Grace - Jeff Buckley > Reviews > But you don't really care for music, do you?

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	Jeff's amazing voice; great song writing ability; emotionally powerful
Disadvantages:	absolutely none

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The world of pop music is filled with good singers capable of holding a decent tune but truly great singers are a very rare phenomenon. However, every now and then, you hear a singer who has the type of voice that reaches deep inside you and seems to speak directly to your soul. For me, Jeff Buckley is just this type of exceptional singer. He possesses a staggering seven-octave range, a falsetto to make Thom Yorke green with envy, and the ability to sweep from rich depths of sound to soaring heights. But great singing isn’t necessarily about having a great voice (though there’s no denying that Buckley does), it’s about truly conveying unflinching emotion through your voice and this is something that Buckley does superbly.

This immense talent makes Jeff’s death in 1997 all the more heartbreaking. After his band had just landed at Memphis airport to record his second album following a long spell of writer’s block, Jeff went swimming in the Mississippi and sadly drowned. Grace is his only completed studio album, but what an album it is! Its influences are incredibly diverse, combining elements of Radiohead (circa The Bends, OK Computer), Led Zeppelin, and Van Morrison, fusing rock, jazz, gospel and folk into an intense musical experience.

Every track on this album is truly amazing, and from the haunting opening of the very first track, Mojo Pin, it’s obvious that this is something special. Buckley’s voice floats, half singing, half whispering, over a gentle guitar before flowing seamlessly through elaborate chord progressions, building to a frustrated and tortured chorus.

While Buckley may be known now principally for his voice, he was originally a guitarist – skills which are reflected superbly here with intricate guitar work. On every track, Buckley’s voice and the guitar take centre stage, a sincere combination that proves equally effective on the rockier tracks like Eternal Life or So Real, and the more introspective tracks like Lilac Wine, Last Godbye, and Hallelujah. In terms of production, Grace has thankfully been kept raw enough to retain the genuine feel of the music but not so untouched that it shows its age.

The album as a whole is very melodically driven: Buckley is capable of weaving extraordinarily beautiful melodies seemingly from nowhere and nowhere is this more apparent than on the 7 minute epic, Lover You Should’ve Come Over. The gentle opening reveals a soulful, soft, pained, vulnerability that truly made my spine tingle. It has the kind of stunning openness that is so beautiful but somehow heartbreakingly sad at the same time. This is far and away the highlight of the album for me, and I’d go as far as to say that no song I’ve ever heard has touched me in the same way as this.

However, while the album is awesome melodically, lyrically it displays a luminous beauty and a sincerity that is rare. It’s hard when listening to the title track, Grace, not to find the lyrics prophetic:

There's the moon asking me to stay,
Long enough for the clouds to fly me away,
Well it's my time coming, I'm not afraid, afraid to die,
My fading voice sings of love,
But she cries to the clicking of time, of time.

The combination of such poetic lyrics with such hauntingly beautiful music is utterly devastating in its emotional effect.

While Buckley’s own song-writing is superb, the album’s three covers are equally exciting, allowing him the opportunity to really make his own individual stamp on the songs. Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah is a fantastic song, but was always marred by Cohen’s rather monotone voice. Jeff Buckley’s recording really brings out the melancholy feel of the song, adding two extra, far darker, verses. The simplistic accompaniment of an acoustic guitar allowing Buckley to really invest emotionally in the song and I have to admit that the first time I heard this, I was reduced to tears. The cover of Elkie Brooks’ Lilac Wine may have been a surprising choice, but is given a gorgeous and intoxicating beauty. I was slightly more doubtful about the recording of Benjamin Britten’s Corpus Christi Carol, suspecting that it was chosen simply as a vehicle to showcase Buckley’s falsetto. However, the effect of Buckley’s voice accompanied by only an acoustic guitar proves devastatingly effective and he transforms the song into a powerful emotional climax.

The album closes with Dream Brother, an Indian infused track which has a similar feel to the opener, Mojo Pin, bringing us full circle. An insistent, throbbing drum beat drives the album to a dreamy, swirling close.

You’ve probably realised by now that I absolutely adore this album. It’s certainly not one that’s got instant appeal; like most great albums it takes time for your appreciation of it to really grow, but it has a beautiful and haunting appeal. It’s not an album to be put on as background music, it demands your full and focused attention, taking you on an emotional journey and leaving you feeling utterly breathtaken. Every track is truly exceptional and it’s easy to see why so many regard this as a modern masterpiece. Although it was released in 1994, it shows no signs of ageing, maintaining a really timeless feel. In fact, I can’t think of an album released since that I would rate more highly. It would be impossible for me not to recommend this album: any self-respecting music fan should have it in their collection (and at around £5 in most shops, it’s the bargain of the year).