin Britten. Although 2 of these songs suggest some religious association, Jeff denies there is a “reli-hang-up”. JB: Whoever listens carefully to “Hallelujah” will discover that it is a song about sex, about love, about life on earth. The hallelujah is not a homage to a worshipped person, idol or god, but the hallelujah of the orgasm. It’s an ode to life and love. The “Carol” is a fairytale about a falcon who takes the beloved of the singer to an orchard. The singer goes looking for her and arrives at a chamber where his beloved lies next to a bleeding knight and a tomb with Christ’s body in it. My friend Roy introduced me to the song when I was still in high-school and now I’m singing it for him. BK: How important are the lyrics anyway? JB: You can listen to my songs solely for the sound or you can go deeper into them. Both are okay. To me it’s important what I’m saying. If a lyric doesn’t mean a thing to me, I can’t sing it. Music, lyrics, voice and rhythm are equally as important. BK: There are remarkably many love songs on the album. JB: I’m a rather romantic type. BK: Especially with the longlasting “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” he reaches great heights as a troubadour of love. It is also a song about ageing, I fancy to derive. Jeff agrees with me on this: JB: It’s not about aging as a chronological fact, but more in the sense of gaining experience. You can sometimes gain experience in a very short time and age fast in that way as well. Sometimes I feel very old. I already felt like that at high-school. I sometimes felt like an outsider, too old for my age. Leaving things behind and accepting you’re somewhere else, thats what growing up means, according to me. The advantages are enormous because you can let go of things that are of no use to you. Someone’s age forms a shield towards his youth. In that way someone can get older and yet still stay young. Picasso always tried to keep in touch with his inner child. If you don’t do that, you’ll eventually lose hold on yourself and slowly pine away. Or you can get completely deranged and kill yourself. It’s very important to understand this. (deep sigh) BK: This seems like the right time to talk about his biological father. As soon as I mention his name, I’m being interrupted: JB: He was one of those who didn’t make it. BK: Right… “He was one hell of a guy,” I continue. “I’ve met him twice and spoke to him briefly.” Jeff listens silently to my story and when I tell him that, in my opinion, he has succeeded his father(’s work), if only for the great intensity of his performance, he reacts reservedly: JB: Those are your words, not mine. BK: “The lyrics on 'Dream Brother’ intrigue me,” I continue imperturbably. “It could be a song about him (Tim).” JB: It’s a song about a friend of mine, who led a rather excessive life, due to which he has lost the “callosity on his soul” (couldn’t find a proper translation here). He is in trouble. This song is for him. I know what self-destruction can lead to and I try to warn him. But even I am one big hypocrite because when I called him up and told him about the song I’d written, that same night I took an overdose of “hash” and woke up the next day feeling terrible. It is very hard not to give in to one’s negative feelings. Life’s a total chaos. BK: Buckley doesn’t shun (from) exposing serious themes, which makes his music less accessible to the masses. Some further explanation wouldn’t harm. I just have to mention a song-title such as “Eternal Life” and it’s hard to stop him (talking). JB: What I want to say with a song like “Eternal Life” is: If you’re one of those people who thinks he has to spend energy in putting down and discriminating others or passing on racist ideas to children or playing games with everyone, just to cover up your own lack of self-respect, then you’re lost forever. There are so many other goals in life. There is so much to learn about life itself. Why waste your time with all that bullshit? Try to see people as people and don’t fixate on the color of their skin, status or sexual preference. I get very upset about that because I see it as one of the biggest threats nowadays. There is a giant desintegration going on, but that offers unknown possibilities of growth as well. From the ashes of chaos, you can “arise” bigger and stronger. JB: All that talk about the independent music-scene and the so-called Generation X is a symptom of the confusion. Everything is being labelled, but nobody knows what it means. There is fear of the unknown and that’s the reason for labelling everything. Even I don’t know what Generation X means, but to me it could mean: get out or get de-x-ed. BK: If you hear Jeff talking like that, you’d conclude it’s tough to be young in these chaotic nineties. What does he hope to change about it with his songs? How does he see his role as an artist? JB: I can’t do anything more than writing songs and whether people want to hear them is up to them and not to me. I realize that, as a listener, you have to invest something to get out out of my songs what’s in them and I don’t know how many people are prepared to do that. I don’t think I can save the world. I look at the world and conclude it doesn’t want to be saved. People want to be bossed around. At my concerts you can do whatever you want. You don’t have to listen, you can drink a beer if you’ve had enough (of the music). I don’t have the intention to be crucified.