Grace is the only studio album Jeff Buckley ever recorded in 1994 at Columbia Records. The album includes ten songs, three of which are well-known covers: the jazz standard “Lilac Wine,” Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” and the traditional hymn, “Corpus Christi Carol”.
This masterpiece of an album has completely changed my perspective on English music. Before hearing Grace, I occasionally enjoyed listening to English music, but nothing stood out to me or had touched my soul as Grace did. All of the songs on the album are ethereal and unique, and the ones written by Jeff are especially beautiful and could be hits if they had the chance. Since hearing Grace, I’ve listened to songs from the album almost every week, and have slowly been listening to and appreciating more English music.
Jeff Buckley was born in 1966 in California and was the son of the cult singer-songwriter Tim Buckley, whom he only met once as a child. Jeff gained a following in the 1990s in the East Village, Manhattan, after playing as a session guitarist for a decade in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, in 1997, he drowned in the Wolf River in Mississippi.
The 8th track on Grace, titled “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over,” has gained popularity in very recent years on social media. However, Jeff’s cover of “Hallelujah” is still Jeff’s greatest hit and is one of the most acclaimed versions of the song. His cover was added to Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest songs and to the American Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry in 2014. “Hallelujah” also ranked number one on Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs in 2008 and number two on the UK singles chart.
Grace has themes of alternative, folk, and jazz rock. Most songs on the album are spiritual or love songs, and feel intense or bittersweet. Although most of Jeff’s lyrics are complex, “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” is well-known for its beautifully haunting lyrics. Some examples are “Broken down and hungry for your love, with no way to feed it,” “My kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder,” and “All my blood for the sweetness of her laughter.” Additionally, Jeff added “I didn’t see you before, but I see you now,” to some of his live performances of the song.
As previously mentioned, I do not believe that Grace has any “bad” songs. However, the cover songs in the album seem to contrast with the originals. Some fans argue that “Corpus Christi Carol” is what’s stopping the album from being perfect, but compared to the other two covers, it just makes sense. First of all, it fits the album’s theme of spirituality, but it also perfectly showcases the high end of Jeff’s impressive vocal range and falsetto. Overall, this album has been the inspiration for many other albums in the vast genre of alternative rock.
My overall rating of this album is a ten out of ten. With most albums I’ve listened to, there are usually a few songs I tend to skip, and avoid listening to the album alone because of them. However, I never have to skip songs on Grace, as each one feels as if it has been meticulously created and/or recorded. Lots of my favorite songs of all time are on Grace, and I am honored to have been graced by Jeff Buckley’s angelic voice.
