Jeff Buckley: A Review of the Album Grace
In his entire lifetime, Jeff Buckley released only one EP and one studio album before his early death at age 30. Despite the short-lived shine of the rising star, Buckley created a lasting impact with his respectable and highly praised, singular album, Grace.
Jefferey Scott Buckley was born November 17th, 1966 in Anaheim, California as the son of Mary Guibert, who played the piano and cello, and Tim Buckley, a famous and respected Folk, Psychedelic rock, and progressive Jazz musician.
His parents separated before Buckley was born and he only met his father, Tim, when he was eight years old, the one and only time the two would meet. A few months after Buckley met his father, Tim Buckley died on June 29th, 1975 at 28 years old from a heroin overdose. Buckley was raised by his mother and his stepfather, Ron Moorhead, who greatly influenced Buckley’s love of music. Growing up, Buckley went by the name Scott Moorheady, and he first learned how to play the guitar when he was five years old, and then when he turned 12, Buckley officially dedicated his life to becoming a musician.
Buckley graduated High School and went to college at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, CA, and played for a few small bands throughout the late 80s. In 1990, Buckley moved to New York and soon made a name for himself when he performed at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn and sang his father’s songs in order to celebrate his music. Not long after, the young musician started going by his father’s name, Jeff Buckley, and for the next couple of years, he grew in popularity as record label companies fought over him. In 1993, Buckley officially signed with Columbia Records and after singing multiple singles and cover songs at venues, he finally released his first and only album, Grace, in 1994.
The album’s first song is “Mojo Pin,” originally written by Gary Lucas and Buckley when he was a part of the band “God and Monsters” before he decided to go solo and sign with Columbia Records. On the album, Buckley released his own, new version of Mojo Pin. The song opens with soft guitar and Buckley’s almost angelic voice softly singing along but as the song goes on, the drums and Buckley singing become stronger, more urgent, and more intense. The sorrowful and longing feelings in this song, make the listener appreciate the raw emotion felt from Buckley’s strong vocals and masterful guitar playing.
The second song on the album, “Grace,” which is the album’s title song, was also created when Buckley was a part of the band “God and Monsters.” “Grace” is a song about coming to terms with the passage of time and being at peace with separation but also heartbroken from it at times. With lyrics like “I believe my time has come/ it reminds me of the pain I might leave, leave behind” really digs into the listener’s soul and provides a sense of mourning what once was but now accepting what must have to come and pass. “Last Goodbye” starts next with a strong instrumental and Buckley singing very clearly about lovers falling out of love and leaving each other as strangers. Some believe this song was Buckley’s omen, signifying his early death just a few years later.
The 4th song on the album, “Lilac Wine,” is a song about a protagonist being under the influence and almost intoxicated by new feelings of mysterious love and being “unsteady” and “unready” because of these new feelings. The song displays itself as one of the softer songs in the album, as a guitar softly strums and Buckley sings of being almost under a wonderful spell, completely captivated by such a good feeling.
The 5th song on the album and my personal favorite, “So Real,” is a strongly emotional song about being in love with someone you are afraid to be with because you know that love won’t last forever; however, the narrator’s feelings are undeniably, so real. The song starts off with a strong gradual feeling and immediately afterward plunges into a chorus of strong emotion delivered by Buckley’s vocals. After the second verse, the chorus picks up even stronger and is met with an impressively raw and gritty guitar solo that captures the intense emotions felt throughout the song, and then the guitar abruptly stops and the song once again slows back down. The last chorus is met with Buckley’s skillfully controlled vocals that really drive home the feelings behind the song and leave the audience breathless.
Next is Buckley’s Memorable cover of “Hallelujah,” originally written by Leonard Cohen and famously popular for its wonderful imagery and strong spirituality. Buckley decided to do his own take on the song, giving the ballad a new breath of life. It is said to be one of the best covers ever done of this song, with some saying they prefer this version more than the original because of Buckley’s ability to capture the audience with his angelic-like voice. This song lives on to be one of Buckley’s most popular and respected releases. “Lover, You Should’ve come over,” the 7th song on Grace, is about a lover being all on their own, but instead of just leaving it at that, Buckley provides more insight into the song about just how deep losing his love has turned his entire existence upside down. With lyrics such as “I feel too young to hold on, and I’m much too old to break free,” the narrator almost feels stuck in time, unsure of where to turn after losing someone so dear to them.
“Corpus Christi Carol” is a song that sounds right out of a fairytale. The story is a middle to early-age English story written by an apprentice grocer in England named Richard Hill who lived between 1504–1536. Hill took his inspiration from an old carol that has no known creator and called the “Falcons Carol.” There have been thousands of interpretations of the carol over the centuries but the true meaning behind it is unknown. In Buckley’s version, the story is about a Falcon that snatches up the narrator’s lover and brings them to a field of orchids. The lyrics in this song read as though they are poetry woven with a soft lullaby. Buckley’s voice is light and airy, singing along with the gentle strums of a guitar as he tells an old Tale. Immediately after “Corpus Christi Carol,” like a smack in the face, the song “Eternal Life” rolls on and the listener is hit with a rough and gritty guitar that grows more rapidly, matched with aggressive bass riffs and drums. The song contrasts largely compared to the other songs on the album, and Buckley has explained that the song is simply an expression of pure anger and rage.
“Dream Brother” is the second to last song on the album and this one gets significantly more personal. Buckley wrote the song about his longtime friend Chris Dowd, who got his girlfriend pregnant and was considering leaving his girlfriend and child behind. Buckley convinced his friend to stay in his child’s life because Buckley didn’t want Dowd to abandon his child, as Buckley’s father abandoned him before he was born. The lyrics “Cause they’re waiting for you as I waited for mine, and nobody ever came/ Don’t be like the one who made me so old, Don’t be like the one who left behind his name” directly reference Buckley’s relationship with his father, or more precisely, the lack of relationship. The last song on the album is “Forget Her,” which originally wasn’t released on the album Grace until 2004 when it was remastered. The final song on the album displays Buckley’s skills and musicianship beautifully and his talent is unmatched.
Jeff Buckley was no doubt, a man with an amazing gift to be shared. His masterful guitar playing and heartbreaking vocals leave one breathless after listening to Grace. After a few years of touring and after releasing his album, the record company started pressuring Buckley to make a second album. The pressure overwhelmed Buckley, as he admitted that he just wanted to be as good as his father. Eventually, Buckley and his band started the process of Buckley’s second album which would be titled My Sweet Heart the Drunk.
On the night of May 29th, 1997 in Memphis Tennessee, Buckley and his roadie, Keith Foti, were waiting for the rest of the band to arrive to start recording Buckley’s second album. They drove down to the Mississippi River, in which Buckley started to wade through the water whilst wearing all his clothes and shoes. Foti recalls warning Buckley to not go too far out and be careful of passing boats. Nonetheless, Buckley continued to wade out into the river whilst singing Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” into the night. Foti said he looked away for just one second to move their boombox away from the shore and when he looked back up, Buckley had disappeared.
Just a few days later, on June 4th, Buckley’s body was spotted by a passenger on a riverboat called the American Queen, and Buckley was pronounced dead from drowning. Rumors spread about Buckley being under the influence of drugs and alcohol that night but toxicology reports showed that Buckley had no trace of drugs in his system and only a small percentage of alcohol in his blood, not enough to be impaired. Buckley’s death was officially determined as an accidental drowning.
Buckley was a beloved and talented musician, who left a large mark in the music world, despite the little time he spent on earth. It’s a shame that the artist never got to experience the ever-growing fame of his music after his death. Grace is truly an honest, heartbreakingly good album that left the best impression on the musician.
Twenty-seven years after his untimely death, Buckley’s music is still being discovered today by those young and old and will continue to live on in the ages to come. Buckley’s music is for the lovers and the grievers, his music is for everyone.
As Buckley once said, “Grace is what matters in anything — especially life, especially growth, tragedy, pain, love, death. That’s a quality that I admire very greatly. It keeps you from reaching out for the gun too quickly. It keeps you from destroying things too foolishly. It sort of keeps you alive.”
