ALBUM REVIEW: JEFF BUCKLEY "GRACE"

The following is my review of Jeff Buckley's album "Grace", as promised last week. If you also own the album, I'd love to know your thoughts on it too. Tell me if I'm right on or dead wrong. **WARNING - this is a LONG review**
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Album Review: Jeff Buckley, “Grace”, 1994

“Grace” was the only complete studio album that the late Jeff Buckley made in his short life. Prior to this album, he released “Live at Sin-E”, a four song EP, and after “Grace” he was working on the follow up (tentatively titled “My Sweetheart the Drunk”) but died in the summer of 1997 before he could finish it. Even though this album is the only real complete work Buckley made in his career, it is a wonderful album that pointed to the potential ahead while at the same time standing alone as a work of beauty and power. It’s an eclectic work, bringing together all of Jeff’s influences and inspirations to create something unique and unlike anything else you’ll ever hear.

Track by track:

1. Mojo Pin

"The memories fire, the rhythms fall slow. Black beauty, I love you so."

This is a very beautiful song, starting out peaceful with Jeff’s voice fading in. The first few lines of the lyrics are nearly whispered by Jeff, forcing you to pay attention and really listen to the music. The song goes from very peaceful, to emotional on the chorus, to hard rocking in some parts. As usual, Jeff’s voice also changes from soft to screaming. There is a lot of what I would describe as “vocal acrobatics,” where Jeff simply moans and screams and sighs, showing us what he could do with his talent. The guitar is very subtle on this track, but does rock hard in some areas along with the drums. In fact, the drum work on this song is very entertaining. Overall, a very pretty song to start the album.

2. Grace

“It reminds me of the pain I might leave behind.”

This is one of the hard rockers on the album, the title track, and one of my favorite Buckley songs. The guitar work is outstanding, with a guest appearance by Gary Lucas (he co wrote the song with Jeff). Jeff’s voice is excellent as always, and as on “Mojo” it gets more intense as the song moves along. He put a lot of emotion into it. My favorite Jeff moment of ALL time is his long scream right at the end of it. Very amazing and captivating. The lyrics are quite intense and emotional. The song seems to be about giving death the middle finger and accepting your fate. Again, this is one of my favorites.

3. Last Goodbye

“Thinking so hard on her soft eyes, and the memories of her sighs that ‘it’s over.’ “

This is probably one of the more recognizable Jeff songs out there. It was quite popular when “Grace” came out. The guitar parts, like all of Jeff’s rock songs, are very catchy and hard to get out of your head. The song starts out very soft, but quickly starts to rock out. Jeff’s vocals are haunting and romantic, and a bit more subdued than some of his other songs. The magic is in the details, the little quivers in his voice as he speaks to his failed love. His vocal range really shows, because of the emotional intensity he puts into it. This is a very beautiful song with sad lyrics, and like other Buckley songs it starts in one place and ends in another. Kind of like a complete journey, instead of a formulaic verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus song that you would hear on the radio. That was what was so great about Jeff’s songwriting.

4. Lilac Wine

“Lilac wine . . . I feel unready for my love.”

This is the first cover of the album, and a very good one. Again, following the usual Jeff pattern, he starts out very very soft with moments of intensity, and builds it up. It’s a very soft, delicate song, full of emotion. Jeff’s singing talents really bring you to that Lilac tree, calming you as if you were drinking the wine. The best part of the song: Jeff’s drawn out “forrrrrrr myyyyyyy lovvvvvvve” at the very end. Absolutely beautiful.

5. So Real

“And I couldn’t awake from the nightmare that sucked me in and pulled me under.”

Lots of good guitar work by Michael Tighe on this one. Jeff’s voice is very subdued on the verses, very relaxing. But on the chorus, he really breaks loose and works his falsetto for all it’s worth. Especially in the latter parts of the song where he lets out some screams. Subtly powerful, I’d say. Jeff’s charm shines and warms your heart.

6. Hallelujah

“And I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch, and love is not a victory march. It’s a cold and it’s a broken hallelujah.”

Another cover, this time a cover of Leonard Cohen. Probably one of Jeff’s more famous songs. I’ve heard Cohen’s original version, and this one is just so much better. Jeff is very haunting here, so very beautiful. This song is hypnotic, epic, intense, emotional – everything. Jeff builds the song as he always did, and his guitar really adds to the beauty of it all. This song gets stuck in your head and your heart. Maybe it’s just me, but Jeff seems to conjure all the singers of centuries past. People who just sat down with a guitar and started signing. This song sounds like it could have been written years and years ago. Timeless, absolutely timeless.

7. Lover, you should have come over

“Too young to hold on and too old to just break free and run.”

This song is quite amazing. It starts out very un-traditional, with a harmonium solo by Jeff. Then the guitars start, and you've got a ballad of a lonely man in love. Jeff really pours out the emotion here, both in the lyrics and the music. His voice is just so beautiful and sad. When you combine that with the VERY sad lyrics he wrote, you get something powerful. Yes, as with the other songs, he gets more intense the farther you go into the song. The thing that gets me about this song is that, even though the lyrics are about opportunities lost, and love that has not been found, Jeff offers hope. “It’s never over”, “cause it’s not too late” . . . he seems to be telling all the young lovers out there to never give up hope. This is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard, and it’s definitely a favorite of mine. And it’s also entertaining to listen to!

8. Corpus Christi Carol

“The falcon hath borne my mate away.”

Another cover. This one was originally by a composer named Benjamin Britten. It’s a very soft, beautiful song that makes “Grace” impossible to categorize as just a rock album. It’s songs like these that make it a Jeff album, and nothing else. Jeff’s voice is hard to understand on this song, without the help of a lyric sheet. He sings nearly in falsetto the entire time. It’s enchanting, intense, and feminine. It’s also probably the slowest song on the album, a nice little peaceful break in the last half of the album. This is one of the hardest Buckley songs to get used to, but at the same time it is a treat to see what Jeff could really do with that voice.

9. Eternal Life

“There’s no time for hatred, only questions. What is love? Where is happiness? What is life? Where is peace? When will I find the strength to bring me release?”

This is the hardest-rocking song on the album. It’s very shocking to go from the beauty of “Corpus Christi Carol” to the intensity of this. Great guitars, and awesome vocals by Jeff. He gets pissed off in this song, and you can tell. It reminds me of something Elvis Costello would write and perform. Jeff demonstrates here that he could write very socially conscious lyrics and bring emotional power to his singing to bring the lyrics to life. I have to admit I prefer Jeff when he’s rocking out – it’s just that much more powerful and intense than the slower moments.

10. Dream Brother

“Don’t be like the one who made me so old; don’t be like the one who left behind his name. Cause they’re waiting for you like I waited for mine, and nobody ever came.”

It’s funny that Jeff titled this “Dream Brother,” because it does sound like a dream. In this song, Jeff kind of lazily chants the lyrics, creating a relaxing, but very dangerous, atmosphere. This song has a very middle-eastern feel to it. Very haunting, powerful, and hard to forget. This must have been a very hard song for Jeff to write, since it makes subtle mention of his father Tim. Also, it ends with a spooky reference to being asleep in the ocean. Odd, considering the fact that Jeff drowned to his death. This is a very nice way to end the album, and it’s a song that has stayed with me for a long while.

Overall, I think this is a wonderful album, with each song offering something different than the one before it. Keep in mind that I have liked Jeff for a while now, so I can’t find too many bad things to say about it. My one complaint is that there are only ten songs!! There should have been more, but Jeff only put ten here and that’s what we must live with. After listening to all of it, I’d say that I prefer the harder songs more. Not to say that the softer songs aren’t good – they are, and I love them. I guess I just feel that when you put Jeff’s wonderful voice to some good hard rock and roll, the result is awesome. All the songs are good, not a bad one on the album. Corpus Christi Carol does seem to be a little “soft” to be on here, but it meant a lot to Jeff and really is a beautiful song. Everything else is outstanding and so much better than a lot of other music out there. Jeff and his band put a lot of work into this, and it shows.

If this was a tease of what was to come, then Jeff would have been even more important to the music world had he lived. For a guy who only completed one album, he sure completed a good one! It’s diverse, it’s intense, it’s beautiful, it’s sad, and it belongs in the collection of anyone who appreciates good music. The most important thing about this work, to me, is the voice. That pure, beautiful, voice.