came crashing down when he drowned
while taking a swim in Wolf River harbor
in Memphis. With no drugs or alcohol
found in his system, the greatest tragedy
is that Buckley was in a happy state of
mind and ready to give the world more of
what he had to offer before chance came
into play.
STANDOUT TRACKS: The title track of
“Grace”, and his cover of Leonard Cohen’s
“Hallelujah.”
Jeff Buckley: Grace
JEFF BUCKLEY
Grace (1994)
It shouldn’t have ended this way. After
paying his dues as a session musician
for many years in the LA music scene,
Jeff Buckley finally got the resources
together to record his ‘94 debut, a
melancholy combination of old
timey jazz and new-romantic
folk. While Grace didn’t tear
up the charts, it received
high praise from luminaries
such as Led Zeppelin and
David Bowie, singling out
Buckley’s tender, warbling
vocals that would later
influence alt-rock gods
like Thom Yorke and Matt
Bellamy. Just as Buckley was
recording his follow-up, it all
30
TONE TALK //
One Band, One Album
1