JEFF BUCKLEY: Grace

Produced by Jeff Buckley and Andy Wallace

Released: 1994

Every generation needs its romance album, and for sophisticated Generation Xers, Grace was that album. An audacious mixture of styles and disparate influences, Jeff Buckley assembled his carefully orchestrated songs from a heady blend of jazz, blues, rock and folk and touched base with all manner of classic artists, many of whom would subsequently heap praise on him.

Some commentators have criticised Grace for containing no less than three covers, but this is as unfair as suggesting that Elvis and Sinatra were somehow lesser artists for not being songwriters, and overlooks Buckley's bravery at those he attempts. His brittle version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" has since often been lauded as definitive; his take on the tragic "Lilac Wine", a track previously only recorded by female artists, is equally commanding.

Yet it is Buckley's own songs that truly carry the album, a work of ornate textures and delicate arrangements providing a backdrop for his intuitive vocals, the key feature of which was his evocative falsetto so stunning that it became bigger than he was. It was, however, but one aspect of his talents. With "Last Goodbye" he somehow conjures the spirit of Led Zeppelin so overwhelmingly it sounds like it could have come from Physical Graffitti and the heart-rending poetry of "Lover, You Should Have Come Over" is made all the more moving by the sheer emotion of their delivery. If nothing else, Grace showed Jeff Buckley to be an artist who poured true passion into his work and there's simply no way of telling how great he could have become.

The legend of Grace has grown almost exponentially since Buckley's death but there's little doubt that even if he had lived, this album would still hold a very special place in the hearts of many.

1. Mojo Pin
2. Grace
3. Last Goodbye
4. Lilac Wine
5. So Real
6. Hallelujah
7. Lover, You Should Have Come Over
8. Corpus Christi Carol
9. Eternal Life
10. Dream Brother

Rating: 100%