I Own That CD! - Jeff Buckley

That voice – In 1994 a vocalist released his debut album in a sea of grunge and hard rock. It was gorgeous and it made heads turn. It was so unlike everything else released that year. It was perfect…and still is.

Jeff Buckley released Grace on August 23, 1994. It’s today’s feature on I Own That CD!

The son of singer Tim Buckley, Jeff didn’t really follow in his father’s footsteps musically (although their vocal ranges were similar) instead drawing on artists like Leonard Cohen, Led Zeppelin, Edith Piaf and Nina Simone (listen to his and her versions of “Lilac Wine”) and many more. But he took so much and made it his own. Original and mind-blowing.

His cover of Cohen’s “Hallelujah” is the finest I’ve heard. It’s a transformation that makes the song his own. It’s not a throw-away cover song like so many artists put on their albums. It fits perfectly.

I’ve talked a lot about how releases by great artists feel like books – the songs are chapters. This one is clearly no exception. That’s what drew so many artsy romantics to Buckley and Grace. Here was an artist who just wanted to create beautiful music – it wasn’t radio friendly during a time when radio was looking for the next big thing post-grunge. He was the knight who rode in a horse armed with one of the most amazing ranges and gorgeous voices you’ve ever heard. I’ll assume Rufus Wainwright took inspiration from Buckley’s range.

The music was hypnotic – We can’t ignore Buckley’s guitar playing either. It was nimbler and more melodic and made much greater use of reverb than the distortion that other artists in 1994 were using. His playing could lull you to sleep and jar you awake in a split second.

Perhaps the two most beautiful tracks are “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” – written about an ended relationship with his girlfriend. It’s a bluesy, drunken confession with Buckley’s voice soaring over the music which builds to a brilliant climax. The other is “Corpus Christi Carol” which I recommend with barely a light on

The songs still hold up and make new fans of Buckley every year. Grace drew praise from many of his idols: Bob Dylan called Buckley “one of the great songwriters of this decade” while David Bowie once claimed Grace to be among his favorite albums ever made.

My favorite of course is the song “Last Goodbye”. A song open to interpretation, but I see it as finally letting go – of a relationship, of a loved one who has died. It’ll be on the mixtape that plays at my funeral.

Sadly, it would be the only studio album Buckley made. On the evening of May 29, 1997, Buckley's band flew to Memphis to join him in his studio to work on his new material. The same evening, Buckley went swimming fully dressed in Wolf River Harbor, a slack water channel of the Mississippi River. He drowned that night.

The photo on the back of the case is of Buckley on a staircase – but it appears he’s floating or even flying. Like an angel – like his voice.

Grace will forever be a favorite – it’s one that I can always turn and I hope, that if you’re not familiar with it, you’ll take a listen. And as always, if you want, you can borrow my copy.