FEATURE:
Eternal Grace
Remembering the Iconic Jeff Buckley
__________
I have written about…
IN THIS PHOTO: Jeff Buckley in Miami in 1994/PHOTO CREDIT: Meri Cyr
the legendary and much-missed Jeff Buckley quite a lot through the years. A big reason why I am revisiting his music and legacy is because, on 29th May, it will be twenty-five years since he died. Aged only thirty, Buckley accidentally drowned. One of the most heartbreaking losses in music ever, he was on the cusp of something extortionary. Even though his debut (and sole) album, Grace, did not get a lot of coverage when it was released in 1994, it has gone on to be one of the most celebrated albums ever. An artist that was perhaps not truly appreciated in his lifetime, I think that it is tragic that Buckley left us without knowing the full extent of how his music would resonate and influence through the years. Certainly, in terms of influence, he is an artist who continues to inspire people. From Radiohead to Anna Calvi, he is an extraordinary and unmatched artist who is sorely missed. Although 1994’s Grace is the only album completed in his lifetime, there are live albums and other tracks that show different sides to him. A posthumous album, Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk, was released in 1998. There are some promising songs on the album, though you get the feeling Buckley would have nixed the songs and started again. When he died, he was in Memphis working on demos and songs that were hopefully going to be part of a second album. One wonders what direction the album would have taken. Perhaps slightly heavier and more experimental than Grace, it is one of those great unanswered questions.
I have been a fan of Jeff Buckley since I was young. As a musician, after a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he started to grab attention and appear on the radar in the early-1990s by playing cover songs at venues in Manhattan's East Village such as Sin-é. Eventually, he signed with Columbia, recruited a band, and recorded Grace. There have been projects and documentaries about Buckley in the years since his death, though I can hear his influence now more than ever. As an artist who will be celebrated and played for generations more, it is time to put together something where people discuss what he means to them. Artists new and established could pay tribute to an icon. For me, it is his musicianship and feel that gets me. The way he can take a song to new heights or make someone else’s track his own. A wonderful guitar player and heavenly vocalist, to see him live must have been mind-blowing! I never got that chance, and yet I feel like I had some connection with him. Listening to a Jeff Buckley live performance is like being in the audience. He has a way of drawing people in! One is powerfulness to resist the magic of his voice. Grace is a staggering debut album that hinted at this incredibly interesting and long future. If he were here today, he would be a fifty-four-year-old artist, I suspect, stepping back slightly and maybe producing for other artists. I think that he would have released several studio albums and collaborated with a range of artists. He would definitely be amazed at how many people his touched!
I might put out another feature before 29th May. It will be a very sad day remembering an artist who should be with us today. Rather than mourn, it is opportunity to celebrate everything he achieved. Go and dig as much as Buckley’s music as you can. There are rare songs, B-sides and live performances you may not have heard before. Revisit Grace too. I simply like listening to interviews with him, as he had this soothing speaking voice that was so full of wisdom, warmth and wit. Vulnerable yet seemingly superhuman in his talents, Jeff Buckley was someone who you felt an affinity for. Like you knew him somehow. That seems strange, but he was so relatable and grounded. I would have loved to have hung out with him in New York or gone to see him play an intimate gig back in 1993. Since his death in 1997, so many other artists owe him a debt. His music has been the soundtrack to so many people’s lives, and we will remember him forever. A singular and supernova talent who was possessed of a golden voice and such ability, 29th May is a chance for Jeff Buckley fans around the world to remember him and pay tribute. I will definitely do that. Play loud the incredible and stunning music of…
A truly wonderful human.