Jeff Buckley Grace CD

A mercurial talent snuffed out all too soon by a tragic early death, Jeff Buckley seemed poised to carry the singer-songwriter tradition into the new millennium when he released his one and only studio album, 1994's GRACE. With his inventive jazz-influenced phrasing and sweeping, wraith-like vocals, Buckley defied easy comparisons to his late-father, `70s cult troubadour Tim Buckley. While the flurry of reissues and rehashes that have emerged after Jeff Buckley's death have generally done little to add to his legacy, GRACE AROUND THE WORLD, a collection of live recordings approximating the track list from GRACE, comes across as more than mere barrel scrapings.

Assembled from previously unreleased live concert and television appearances from locales ranging from the U.S. and U.K. to France, Germany, and Japan, the multi-disc collection provides perhaps the most comprehensive musical portrait of Buckley yet. From Buckley-penned originals ("Last Goodbye," "Grace," "Mojo Pin"), to his signature cover of Lenoard Cohen's "Hallelujah," to the seldom-performed Qawwali-influenced "What Will You Say," the powerful performances on offer are every bit as thrilling as the studio versions. And with a companion DVD interspersed with revealing behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, a more intimate portrait of the artist is unlikely to be found.

With GRACE, his first full-length statement as a bandleader, songwriter/guitarist Jeff Buckley sets out upon a road less travelled, avoiding the safe and predictable in favor of the ecstatic and the personal. Not that such obvious influences as the Beatles and Led Zeppelin have disappeared from this young talent's music. Buckley's voice is an exquisite, malleable instrument, and from his daring vaults into the upper registers to his long, enraptured middle-register ornaments and moans, he suggests the breakthroughs of a young Robert Plant or Van Morrison.

Songs like "The Last Goodbye" (with its coy slide intro and ragaish string backgrounds) and "Lover, You Should've Come Over" (with its late Beatles harmonies and Edith Piaf vocal ornaments) are powerful evocations of failing relationships ("too young to hold on, and too old to just break free and run"). "Lilac Wine" and "Hallelujah" feature his glassy, translucent guitar and poignant vocals in mystical, folkish settings, while "Dream Brother" achieves an almost Doors-like melancholy. Elsewhere, Buckley showcases his new band's power on "Mojo Pin" and "Eternal Life," which draw upon blues imagery and metaphors to create a subtle, hard-rocking atmosphere.

Audio Mixer: Andy Wallace.

Photographers: David Gahr; Merri Cyr.

Personnel: Jeff Buckley (vocals, guitar, harmonium, organ, dulcimer, tabla); Gary Lucas, Michael Tighe (guitar); Loris Holland (organ); Matt Johnson (vibraphone, drums, percussion); Mick Grondahl (bass); Misha Masud (tabla).

Personnel: Jeff Buckley (guitar, dulcimer, harmonica, harmonium, organ, tabla); Gary Lucas , Michael Tighe (guitar); Karl Berger (strings); Loris Holland (organ); Matt Johnson (vibraphone, drums, percussion); Misha Masud (tabla).

Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.55) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."
Rolling Stone (11/3/94, p.101) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...Buckley's got huge ears and an even bigger record collection: He jumbles jazz, R&B, blues and rock references with such apparent nonchalance that he can seem like a showoff..."
Spin (10/94, p.111) - Highly Recommended - "...If Buckley continues to evolve in the direction that GRACE indicates, only good things can result..."
Entertainment Weekly (Spring 2000, p.166) - Ranked #3 in EW's "Top 10 albums of the '90s"
Entertainment Weekly (8/26-9/2/94, p.112) - "...a dreamy and original set of songs....Too good to be true..." - Rating: A+
Q (10/01, p.86) - Ranked #14 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime"
Q (12/99, p.82) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s."
Q (9/94, p.98) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...This is no pretty folk LP, it's a powerful album of unlocked emotions, poetry and drama, where ringing guitar and driving drums mix with swaying spartan tenderness and almost awkward rhythmic changes..."
Q (p.130) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[He] hit his stride via covers and the barest outlines of songs. And LEGACY is padded out with most of this difficult journey."
Uncut (p.124) - 5 stars out of 5 - "Ten years on and remastered, GRACE sounds more swoopingly lyrical and breathlessly eclectic than ever."
Melody Maker (8/13/94, p.34) - Recommended - "...It's a voice that leaps tall buildings in a single bound, smells of sex and Chanel and never stoops to showboating..."
Musician (11/94, pp.87-88) - "...a faultless expansion of Buckley's solo shows in New York clubs..."
Village Voice (2/28/95) - Ranked #23 in the Village Voice's 1994 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.
Mojo (Publisher) (p.69) - Ranked #1 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "There is no place yet for the places he and his voice can go."
Mojo (Publisher) (1/95, p.50) - Included in Mojo's "25 Best Albums of 1994" - "...Audacious, adventurous, often tear-jerkingly beautiful and spiritually rousing, GRACE has it all..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.116) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[M]arvel at the awesome original album, still brimming with the sound of a soul trying to have its say while there's still a chance."
New York Times (Publisher) (1/5/95, p.C15) - Included on Stephen Holden's list of the Top 10 Albums Of '94 - "...The year's most impressive solo debut."
NME (Magazine) (12/24/94, p.22) - Ranked #21 in NME's list of the "Top 50 Albums Of 1994."
NME (Magazine) (8/12/00, p.28) - Ranked #12 in The NME "Top 30 Heartbreak Albums".
NME (Magazine) (8/13/94, p.44) - 9 (out of 10) - "...Just for once, the child of a star looks capable of transcending the family legacy. From here on in, the sky's the limit..."