303 - Jeff Buckley - Grace

The only full album ever recorded by Jeff Buckley, Grace, is one of those albums that whets the listener's appetite for what he might have released had he not died during the recording of his sophomore effort. Grace seals in amber Jeff's dramatic (but not baroque) musical style, taking many of the songs from a softness (that makes the listener strain to hear) to bombastic climaxes of drums, guitars, and vocal wails.

And it is Jeff's voice that was his greatest blessing. I feel that it is impossible to understand Jeff's vocal style without spending some time listening to Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, the greatest qawwal (a Sufi singer). Jeff became fascinated with him and frequently covered his songs at cafes in NYC in his early years. The swirling, weaving sound of this style of vocalizing seems very obvious to me when listening to Grace.

I absolutely love many of the songs on this album. The moodiness of the album is its power but also a dangerous weapon when played to a depressed, drunk man with a broken heart. "Lover, You Should Have Come Over" starts off with an introspective whisper and builds to a shirt-ripping plea for another try. "Last Goodbye" is another lover's lament that contains one of my favorite lyrics:

Kiss me, please kiss me,
Kiss me out of desire, babe, not consolation.

Where the album struggles is that it can get a bit too precious. I play individual songs from Grace a lot, but the solemness of "Hallelujah" and "Corpus Christi Carol" really drags down the middle of the album for me. Shoot, I guess I've got to say something about "Hallelujah." Sure, Leonard Cohen wrote the song, but Jeff's version of it is what you hear people singing. Go to YouTube and compare the covers to Leonard's original and then Jeff's and you'll hear it yourself. Jeff's version is that powerful and moving.

Songs I knew I liked: "Mojo Pin," "Grace," "Last Goodbye" (actually, one of my top 5 all time favorite songs...and will be played at my wake), "So Real," and "Lover, You Should Have Come Over"

Songs I didn't know but now like: None

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: None...although I'm really sick of "Hallelujah" at this time.