JEFF BUCKLEY

Some things are just too good to be true. Although it is not yet even ten years ago that he passed away, Jeff Buckley already seems to resemble some kind of mythical spirit. A legend casting his ghostly shadow across the majority of twenty-first century rock music. It was not even as if he was an unknown during his life-time (a la Nick Drake) but it still seems rather strange to remember a time when he was still alive and his enormous potential was still a possibility. Unfortunately, personally speaking, it was only after he was swallowed up by the currents of the Mississippi in 1997 that the phenomenal extent of his talent was tragically revealed. Cynics often point out that no-one else has received the same level of adulation on the basis of a solitary long-player but, for me, that merely emphasises just how great he was, not how overrated he has become. There really are not many albums in the world greater than Grace and the signs were that he had it all. He was not only, arguably, the most talented rock vocalist ever but he was also an extraordinarily gifted and unique guitarist (easily one of the best in the guitar-suffering 90s) and, with a little more effort, an excellent songwriter. As Live at Sin-e shows, with just the bare two instruments (vocals and guitar) he could reach such a level of virtuosity to put entire symphonic orchestras to shame. As far as I am concerned, no singer-songwriter, not in the sixties, not now, ever possessed such musical talent. As has been pointed out by people more perceptive than myself, he was Page and Plant in one package. He was Jimi Hendrix with the vocal range of Van Morrison. In short, he was everything that was great about music in one man. No wonder, he now seems immortal. If he was still alive, we'd probably still be wondering.

The son of the similarly tragic Tim Buckley (who died of a heroin overdose while Jeff was still too young to appreciate him) Jeff Buckley succeeded his father's legacy to become even more revered and idolised. What remains of his contribution to musical history is still more the beginnings, rather than the end, of a potentially legendary career. His performances at Sin-e upon arriving in New York in the early-nineties, captured by an initial EP and later a full live document, showcase a raw talent without much material or direction but with a limitless, astonishing potential. The sum of his efforts came with the only LP released during his life-time, the holy Grace, which anchored his ability to a set of songs made up of choice covers and numbers co-written with early accomplice Gary Lucas (originally of Captain Beefheart's late-era Magic Band). Amid constant touring Jeff bound himself to deliver a new set of self-penned material but the studio sessions failed to reproduce the majesty of Grace and Jeff was justifiably unsatisfied with the results. With his second album in limbo he went for a late-night swim in the Mississippi in the summer of 1997 and, famously, never returned. Although the studio material for his second album appeared, along with home demos, as (Sketches for) My Sweetheart the Drunk assessing Jeff's career posthumously is really a case of how many different angles one can view the same man playing the same material. The market is already near-saturated with live albums from his Grace tours and the skimpy new studio material is usually saved back for 'Legacy' reissues of his albums to make hardcore fans shell out again for an album they already own.

Despite all this, Jeff Buckley soon became, and still is, a massive influence on contemporary rock music, particularly within the UK. No doubt partially enticed by his tragic fate Buckley has become the banner under which all the wimpy "bed-wetter" bands march (or whinge, more accurately). Along with Radiohead and the similarly tragic Nick Drake, Buckley has become a role-model for those loathsome artists that don't even like music that much. To regard him as such does a massive disservice to what Jeff really stood for. He loved music, all variations (sometimes too many variations), and took his cues from all the great artists. Indeed, anyone who loves Led Zeppelin and the Smiths in equal measure deserves serious respect (which, conveniently, includes me). In many ways, it is simply impossible to rip-off Jeff - he was so unique and so talented that to try is to embarrassingly fail. If these bands instead just took from Jeff his enthusiasm and passion for great music then I'm certain the music scene would be in a healthier state. His influence on twenty-first century music may not necessarily be particularly positive but no-one could ever say it was undeserved.

From: Becky Nunn

I am a big Jeff Buckley fan and found your site while surfing. I like your reviews of his albums and agree with a lot of what you have written. Grace is definately my favourite album. The only album I haven't got is Live at Olympia and after reading your review I think I would like to listen before buying.
It's good to actually see a website that gives Jeff credit for his music rather than his looks or the fact that he passed away. I don't think that the record company wanted to cash in on his death though. After Grace my ears wanted more. Have you read Dream Brother? Quite an interesting read. "Kango-Roo" was Jeff's favourite song to perform and he got in a lot of shit for making it last over 20 mins as the last song of the final set.
Anyway just wanted to let you know I enjoyed your reviews. It's a shame someone so talented could die so young. Music these days is so boring. It seems like new songs are covered within minutes. Maybe I'm just getting old!! Have a great day! Becky. Gold Coast Australia

From: Wolves4@aol.com

First off you bitch too much. Second is you can learn too much of a good thing. I did it. I read Dream Brother and wished I never opened the book. It is a robbery of his privacy. He was a private man and a critic decides to open that all up and show it to everyone. His mother is cashing in on him. She released the "unfinished" sketches when his band told her not to. So much for his perfectionist ethic. The first cd was scrapped, never to be used, that is why he went to Memphis, to start over. Here is another one, Jeff wrote a personal letter to Bob Dylan, the rough draft was in his journal, so once he is dead, his mother puts the letter into the sketches booklet. What a woman. Enjoy the music but stop trying to understand him. It only leads to more questions and none of your business.

[NB. This email was not addressed specifically to me but to Jeff Buckley fans in general (except the bitching remark) - JF]

From: Karen Mitchell

I completely agree with the person who wrote to you saying "Enjoy the music but stop trying to understand him. It only leads to more questions and none of your business." Just let him rest in peace. Jeff Buckley was a beautiful soul who will live on forever.

From: Lkwdsol@aol.com

I honestly enjoyed your reviews and comments. However, if you think the music scene in England is bad, take a look at America. Jesus Fucking Christ, everything is 'rap and rock.' Cop another song's beat and redo the lyrics (slightly) and you've got a hit. Bubble-gum pop is always a staple, but now its disguised (barely) as hip hop or rock or even r&b; but you can't hide shit for long(believe me, I had a dog when I was younger, I've tried), and that's what the majority of it is.
As far as the late Mr. Buckley, if you are familiar with his father and Jeff's issues with his father (no one's business, really, outside the point i'm making) he was plagued with constant nostalgic fans 'keeping his (Tim's) spirit alive'...what makes current obsessive Jeff fans any different, or any less pathetic. Music should be celebrated, and mourning his loss, making him more than what he is (a great singer/songwriter/guitarist, more importantly, a regular guy) and into some mythical figure annointed by god and from the lineage of singers of old, the apex of his line...all that bullshit is ridiculous and utterly stupid. His influence is similar to that of James Dean, more impact than influence...more superficial...the immediate loss of something that could have been (as you have pointed out), but no one knows. I'm sorry about the length of this e-mail, but you made some valid points, and I wanted to say thank you.

Jeff was raised in LA by his hippy mother Mary Guibert (who has since cloaked herself in controversy as overseer of his re-releases) but moved to New York in the early nineties in a bid to establish himself as a singer-songwriter and, furthermore, Jeff Buckley, rather than Tim Buckley's son. Fortunately for him, he did so with surprising alacrity thanks in no small part to the fact he was noticeably more talented than his father. He initially teamed up with Gary Lucas and fannied about in some arty set-up for a bit, documented on 2002's Songs to No-One (reviewed below), before branching out on his own. He took up residency in the Sin-e Cafe (while, apparently, working behind the bar) and word of mouth inevitably grew until he was signed up by Sony. Before he set to work on his first (and what would prove to be final) studio album with his newly recruited band, though, Sony released a four song EP capturing his cafe days as a taster for the eager public. In light of the subsequent majesty of Grace the original Live at Sin-e proved to be something of a mixed bag, with acoustic versions of "Mojo Pin" and "Eternal Life" and two covers, a florid but flaccid "Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin" and a bloated but at times astonishing cover of Van Morrison's classic "The Way Young Lovers Do". Unsurprisingly, after Jeff's death, with hysteria surrounding his back catalogue increasing, Sony released a rehashed Live at Sin-e (the 'Legacy Edition') which puts together a two-and-a-hour concert over two filled out CDs. I originally reviewed the original EP and gave it a fair 7* grade. However, the new Sin-e package is essentially a completely different product and therefore it seems fair to review it in a different context. The four songs from the EP are, of course, on here but spread out over the two CDs. The fact that now only "Mojo Pin" stands out would tend to suppose a higher quality but, also, the new edition succeeds in capturing far better just what seeing Jeff in the Sin-e in the early days was really like. We get treated to the majority of the Grace material in acoustic form (Sin-e was too small to house a backing band) as well as a slew of covers, some brilliantly chosen, some less well chosen, some brilliantly interpreted, some rather poorly interpreted, ALL completely self-indulgent and overblown. That said, Jeff's appeal was precisely in just how amazing his technical ability was and therefore, like Jimi Hendrix, to reign in his indulgent impulses would be to deprive us all. On the down side, to fully reflect his performances all of the stage banter is left in, revealing Jeff to be obviously a nice lad but very, very irritating. The banter are listed as separate tracks, though, so it is often best just to programme the CD player to miss them out. His wanky musical in-jokes are all embarrassing and the low-point of the entire package is reached at the start of the second CD when he indulges in some pretentious wank-fest over some ethnic artist that he obviously only likes to look cooler than thou. If one was there at the time one would probably quote Frank Zappa and demand he shut up and play his guitar. For when Jeff does get round to playing the songs, most of the time, his ability becomes nothing short of astonishing. Of his own material, "Lover You Should've Come Over" could reduce a grown man to tears with its regretful swagger, and the hurricane intensity of "Mojo Pin" becomes even more powerful without the backing band. Unsurprisingly, given he was still starting out, most of the set consists of covers, with Bob Dylan and Van Morrison providing the mainstays of the gig. The former's "Just Like a Woman" and "I Shall Be Released" are naturally pervaded by Jeff's angelic vocals, although, as is a common criticism, he does lose himself in his own ability on a dragging "If You See Her, Say Hello". Similarly, "The Way Young Lovers Do" starts brilliantly, with a simmering tension exceeding Van's original, before Jeff needlessly self-sabotages it with a ridiculously overblown and self-indulgent scat. Thankfully, he restrains himself on "Sweet Thing" to much more impressive effect. The Goddesses of soul music get a name-check in the form of a beautiful rendition of Nina Simone's "If You Knew" and a stunning "Strange Fruit", which showcases rare restraint and subtlety from Jeff to far greater effect than his usual pomposity. No originals at all appear on the second CD, although the set-closing brilliance of "Hallelujah" ensures he already makes Cohen's classic a trademark of his own. The traditional "Dink's Song" is also a treat, with an escalating intensity resulting in a ten-minute whirlwind of a performance. The entire concert is riddled with self-indulgence, of course, but then that was always the point. As such, the 'Legacy Edition' does do a much better job of capturing Jeff's early days and certainly recommends itself above the original EP. It is just a shame all that bloody banter had to be left in. To paraphrase Franck Leboeuf ("Dennis Bergkamp: great footballer, shit human being") - Jeff Buckley: great artist, annoying human being.

From: RedWoodenBeads@aol.com

I think your reviews of Jeff's work are ok. As far as your complaining about his rendition of Van Morrisson's "The Way Young Lovers Do", well that's just crazy. Van barely explored that song. Jeff played and sang the hell out of it and made it into something passionate and mystical. His scatting is life-changing, every moment of it. Thank God for every note of that scat.
Also, you have a lot of holes in your site as far as covers that he performed. The French song on Sin'e is by Edith Piaf, who is probably the most popular French pop singer of all time. "Lilac Wine"'s songwriter, Shelton, isn't very important. Nina Simone, in my opinion the best African American female singer of the modern era, originally recoded that one and she fleshed it out like you wouldn't believe. Anyway... later Joe. Joe & Ellen (my band's website): http://www.angelfire.com/nb/je

So is this it? A legend boiled down into one 50 minute long player. Should we believe the hype? Jeff Buckley was, already as well as potentially, one of the greatest musical talents ever to walk the same planet as the rest of us. In critical terms, his songwriting skills were not the most fluent and his self-indulgence meant his material usually veered from astonishing to unpalatable. For one album, both criticisms, the only flaws in his otherwise perfect ability, were dispensed with. It took him some years to write enough great songs for his first album, and some were mostly written for him by Gary Lucas, but the set he finalised for this release was an immaculate conception. With the possible exception of the atonal "So Real" every original composition is a classic and centring the album around a transcendent cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" was the perfect icing on the perfect cake. The band Jeff chose for accompaniment are ideal for their roles, powerful without ever being overbearing, and always allowing him centre-stage. Andy Wallace's production is also beyond reproach, with a clean sound and enough embellishments (particularly strings) to grant the emotional depth to the arrangements that Jeff's own performance demands. The swirling strings on "Grace", "Last Goodbye" and even the fearsome "Eternal Life" bring the songs to a rousing climax that sees Jeff's art slip into the realms of sublime. Jeff's eschewing of the trendy cliches of the time means it cannot really be historically attributed to any movement. Indeed, it is only the whiffs of grunge dynamics that allow any sort of date to be attributed at all. Like all great art, this album is truly timeless. That said, it is not heard to recognise the instant appeal of an album like this coming out in the mid-nineties. Although the mid-nineties was hardly a poor period for music (Radiohead, the Smashing Pumpkins and the Manic Street Preachers all released masterpieces around this time) few bands could invest music with such passion and emotion as Jeff. Or, at least positive passion. As a human being, Jeff was reassuringly well-adjusted and never felt the need to wallow in the self-indulgent whining that was so au fait at the time. Instead, he draws more upon the long-forgotten ideals of the original singer-songwriters, either devastatingly reflecting on lost loves ("Last Goodbye" and "Lover, You Should've Come Over"), revelling in old-fashioned hippie mysticism ("Mojo Pin", "Grace", "Dream Brother"), or chastising modern society for not loving one another (the pulsating "Eternal Life", even if the lyrics are unconvincingly naive). Particularly on the likes of "Last Goodbye" and "Lover, You Should've Come Over" Jeff proves that love songs are not just the domain of pop bands with an emotional power that far exceeds the self-introspection of most nineties bands. If you remain unaffected by his desperate plea in "Last Goodbye" of "must I dream and always see your face?" or his admission that "maybe I'm too young to keep good love from going wrong" on "Lover, You Should've Come Over", then you are a more heartless man than I. And, of course, the famous cover of "Hallelujah" remains all-but unmentioned. As with many people, it was this song that drew me to the album (which, ironically, I had to tax from my old man) and it is the song that keeps one there. If beauty can be found in music then one need look no further than that one song. It may be the highpoint on the album, but the company it keeps need not be ashamed by association. Bar the weakish duo of "Lilac Wine" and "So Real" (and only weak relatively) and the tension-building "Corpus Christi Carol" the album is the perfect summation of the perfect talent. Everything that Jeff was capable of has been condensed into a restrained burst of creative and technical brilliance. With an album this good it is simply not possible to be overrated.

From: Grace del Rosario

Well I read your review of Grace and I don't understand why you think some of the songs are "weak" like "So Real" or "Lilac Wine". I think those songs are absolutely goregous.

In a tragic coincidence Jeff's life and Grace ended the same way - "asleep in the sands, with the ocean washing over". Three years had passed, though, since he had predicted his own death in such terrifyingly prophetic terms and attempts on a second album were proving fruitless and frustrating. Enough material had been recorded at a studio, with Television legend Tom Verlaine producing, to constitute a new album but Jeff was unhappy with the results. Taking a break from the tense studio sessions Jeff remained in Memphis, in a little rented house, and started cutting some embryonic home demos which, as reports would have it, he was more satisfied with and his enthusiasm for his second album was re-ignited. Sadly, as we all know by now, he drowned shortly afterwards, before his new ideas could be brought into the studio and a second album conclusively finished. Unsurprisingly, not long after his death Sony got together with his bereaved mother and plotted a new release that would be as final a substitute as possible for Jeff's second album. Therefore, this product was rushed out with 2 CDs that are both contrary to what Jeff would have wanted. The first contains the studio material he did not deem good enough to be released and the second compiles his home demos that he had not had the time to turn into the definitive article. Of course, what else could they do? I am not the global record industry's greatest admirer but, at the end of the day, I want to hear these songs. Some new Jeff Buckley material, even if it is not perfect, is better than none. Of course, diminishing returns is always likely to kick in at some stage (witness 2002's Songs to No-One) but I find no ethical reason why this should not be released. We, the fans, want to hear it, Jeff's no longer around to improve it, and, most importantly, there is some really great material on here. Of course, there is some less than great material as well but we have to take what we can in the circumstances. Still, it is not hard to see why Jeff wanted to ditch most of the studio material. It is, at least, pretty impressive but definitely a steep drop from Grace and would no doubt have left Jeff facing some stinging criticism. There are still magnificent moments on the first CD - the alt-rock masterpiece "The Sky is a Landfill", the tearful soul of "Everybody Here Wants You", the ominously driving "Vancouver" and one of his greatest self-penned ballads in the form of the heart-wrenching "Morning Theft". The rest, though, fails to really overwhelm the senses in the same way. Although little could be called generic (the pedestrian "Yard of the Blonde Girls" apart) there is also little that really showcases the brilliance that we all know Jeff was capable of. However, if the four classics from the first CD could have been combined with finished studio forms of some of the best demos on the second CD we could yet have had a second masterpiece. The sound quality is obviously home-demo standard but gems such as the yearning "I Know We Could Be So Happy Baby (If We Wanted to Be)", the subtle menace of "Gunshot Glitter" and "Demon John", and the impossibly beautiful "Jewel Box" would have contributed towards an album not far short of Grace's intimidating quality. The demos also throw up some interesting directions in the form of a grinding cover of Genesis' "Back in N.Y.C." and the intriguing melodic mess of "Murder Suicide Meteor Slave" - a train-wreck of a song that still manages to yield moments of mesmerising beauty. The second CD also includes some studio material, alternate versions of "Nightmares by the Sea" and "New Year's Prayer" (which sound exactly the same, ie. unimpressive), and the rough and ready "Haven't You Heard". The CD ends, understandably, with a studio rendition of the classic "Satisfied Mind", which was played at Jeff's funeral. Of course, it is hard to say Jeff did die with a satisfied mind (as if anyone does, really) but the signs are that his restless pursuit of a classic second album was not entirely in vain. The sketches we are left with do point to an on-going brilliance and enough remains in themselves for us to savour in their own right. Not the perfect second album, for a multitude of reasons, but, in the circumstances, as good as we can expect.

From: Kate Smith

I have to disagree with a lot of what you said about Sketches. Well, not so much disagree (because I don't think the first CD is as good as Grace either) but ask you to be a bit less harsh on Jeff. He didn't like what had been written and if that's the kind of stuff he didn't like, then what he wanted to do would have been amazing. Give the guy some credit there. If anyone else had written an album like that the critics would've been fawning all over them, but just because it's Jeff everything is rubbish all of a sudden just because it's not Grace. I'd also like to point out that Jeff said that he was deliberately changing his style because he was sick of people expecting 'Grace 2' and that he was actually looking forward to losing a lot of fans.
As for what you think of "New Years Prayer", I disagree completely. Bear in mind it was unfinished for a start, but even then it's fantastic. From the "leave your office, walk past your funeral, join us in the street where we don't belong" part it's even better. You have to become absorbed in the lyrics and many layers and rhythms involved in it. I haven't got anything by Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn but I'm guessing that's where he got his influence from: apparently qawwali is all about repetition and trying to reach a higher level. If you give "New Years Prayer" a chance it can almost do that.

The second posthumous package to escape from Sony Towers was, unsurprisingly, a live document of Jeff's Grace promotional tour in 1995-6. Again, though, I have no complaints. The presence of a full backing band does enough to distance it from the Sin-e material and Jeff is in finer form generally, no longer the raw and unfocused minstrel that fumbled his way through other people's songs at Sin-e. With the band in tow the whole show is so much more focused, with self-indulgent bursts urgent rather than flatulent, and a much needed extra dimension added to the Grace material that he'd been relying on for so long. Furthermore, and extra credit to Sony for this, almost half of the set consists of material that we have not heard him play through before, including some rare self-penned songs that didn't make Grace or the sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk. Of course, it would have been nice to hear some Sweetheart material in live form but, as far as I know, none was ever performed (or, at least, recorded). As for the new self-penned numbers, the urgent "I Woke Up in a Strange Place" is the most convincing with a post-grunge drive that eclipses the inferior "So Real". "What Will You Say" alludes explicitly to Jeff's artistic, rather than personal, relationship with his father and the ambling "Moodswing Whiskey" rather unfortunately reflects the drowsy anonymity of his most overrated signature tune - "Lilac Wine" (also included on here to no great effect). As for the new covers, an off-the-cuff run-through of the jazz standard "The Man That Got Away" is included to represent the spontaneity with which Jeff approached performing live and he brings the set towards the close with an over-long, underwhelming cover of Alex Chilton's "Kanga-Roo". The fragile beauty of the original is lost in the unnecessary layers of guitars and I surely cannot be the only one to wish he could have chosen a more universally appealing Big Star cover. Even if the new songs are a mixed bag, amends are easily made with the renditions of the Grace material. Even the songs that are not drastically altered, "Mojo Pin" and "Grace" in particular, match up to the power of their studio counterparts. Jeff still delights in twisting and stretching the arrangements, though, and "Dream Brother" benefits most from the freedom. It opens the set on an unexpectedly subtle note before charging up into a tortured epic that would put Led Zeppelin to shame. "Eternal Life" is contorted into a metallic rage and the set ends as ambitiously as it began with a lengthy and utterly sublime rendition of, you guessed it, "Hallelujah". To cap the set off, though, Jeff flawlessly segues his farewell into an excerpt from the Smiths' morose classic "I Know It's Over" and yet again one of his albums appears to end with a prophecy of his impending death - "Oh mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head". Thankfully, though, Jeff comes back in with the final verse of salvation from "Hallelujah" and the set ends with a positive affirmation that Jeff was unable to fulfil. It is hard to see how much more could be dragged out of Jeff's scant legacy and, as can now be seen, the recent releases have signalled a decline in quality and importance. With these first four albums, though, you can reflect upon the complete picture of Jeff's blink-and-you-miss-it career and bask in his superlative glory. It is a shame so few people got to see Jeff live (particularly when you consider the size of venues his army of fans would now fill) but this release certainly grants us a second-best option. Conclusive proof that as long as Jeff had a microphone and a guitar his genius could not remain unconcealed.

From: Kate Smith

Jeff's friend Chris Dowd actually wrote the lyrics to "What Will You Say" (which is also fantastic by the way!), about his own father. Jeff's experience just seemed to fit as well. It's a little known fact so I'll forgive you on that one just because you're obviously not as weirdly obsessed as I am.
As for the 'self-indulgence' you have to go along with it. If you let yourself go you can feel what Jeff felt. Personally if I had a voice like that I'd sing all the time. Better than a drum solo at any rate.

Apparently, as well as under-cooking steaks and producing great philosophers, the French were all very keen on Jeff Buckley. Therefore, as the sleeve-notes to this release smugly proclaim, they were as fanatical about him when he was alive as we all are now that he's dead. Therefore, Jeff's French gigs were particularly special as the hyperactive crowd were able to inspire him to a greater level of performance than he reached in front of the disheartening indifferent American audiences. This release thus began life as a French-only import before Sony saw the dollar/pound signs light up and re-released it in the English-speaking world. I guess you cannot really blame a corporation for wanting to make money (that is why they exist, after all) but given this material was also recorded from the same Grace tour that made up Mystery White Boy (indeed, "Last Goodbye" on the latter was taken from this gig) one wonders why one needs to hear precisely more of the same. For the majority of the set the level of performance is the same and although the versions of "Grace", "Eternal Life", "Dream Brother", and the like are all just as impressive, they are not any different. It is an obvious statement to make but the need to own both this and Mystery White Boy is minimal to all but the most opulent of fans. There are a few new gimmicks thrown in but nothing to get the purse strings loosened. Another Nina Simone cover pops up - "That's All I Ask" - but it fails to match the beauty of Sin-e's "If You Knew". That said, the elongated version of "Lover You Should Have Come Over" (absent on the regular copies of Mystery White Boy) that opens proceedings (like "Dream Brother" on the previous release) explores the song's potential better than the concise studio original and its lilting country tones are made more obvious and more affecting. Secondly, we do at least get one exciting cover in the form of a hyperactive race through MC5's classic "Kick Out the Jams" (more proof of Jeff's immaculate taste in music). Furthermore, Jeff launches into it after a similarly brutal "Eternal Life" and in his excited yelping between songs (apparently inspired by James Brown's Live at the Apollo) the exhilaration of both him and audience is palpable. Unfortunately, the unwary fan may be hoodwinked into buying this (as I was) by the inclusion of a cover of "Kashmir" in the track-listing. I feel duty bound to point out that it is, in fact, a stupid parody of the Zeppelin classic and marks an unwelcome return to the uncomfortably irritating jokes he made on the expanded Sin-e compilation. Finally, in something of a cheat, the CD actually ends with "What Will You Say" from a French music festival and not from the Olympia gigs at all. For it, Jeff delights in performing a duet with some ethnic wailer (Alim Qasimov) but to surprisingly impressive, and non-pretentious, effect. I suspect the extra track was included to make up for the way in which the original Olympia gig ends. As expected, Jeff closes with "Hallelujah" but is thrown off kilter by the ridiculously sycophantic fawning of the French crowd and ends up stumbling through, with his suppressed laughter ruining the emotion of the song. Of course, most of the gig is as good as Mystery White Boy but the fact that there are few pleasant surprises means it is impossible to recommend it above or on top of it. It obviously is a sound live document of a great live performer but its necessity is flimsy at best. And, for the record, I actually quite like the French, particularly their philosophers and footballers (although generally not together, Mr. Cantona) but, come on, that ted who cries out "thank you for giving us so much!" deserves a good kicking.

Like Sketches this compilation of unreleased Buckley demos puts one in a rather uncomfortable position. On the one hand this does seem like capitalist grave-robbing and it seems unlikely Jeff, if still alive, would want this material released any time soon. On the other hand, it does provide a potentially fascinating snap-shot of the formative years of such a great talent and, of course, contains mostly good music. Overall, I will just give it the benefit of the doubt and it is more the material itself, rather than the ethics behind it, that provide the flaws. Besides, many artists do sanction material like this for release later in their career so we cannot immediately suppose even if Jeff hadn't died he wouldn't have authorised a similar release later on in his career. In brief, the story behind this compilation is that the Jeff-ster arrived in New York from his hometown of LA in 1991 and soon got in with Captain Beefheart accomplice Gary Lucas and sang in his band, whilst the pair wrote and recorded some songs, primarily with Lucas writing the music and Jeff providing the lyrics. Ignoring the music for a moment, whilst Jeff comes across as one cool dude on Grace, on here he seems a little bit wussy. Apparently his girlfriend was all into bohemian arty stuff and therefore Jeff goes a bit overboard with over-emoting on songs (in true luvvie fashion) and his lyrics are sometimes a bit pretentious and smug. Mind you, its the sleeve-notes that mention a girlfriend because if you looked at the photos you may well end up supposing Jeff swung the other way. Most of the pictures, posed by Jeff and Lucas, look like adverts for some sort of Gay Chat phone-line. You half expect to see them standing with arms round a muscular fireman and moustached policeman. So, in short, in the formative years of his career Jeff Buckley wasn't very cool. And, whilst his talent is still evident, he also wasn't quite as brilliant as he was to become but then I guess that is to be expected. As for the compilation itself, we're not told how much unreleased material from this era was left off but, judging by the quality of some of the songs, I'd hope not much. Indeed this compilation is overly long as two near-identical embryonic versions of "Grace" (one live, one demo) were not both needed. In fact one version was barely needed as, along with "Mojo Pin", there are very few significant changes from these versions to the finished product. "Mojo Pin" doesn't use a band (and is, therefore, pretty much the same as the Sin-e version) whilst a harmonica does make itself briefly known on "Grace". Also the album begins with a ten-minute boreathon, pompously titled "Hymne a L'Amour". Lucas' repetitive droning guitar riff is banal in its simplicity and Jeff's lyrics are both pretentious and uninteresting (although his "dream brother" does make an appearance). He also fails to draw a decent vocal melody from such a monotonous composition. Ignoring the Grace demos there are two really good originals and both are pretty love songs. "How Long Will it Take" has a nice, jerky guitar pattern and a predictably beautiful vocal performance from Buckley. "She is Free" is probably even better (the best song on here) but it suffers from a highly dubious and controversial decision by the producer of this compilation. Taking Jeff's basic guitar and vocal demo of the song he adds brass accompaniment by the inappropriately named Sex Crew. He says in the sleeve-notes that he's sure Jeff would approve the overdubs. I don't know how he manages to talk to the dead but I'd like to think he isn't sick enough to alter his "friend"'s art for no good reason. Unless Jeff made specific notes that he wanted a brass overdub on any future recording of it (highly unlikely, methinks) I find it disgusting that this man feels he can just tamper at will with someone else's private recordings. Furthermore, surely it is against the interest of historical importance to alter these original recordings? He even does so again on the cover of "Satisfied Mind" with some guitarist adding pretty effects to Jeff's solo performance. Again it does sound nice but that really ain't the fucking point. Interestingly it doesn't seem that Lucas had any input on the reproduction of these tracks but he must have been able to veto the overdubs if he wanted. If the pretty songs are the best you surely won't be surprised to learn that the rockers are probably the weakest. "Cruel" sounds like generic classic rock, much like Pearl Jam, whilst "Malign Fiesta (No Soul)" is also an unexceptional rocker. It also features Buckley's most odious lyrics as he lambastes people concerned with material possessions as "having no soul". I hate yuppies as much as the next man but I wouldn't write a song about it. I also get the impression Buckley and Lucas' arty crowd had a very holier-than-thou attitude. Well, that song gives me the impression anyway. Overall, I guess this is an interesting-ish compilation and definitely important to the Buckley fanatic (and, believe me, there's a lot of them around) but if it had never been released I don't think we would have lost out much.

• Return to the main page
• Go to the Tim Buckley page

Email me at: jackfeeny@yahoo.co.uk