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Wait In The Fire

Today the Legacy Edition of "Grace" by Jeff Buckley was released, and I purchased it for $28.89 at a local record store. It's excellent, for the most part. I don't really see much change in the remastered songs, except maybe a bit more clarity and better mixing of the instruments. As for the bonus disc, I don't think they needed to include two versions of "Dream Brother." But us fans can't exactly choose what we get, because Jeff only left so much behind. So we had better be grateful for what we do have, even if things are repeated.

Another thing about the bonus disc I don't really like is the inclusion of "Kangaroo." Sure it's a good song, and one of the more famous songs that Jeff performed live. However, even though I don't argue with its inclusion, it's not a song that I like very much. The vocals on this version are very soft and hard to hear, and only the first five minutes of the song even have vocals. The rest of the 14 minute song is the band playing the same thing over and over, with freshness coming in from Matt Johnson's drumming. Other than that, it's ten minutes of the same guitar riff over and over. I know it was a good song to see live, but the experience just doesn't translate to CD.

Don't get me wrong: I am VERY happy this package was released, and I'm thankful for any scrap of Jeff we get, good or bad.

Now that I've talked about the NEW "Grace," I'd like to recall the day of my purchase of the first version: Monday, September 9 of 2002. It's a day that will always live in my heart, that's for sure.

Months prior to buying the album, I had heard some songs by Jeff and was very impressed. I decided to buy "Grace" at least when I got back to school, or for Christmas. On September 9, I was at our local store Fred Meyer looking at CDs because I wanted to buy my sister a birthday gift. I picked a selection out for her, and then looked a little for myself. I thought to look and see if they had Jeff Buckley available, and to my delight they did! "Grace" was only $10.99, and I decided right then to buy it for myself that day.

I bought it, but I didn't get to listen to it until later that day because I was going clothes shopping after my CD shopping. I went shopping, and came back home. When I got home, I sat down and put "Grace" in the CD player and started listening to this amazing album. After the first couple songs, my sister wanted me to go to the store for something, so I took the CD player and "Grace" along and listened to the next few songs on my way there and back. When I got home, I finished listening to the rest of the album, and was blown away by how incredible it was. Over the next few weeks, "Grace" was in my CD player and in my head nearly all the time. I was officially a Jeff Buckley fan.