At the very end of the gig, the note is a mic drop for the ages: How could Buckley even follow it up with another song? The album version is his best-known song by a huge margin, but this is the recording that started it all, the version that initially blew away all the A&R executives from every major label. It’s a jaw-dropping display of what his voice, one that’s unrivaled by basically anyone not named Freddie Mercury, could do. On the Live at Sin-é version of “Hallelujah,” Buckley holds the penultimate “hallelujah” for 23 seconds. It’s perhaps the most beautiful thing Buckley ever recorded. #Jeff Buckley Full Discography Torrent full#Instead of releasing any of those covers right away-the full gig was finally released in 2003-they opted for an old French cut (alongside “Sweet Thing” originally by Van Morrison), a pitch-perfect cover of Marguerite Monnot’s “Je n’en connais pas la fin,” a song that sounds like a carnival in the heart of Paris. That show was chock full of originals and covers from legends like Led Zeppelin, Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and more. He refused, opting instead for a full-band album instead, prompting Columbia to instead record one of the shows and release it as an EP in 1993. Upon signing with Columbia, the label actually wanted Buckley’s debut record to reflect the nature of the Sin-é gigs, which were performed completely solo. News of the shows spread like wildfire around New York City, and soon, record executives’ limos lined the streets of the gritty Lower Manhattan neighborhood (prompting other musicians, including Ben Folds, to attempt-and fail-to recreate that same energy on other nights). Mark’s Place in the East Village, while performing a residency there each week in the early ’90s. Jeff Buckley became a star at Sin-é, a small café on St. “Je n’en connais pas la fin” (Live at Sin-é) Recorded at Sony Studios in New York in April 1995, Buckley somehow injects the dour track with even more longing, especially as his voice hits an operatic fever pitch at the very end.Ħ. Buckley did just that with “I Know It’s Over,” somehow one-upping one of the best Smiths songs ever written. Just hand him a guitar, an amp and a microphone and he’ll blow the original song out of the water. Jeff Buckley is perhaps best known for his covers-a couple of which will appear later on this list-and his ability to strip them down to the bare minimum, adorned only by his own voice and a clean electric guitar, is genuinely unmatched. “I Know It’s Over” (Live at Columbia Records Radio Hour) In honor of the reissue celebrations, we decided to take a stab at choosing his 10 best songs, an introduction of sorts to one of the most prodigious talents of the ’90s. It comes with unreleased songs and four live sets, providing a snapshot in time as Buckley was en route towards becoming one of the best artists of his generation, more confident with each live show. This past Friday (August 23), Columbia/Legacy Recordings reissued Grace for its 25th anniversary, highlighting a timeless album for a new generation of listeners. It’s one of the biggest losses in the history of music. Scores of previously released posthumous materials have arrived since, but they still don’t live up to the promise of the 30-year-old artist finally becoming more than just a cult favorite. The night his band flew there to join him in the studio, he went swimming in the Mississippi River and drowned. After a grueling album cycle and corresponding world tour that stretched almost two years, Buckley retreated to Memphis, frustrated by the lack of progress on his sophomore record. Jeff Buckley was a star, plain and simple, one who seemed completely different from his own era of post-grunge contemporaries.īut his story was as tragic as any. Limos from major labels in Midtown started showing up in Lower Manhattan, as their executives wanted to just get a glimpse of the stunning talent they’d heard whispers about from their cooler friends and employees. With a voice like his, one that’s essentially unrivalled throughout music history, it’s no wonder why those initial shows drew such a big audience, completely through a word-of-mouth campaign. The story of Jeff Buckley’s Grace is as old-fashioned as it gets: Get really good at playing live shows, get a residency at a local coffee shop and hope to God people actually show up.
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