On August 23rd, 1994, Jeff Buckley, the son of the immensely famous Tim Buckley, released his first and only studio album, Grace. The album explores and dives into the concept of love and heartbreak within the songs. Jeff Buckley used his astonishing vocal ability throughout every track, using unique melodies to accompany his ability to hit highs and lows. Grace is a rock album, yet it hits boundaries that you wouldn’t usually see within the rock genre. Although it was not as appreciated back then as it is today, this album was a cornerstone of inspiration for bands such as Radiohead with their album, In Rainbows. Using much more vocal-oriented tracks such as, “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” and “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi”.
The album kicks off with a song titled, “Mojo Pin”. The song revolves around a heavy topic – drug abuse – in the music industry and with Buckley himself. He uses metaphorical words throughout the song such as, “Black Beauty” and “White Horse”. Black beauty is a slang term from the sixties relating to methamphetamine and white horse is related to pure white heroin. Besides the song’s message, the music itself is a hard-rock sound somewhat unique from the rest of the album, with Buckley’s impressive voice, it mixes well creating an alternative slow sound up into a hard loud chorus with high and low notes. Although this song is about substance abuse, it keeps in theme with the album’s feeling of love, as it is about Buckley himself falling in love with these substances.
The album’s title song, “Grace,” is next in the lineup. This song starts with a catchy melodic intro riff that breaks into an even catchier second melodic riff. The song is about Buckley’s belief and strong value in love and finding comfort in his mortality—seeking death yet loving all the same. The lyrics, “And the rain is falling, and I believe my time has come” are an eerie listen as Buckley would pass away only 2 years after the creation of this album and song by drowning in the Wolf River in Tennessee. Every note of this song is a masterpiece all the way up to the thrilling chorus. The big drop of everything left with the thundering vocals and hard rock guitars booming, Buckley belts, “And I feel them drown my name, so easy to know and forget with this kiss, and I’m not afraid to go but it goes so slow.” Another foreshadowing lyric to his death.
The next song is “Last Goodbye,” a song about accepting that a relationship is over and there is nothing you can do to change the past. The song opens with a melodic, simple guitar riff and continues into a harder chorus sound later in the song. Buckley’s voice is extraordinary throughout the song, creating a complete, full sound that masks the song in an almost mystical feel.
The next song, “Lilac Wine” is not very complex, as it is a cover of James Shelton’s song with the same title. The song is about drinking alcohol from a tree and remembering a loved one from the past that Buckley no longer has. This is a much calmer song with a lot of vocals with less guitar present.
The next song in the lineup is “So Real”. This song is about the idea of loving someone for a while and doing all these nice things with them, all for it to go away and being all by yourself to remember all that happened. The hook of the chorus stating, “Oh, that was so real” is a testament to this. Saying that Buckley is realizing that what he had was so real.
Jeff Buckley’s most commercially popular song is up next, “Hallelujah”. A cover of Leonard Cohen’s song. The song is extremely melodic, almost like a lullaby. The chorus seems somewhat sarcastic through Buckley’s vocal tone, but it still sounds gorgeous. The song is still about love, and how someone has lost it, an obviously prominent theme in this album.
The next song is my favorite and the most recalled song off the album. “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” is not just a song, but an out-of-body experience. Buckley creates a world of music around you as an orchestral tune is presented. His voice is the most prominent in this song, speaking about love and losing someone yet knowing that this break-up will hold a piece of him forever. As stated in the climax of the song, “It’s never over, she’s the tear that hangs inside my soul forever”. Creating a sense of having to deal with the repercussions of having such a bond with someone just for them to leave and take a piece of you. The song also involves the idea of Buckley making wrong decisions that led up to this break-up, the lyrics stating, “And I feel too young to hold on, and I’m much too old to break free and run, too deaf, dumb, and blind to see the damage I’ve done.” The vocals in this chorus are stunning, hitting highs not seen throughout the album so far, with an insanely catchy melody. This song can’t be explained through words, you must listen to it to feel the full experience. This is Jeff Buckley’s masterpiece.
The next song is “Corpus Christi Carol,” a simple melodic tune involving Buckley’s vocals as the main melody. The music is quite mellow and is a beautifully sung song. Although not one of my favorites due to its slow, repetitive nature, it is a great song.
One of my favorites is up next: “Eternal Life.” It’s the hardest, meanest song on the album, inspired by Buckley’s early hard rock roots. It involves the thought of people being abhorrently mean for no reason and the idea of loving each other instead of hating. But it’s expressed through the lyrics as a shouting call. Buckley yells, “Racist every man, what have you done? All I want to do is love everyone.” This explains the song thoroughly, showing Jeff Buckley’s hatred for people that hate people, and how he believes everyone should instead love each other. Mid-way through the song there is a slight break where Buckley mellows out, but comes back with a vengeance, increasing the volume and distortion of his guitar and belting out lyrics.
His album, Grace, can be found on most streaming platforms for you to listen to.
