Grace | Jeff Buckley
Written by Dan on September 4, 2008
Home >> Album Reviews >> Grace | Jeff Buckley
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I know I’ve mentioned Jeff Buckley before in my Strongest Voices in Rock post, but his voice was just too phenomenal to actually think his music deserved just a passing mention. Sometimes he played alternative, straight-up rock, blues, or even folk. But what remained constant throughout was his amazing voice. It really is a shame he died so young.

For some reason Jeff Buckley never made it into my music collection until this past summer. The first time I heard his name was from my vocal teacher’s recommendation back in high school. I gave a couple quick lessons, but it didn’t really stick. Honestly, I wasn’t open to many styles of music outside of the well-defined borders I made for myself at that age. I guess I just figured that I hadn’t heard of him anywhere else, so how great could he really be? More recently I noticed his name popping up as influences for bands with singers I really enjoy. And just this past year, his name has been given a little more attention since someone sang Hallelujah on American Idol… of course I only just found that out while doing a little bit of research for this post. Anyways, I didn’t actually buy Grace (Legacy Edition) (1994) until this past summer. Aside from the fact that his voice is practically the only voice in modern rock that rivals Maynard James Keenan and Billy White, his music was actually pretty good too… assuming you can tolerate some diversity across an album.

Personally, I do enjoy his rock influenced tracks more so than the blues, folk, or artsy tracks. And despite its apparent surge in media attention, Jeff Buckley’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah is absolutely beautiful. I don’t actually watch cable, read the paper, or listen to the news, so I’m always late on these popular trends or well-known occurrences… you know, like global warming or the downfall Ottoman empire… who knew? My ignorance of current events aside, I had a harder time getting into tracks like Lilac Wine and Corpus Christi Carol, but I can still appreciate what he’s doing. But tracks such as Mojo Pin, Grace, Last Goodbye, and Eternal Life in particular really stick out to me. These are certainly more rock influenced but still retain his singer/song-writer twist. His music is always good for a pick-me-up and a reminder of how great singing should sound like… which in turn reminds me how terrible my singing is. This subsequently requires another pick-me-up… but what are you gonna do?

Viewing 6 Comments

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    just had an AMAZING.. 15 year anniversary of the release of Grace-- tribute concert in Nashville last weekend. Closing my eyes-- the fellow sounded EXACTLY like Jeff & I'm one of those obsessive buckley listeners. We miss you Obnoxious L boys. Hope to talk to you soon indeed! We are currently posting a few new songs we whipped up in the studio for an Art Institute classes project. Hope all is glorious-- the site seems to be doing quite well!

    with the most love,
    katie & all of pilots wish
    www.myspace.com/pilotswish
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    Good call. It's "Lover, You Should Have Come Over" that really nails me down. "So Real" can haunt me for hours after listening, too. I need the Legacy edition . . . I just have a hard time making myself buy an album I already own. The songs you mention are among the best tracks, too, although somehow I'm entirely immune to whatever charm "Hallelujah" has. Even the lyrics just get on my nerves, which is surprising, because it's the words that are usually the strength of any Leonard Cohen song. But there's a live version on Mystery White Boy that segues into "I Know It's Over", one of the greatest Smiths songs ever.

    I just found your site today, and I'm diggin' on it.

    John
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    Anyone else think he's a little too liberal with his use of vibrato in that first sound clip? I think it should be used to highlight certain notes instead of entire phrases.
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    I kind of agree... he did seem to play up his voice from time to time.
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    I heard that criticism when I tried turning a friend onto this album, myself.

    She also couldn't stand his upper register. Some people have got a real beef with guys who sing high-pitched. Roger Daltrey of the Who used to slag off the Bee Gees when they were hot, saying they wrote great songs but "Why the fuck do they sing like that?" I don't get it. To me (and I've written and recorded a few tunes, myself, including thick stacks of multitracked harmonies) the register you sing in is a crucial part of the song. To make the vocal lower, you'd have to change the key -- which changes the whole atmosphere of the song -- or else sing a whole octave lower, and some melodies just don't work if they're pitched in too low an octave. Like, if your lead vocal wants to hang around the major seventh of the chord it's on, it may work up high, but it can sound like crap if it's too low, like you're just way too flat. I am, in fact, a baritone, so I have to be careful about what lead lines I compose for myself, and I like to add interest with high-pitched harmonies or backup vocals, which sound much better than when I try to sing high pitches as a soloist.

    I must admit, I usually prefer less vibrato than Buckley does on this album, and the Beach Boys (as individual singers as well as group harmonies) are a great example of singers who put out straight, smooth notes most of the time. That's what makes their harmonies so powerful. But in the case of the particular songs on _Grace_ (the original album, at least), Jeff's frequent vibrato is fairly appropriate. I mean, a lot of these songs sound like they're MEANT to be anxious, and the vibrato lends to that enormously. Jeff Buckely was the kind of artist, you *knew* he was gonna grow and go off in many different directions and styles, so I'm pretty sure that, had he lived, he would have continued to develop and refine his art, and that would doubtlessly have meant more judicious use of vibrato.

    I didn't know it until a few days ago, but in the classical music community, vibrato is a very, VERY controversial topic!


    John



    John
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    Great feedback John! I definitely agree with you. There's nothing
    wrong with a man singing in falsetto, in fact women don't even have
    falsetto. It's actually pretty hard to master since you have little to
    no volume control of falsetto, unlike your head voice (I don't hear
    enough of that).

    What Jeff had was fanastic, it's a shame he didn't get to leave more
    with us.

    I didn't realize vibrato was controversial, but I can see it being
    that way. It can be viewed as a cheap way to hold a note... If used
    improperly.
 
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