A tribute

'Absolute music! A note of music is either right or wrong - absolutely! Not even Time can alter that: music is God's art' - from Amadeus, by Peter Shaffer

There is something divine in the way music can touch us. The way a series of waves striking ears can so perfectly express the inexpressible. At it's purest it can move you to unbelievable, unimaginable places of joy.
That brings us to Jeff Buckley.
Why do we/I love Jeff so much? Simple, He moved mountains of hearts and souls.
To listen to Jeff Buckley's songs or (more importantly) to listen to him sing is one of the most truly divine things I have ever experienced. It's like flying, soaring on the voice of an angel, right into the heart. Which is not to say that it must do the same for every body, music has different meaning for everybody. But the fact that you're reading this probably means you know what I'm talking about.

In this world of plastic celebrities and processed music Jeff Buckley shone like a flaming knife, burning through all the crap, revealing a sound so potent and real that it shook spines. Here was a musician whose home was with the live, intimate audience, instead of the safety of the fortress studio. When he did venture into the studio the result was pure ecstasy.

Whatever last year's dancer boy doing the ordinary 'classic' cover-cum-dance-tune, may have sold more discs then Buckley. He might have made somebody feel like dancing for a while, until you got sick of it and moved on in disgust. But what does that mean? Absolutely zilch compared to Buckley's ability to move and even change people lives with a turn of a word note or a sigh on a note.

The average response to his music isn't Ordinary at all. If you like Jeff's music, chances are you love it.

Grace is an album. It is a song. It's also an undefinable quality that is radiated when a person does what they are truly meant for. It makes you shine, and it also lights up those around you. It has nothing to do with society, or position. It has everything to do with the way you treat and affect other people. The titles tell the truth both about the music and the man.

Jeff Buckley's debut album, Grace, is a spellbinding wonder. It demands attention and can quite literally silence all other sounds in a room. Made from a fusion of many musical styles, it is more then a sum of it's parts. Buckley's style isn't rock or blues or jazz or classical - it's Jeff Buckley. It's a bittersweet journey of love and longing that reaches into the depths of the soul. Buckley is backed by a solid band (guitar, bass, drums) for most of the tracks however it is the voice that carries the album, their musical skills allowing him to extend his vocals to ecstatic heights.

Each song stands on it's own as a unique entity, engaging the listener through the quiet sensuality of "Mojo Pin", and the exultant honesty of "Last Goodbye" and "Lover, You Should've Come Over", the fairy tale "Corpus Christi Carol", and the powerfully angry "Eternal Life".

But more then anything, Grace is a personal. Its subject matter is love, usually love that finds itself on the wrong path. This singer draws you into your own private world, makes you think about what's really important. And the insights gained are spine shaking. It's like learning through feeling. Buckley is an outstanding, if unintentional teacher. You feel it, and you know.

In Grace, Jeff Buckley reaches the heights of passion and sincerity that most artists only allude to. It's music that should, and does, prosper in and sustain hearts for a very long time.
In my case that probably means forever.

Sketches (for My Sweetheart the Drunk) is something else altogether. This collection of works-in-progress is one of the most heartbreaking creations to enter my (musical) life. It's good. It's not more Grace but it still has that evocative essence of Jeff that gave Grace it's life. The first disc is a set of demo's Jeff recorded with the band, produced by Tom Verlaine. For unfinished works - in fact, works that Jeff was determined to burn and re-record from scratch - they are better than most of the finished works being put out today. Made up of ten works of art each embracing a sea of styles and emotions; "The Sky is a landfill" awakens, "Everybody here wants you" seduces, "Nightmares by the Sea" exhilarates. But for me, the highlight of the disc (actually both discs) is "Morning Theft". A deceptively simple arrangement over which Jeff sings up a quiet storm. It's "Morning Theft" the breaks my heart every time.

The second disc begins with different versions of disc one's "Nightmares" (a barer version that is even more chilling) and "New Years Prayer" (a dreamy, eastern type lullaby/call to life), then the gorgeously paranoid "Haven't you heard". It then moves into the solo four track recordings. These, more then anything, show that Jeff was not one to stick in a mould. It's hard to imagine any of these tracks appearing one Grace (especially the horny "Your flesh is so nice"), but that's more because Grace as a unique entity, as it is, is so firmly etched in my mind. These sketches are dark and often discordant, yet powerful. "Meteor Murder Suicide Slave" starts with unsettling dissidence that somehow suddenly makes sense at the chorus. The cover of Genesis' "Back in NYC" wails it self into surrealness. It's a great mystery where Jeff intended to go with them with the band. I guess we'll never know. But for my money, my stand out pick is the sublime "I Know We Could Be So Happy, Baby (If We Wanted To Be)". Jeff's voice soars with intensity with exquisite lyrics and guitars, like the whisper of the ghost of the inner soul.

Sketches is outstanding, but what kills is the fact these are only sketches. Like photos you take of someone when you don't know that you'll never see them again. It achieves something that those artists who live in studio will never reach. It shows Jeff's genius for what it is, a pure and living part of him. But for my part, I'd prefer to recognise that by seeing him play live.

"Jewel box of sadness
Bring to catch your tears
Oh, you left some stars on my belly.."
- Jewel Box

This precious, indispensable jewel box will at least ease the pain, bringing back to life the joy that lived in a man's voice.

This is my personal tribute to Jeff Buckley (which means it is probably more about me then Jeff). This site is also under construction. Many people have already done a fine job of biographies and discographies. So at this stage, to find out more about this genius please check out my links.

The first time I ever heard of Jeff Buckley was flicking through the Triple J Hottest 100 CD, no.3. 'Last Goodbye' is track 8. At the time, I liked the song but I didn't go crazy about it. I thought about buying his album 'Grace', but for one reason or another, didn't.

I fell in love with Jeff's music much later - about a year after his death in fact. By some weird late night chance I caught some clips of Jeff playing on the 'Rage' tribute in May. I was absolutely floored! I taped them on whatever tape was already in the VCR and spent the next day watching it (not a few times!). I couldn't believe that I'd been oblivious to this genius. I couldn't believe that he was dead.
I bought Grace ASAP. It surpassed all expectations. After one song cycle all I could do was a) kick myself more (Grace was released in 1994) and b) sit there in stunned silence and play it again.
That voice! I don't think I've ever heard a voice that sung so straight in to my soul. It was passionate and it was honest and real. It made my spine tingle. It was divine.

The quote at the top of the page is the composer Antonio Salieri reflecting on the divine nature of music. The instrument in that play (Amadeus) is WA Mozart. Well, I've played and listened to a hell of a lot of Mozart and it does nothing compared to what Grace did to me. It's very rare that I find albums that are in themselves so close to perfection. Albums that I listen to - I mean really pour all attention into - all the way through. Through the sweet pleadings of "Mojo Pin", the power chords of "Eternal Life" or Last Goodbye (which is now so integral to me) or any of the songs that bless "Grace", he somehow made it all so personal. As if, despite space and time and death, he was singing right to and for you. I can't really rave enough about Grace. And despite all this babble, I'll never really be able to express the beauty of it.

I'll admit now that I was a little dubious about Sketches. The man himself, wasn't happy with them. Did I really want to listen to something that he wanted to erase? The answer is yes. These "Sketches" are truly remarkable. It's not finished but it's still alive and moving. we now know that My Sweetheart the Drunk would have been a worthy follow up of Grace. And any recording with Jeff's voice on it is a gift.

What does all this mean? Perhaps the real reason that Jeff is so dear to me is that he was so close to his art. He wasn't in it for the money, or the fame. He was in it for the music. He was true to himself and the result was a reflection of this. He makes me feel something. It's not usually happy or carefree, but somehow it is joyful and exultant. It's divinity born from the unrestrained beauty of a human, unafraid to be human.

Some how, he makes me want to be a better person.

nb: photography used without permission. but please visit Merri Cyr's photography Website who made alot of these splendid pictures

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