A few years ago, I was going through a phase where I would listen to a considerable number of albums every day, in the hope of finding something that would resurrect the excitement I had once felt when listening to albums such as King Crimson’s “In the Court of the Crimson King” or, better yet, Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”. While my goal was somewhat clear, nothing seemed to work for me then. I was about to give up, when I read a review about an album that would soon flush away all the frustrations about not being able to draw any feeling from the music I listened to.
The moment I discovered Jeff Buckley’s “Grace”, my experience of music took an unexpected turn for the better. In many ways it was different from the two aforementioned quintessential prog albums (which I had often used as a measure for other music). However it possessed a sensibility and fragility that I had never found elsewhere. It was as if some ethereal creature from another world had decided to leave a sign of its presence on Earth, but remain anonymous by using Buckley’s voice and likeness. And this analogy, which might seem a bit far-fetched, might actually reflect to a certain extent Jeff Buckley’s influence on the music scene. Gone from the world far too early, a person of formidable talent, he did manage to leave a legacy, in the form of one album, that will send shivers down the spines of music lovers for… well, forever. I can’t really see it any other way.
It’s not easy to objectively comment upon an album one is so emotionally attached to, but I’ve decided that, after all, I’m not even going to try to write an objective review. No, this will be about the “Grace” that blew my mind away, sending waves of adrenalin through my body, literally F-ing up my psyche into sheer ecstasy (by ‘literally’ I actually mean ‘figuratively’, just so you know). But just to entertain the illusion that this is not my personal review, I’ll use the second person from now on. This should hopefully do the trick of getting you involved in the description I’m about to give.
MOJO PIN
The album opens with some quiet, otherworldy electric guitar harmonics and arpeggiated chordal work, subtly emphasised with a whammy bar and volume pedal. Then Buckley’s voice comes in. This is when you realise your ears are in for a real treat. The voice strikes you as gentle yet raw and you get a certain feeling that this is not where the surprises stop. And indeed it isn’t. By the second chorus, the voice starts to soar while the instrumentation simply explodes in a Zeppelin-esque manner. There’s tension and release, then tension and release again, and your brain slowly gets flooded with endorphins. Now you’re ready for what comes next.
GRACE
The title track is simply amazing. Retaining some of the tension and otherworldliness of the previous song, it manages to take you new places with its slightly more constant and alert beat and Buckley’s vocals ranging from breathy to almost shouted. And here you start to get the sense of the singer’s incredible 4-octave vocal range.
LAST GOODBYE
‘Last Goodbye’ is somewhat of a pop song, which doesn’t mean it is any less enjoyable. The intro slide guitar riff, complemented by the catchy bass line (which gets repeated in different forms throughout the song) is one of the better moments of the song. The run through different tonalities and timbres makes the song interesting enough to belong on this nearly-perfect album.
LILAC WINE
‘Lilac Wine’ is the first cover on the album (there are two more: ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘Corpus Christi Carol’). It is a serene and sensitive song and its sparse and quiet instrumentation leaves room for the singer’s perfectly-controlled voice. At this point you realise that there are many sides to Buckley’s musical sensibility.
SO REAL
‘So Real’ is one of the more powerful moments on the LP. The lyrics and the vocal melody blend so well that you cannot help but think of how it echoes the avant-garde experimentation on Tim Buckley, Jeff’s Father’s, album ‘Lorca’. Complete with dissonant guitar parts and controlled vocal disorder, it hints at the darker, more chaotic side of Buckley’s psyche.
HALLELUJAH
‘Hallelujah’ is one of the few covers in rock history that manage to surpass the original. While Leonard Cohen’s version is indeed a wonderful performance, Buckley adds the depth of his own voice and sensibility to the song. While the dynamic variations in the song are subtle, there are so many hair-rasing moments that it is as if you were enraptured and taken apart, neuron by overstimulated neuron, by Buckley’s voice – which, on this track, reaches its peak in terms of clarity and expressiveness. It is hardly imaginable how a song conveying so much pain and disappointment can have such an uplifting effect.
LOVER, YOU SHOULD’VE COME OVER
A composition more in the realm of soul music than anything else, ‘Lover, You Should’ve Come Over’ nicely highlights Buckley’s vocal ability, and the band’s instrumental prowess. Buckley’s voice is perfectly fitted for this kind of composition.
CORPUS CHRISTI CAROL
A reprise of a Middle English hymn, ‘Corpus Christi Carol’, with its peaceful instrumentation and ethereal vocal part, is a song that, while somewhat detached from the rest of the album, can bring the listener to emotional areas yet unvisited. Buckley shifts freely from his head voice to his falsetto voice throughout the song, which contributes to the feeling of otherworldly serenity.
ETERNAL LIFE
The heavy ‘Eternal Life’ kicks in full blast, spoiling the effect of the previous song a little. The lyrical content is also powerful, while possessing a certain naivety. It’s a song that kicks your heart around as if it were a soccer ball in a room with walls only two feet apart. A good song indeed, but it somewhat pales in comparison to the final track.
DREAM BROTHER
‘Dream Brother’ closes the album in a vigorous and emotionally intense manner. Lyrically making reference to Buckley’s father’s absence during Jeff’s early life, this song is almost mind-altering. It is as if digging out the bones of hated memories and then pouring cement over them. The closing line – “asleep in the sand, with the ocean washing over” literally washes over your mind, sending shivers and spikes through your body. Now you know what it means to be Jeff Buckley. Now you feel the tragedy, the pain, the fear, the disappointment, but also the joy and numinous ecstasy of his short existence.
Jeff Buckley’s album “Grace” is not just an LP that you listen to, it is an experience of the senses that pulls you in and doesn’t let you go until you listen to it again and again and again… Well it doesn’t really ever let you go. After hearing it once, your perception of music will never be the same.
Rating: 9.5/10
Levantul
