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143 of 152 found the following review helpful:
 A Beautiful tragedy Mar 04, 2000
By Sadiqa L. Dickens
"anaisnine"
There are certain songs or artists you remember hearing for the first time, the impression is/was so strong. Jeff Buckley is one such artist. At first you hear the voice-That Voice!-expressive, far-ranging, wailing falsetto and heart melting vibrato.A close clock on his voice is like combining the apex of robert plant with some van morrison and a little of his own father's(tim buckley) monstrous instrument. Next you hear the music-plaintive, melancholy , pleading, ethereal-Free. Stylistically he harkens back somewhat to 80's alternarock ala cocteau twins-but really his sound(other than cover songs) is all his own; highlights are the soaring, epic "grace" and the rainy-day blues of "lover you should've come other" to the wistful "mojo pin". The third and most important ingredient to this masterpiece is his honesty- when you this album , you hear Jeff Buckley, heart and soul. Every song , every note-whether his own or borrowed, is another thread in the weaving of his own personal story, musically and otherwise.All in all, rarely has a debut artist come onto the scene with impact of a jeff buckley. Alas the tragedy is that his musical legacy was impromptly halted. Jeff Buckley accidentally drowned in May of '97. Which makes this album and his subsequent, unfinished release "sketches for my sweetheart the drunk"-that much more precious, and that much more graceful-A.N.
62 of 67 found the following review helpful:
Amazing and Graceful Jan 19, 2000
By Cary S. Whitt
"Tune Junkie"
This could be one of the best CD's of the last decade. The songs are just beautiful and rich. Each track has lush textural arrangements and wonderful melodies. It can rock at times, ("Eternal Life, Grace") but its the slower more personal numbers that pull the listener in. Songs like "Lover, You Should of Come Over" paint a picture in your head so vivid you can hear the rain drops. The painfully powerful, "So Real" puts you in the relationship of the lovers in the song. It all comes down to Jeff being an amazing storyteller. His roots suggest a more folk approach to songs, but he leaves that behind, leaning more toward the MC5 and Leonard Cohen, than to Peter, Paul and Mary. Some people need some time to warm-up to his falseto-ish voice, but I think it's simply amazing, and so is this disc.
28 of 28 found the following review helpful:
Absolutely essential - haunting, romantic, spiritual Mar 10, 2004
By Strobe Lights And Blown Speakers
Jeff Buckley released but one fully realized album during his all-too-brief stay with us on earth, but that album is one of the most passionate and spiritual albums I have ever heard. Imagine a fiery young singer/songwriter who is influenced by the likes of Led Zeppelin and The Smiths. Oh, and this dude has the most amazing voice ever. Also imagine his band (bassist Mick Grondhal, drummer Matt Johnson, guitarist Michael Tighe) knew his playing inside and out and acted more like a backing band for John Coltrane or Miles Davis than a traditional rock ensemble. Then you have a rough idea of the amazing album known simply as _Grace_. _Grace_ beings with the beautiful "Mojo Pin," fading into a soft guitar line along with Buckley's gentle crooning. With Zeppelin-esque intensity the track grows stronger and louder to it's climax. The wonderful guitar work ties the song together while Matt Johnson's drumming accentuates each change of pace. "The welts of your scorn, my love, give me more/Send whips of opinion down my back, give me more" Buckley's singing builds, "Well it's you I've waited my life to see/It's you I've searched so hard for," soaring into the ether with the last phrase. This flows into the next track, "Grace", which serves as a beautifully fiery compliment to the atmospheric "Mojo Pin." The climax found within is glorious, with sweet guitar strumming and then Buckley belting out with incredible emotion: "And I feel them drown my name/So easy to know/And forget with this kiss/I'm not afraid to go" His voice now more intense than ever, nearly screaming "But it goes so slow". He holds the last note for what seems like an eternity. The Gospel flavored "Lover, You Should've Come Over" moves from a harmonium opening to a solemn acoustic guitar backdrop grounded by Grondahl's tasteful bass playing. Over the sweet Hammond organ and the R&B styled backing vocals, Buckley builds the song to a desperate crescendo: "It's never over/My kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder/It's never over/All my riches for her smiles when I slept so soft against her," his own fine guitar work adding to the beauty of the lyrics, "It's not too late."
The highlight of the album comes with Buckley's emotionally-jarring rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". It is as if Cohen wrote the song specifically with Buckley's voice and style in mind. As tender as the heart that broke to write this song, just Buckley and a guitar, he confesses to us: "Well maybe there's a God above/But all I've ever learned from love/Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you." The song is impossibly gorgeous - easily one of my all-time favorite songs. A minimal stripped back performance but with such a spiritual, devotional vocal. It has been known to draw tears to the eyes of lumberjacks.
_Grace_ has this incredibly spiritual, romantic feel to it that I can't describe. Buckley's extreme intensity and emotional sincerity make _Grace_ what it is - a flourishing achievement in every conceivable way.
17 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Nothing like it before or since Sep 21, 2000
By Michael Bulger
Jeff Buckley's "Grace" may have been released in 1994, but is not of that time period in popular music; it is inherently difficult to classify or categorize, a timeless document of pure, self-indulgent artistic expression. With Buckley's death by drowning in 1997, and despite some disappointing posthumous releases, it seems certain that nothing so inconvenient as the artists' later development will ever intrude upon the perfection of this release. "Grace" is manifestly not for everyone--anyone not enamored of extended high notes, or melismatic singing, or songs difficult to dance to, will similarly not be enamored of this album. For anyone else, however, this is worth a listen, or three or four; it took several listens before it began to grow on me. An appreciation of "Grace" might begin with Buckley's voice: he possessed an astonishing range, and brilliant purity of tone, and at the same time he was capable of inflecting that tone with fine nuances of emotion. On "Grace," his voice is applied with equal facility both to his own compositions and to several well-chosen covers: Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," "Lilac Wine," perhaps best known as a Nina Simone song, and even a Benjamin Britten carol, "Corpus Christi Carol." Even the most radio-friendly songs ("Last Goodbye," "So Real") sound unique, while other tracks ("Mojo Pin," "Grace," "Dream Brother") sound like nothing a top 40 artist would be capable of, much less like anything on the radio today. By way of comparison, it is worth noting that Thom Yorke of Radiohead (among other singers) was influenced by Buckley during the recording of their albums "The Bends" and "OK Computer," but comparisons will only take you so far. Of all the discs is my collection, this is my clear favorite; you can do a great deal worse than seeing if it might be one of yours.
24 of 26 found the following review helpful:
The only finished work by an unbelieveable talent Oct 13, 2000
This album was Jeff Buckley's only finished full length LP, but it has earned its place in music and will give Buckley a long lasting legacy as a remarkably talented vocalist an deeply introspective songwriter. Like his father(Tim), he has an experimental vocal style that can easily move through four octaves. He immediately shows his talent in the emotional opener "Mojo Pin" where he laments about lost love and compares the feeling of his lover by his side to the need of a "Mojo Pin", a reference to heroin addiction, all of this is backed by whispering guitars and sped up organ tracks. The standout cut is "Grace" with its brilliant guitar work and captivating vocal performance where Buckley shows off his multiple octave range. This truly is a masterpiece with few flaws. In a time of grunge and "hard rock", Buckley was not afraid to write moving and emotional songs. It costed him in record sales, but his talent will always live on far past his untimely death.
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