Jeff Buckley

Early life

Born in Anaheim, California, Buckley was the only son of Mary (née Guibert) and the singer-songwriter Tim Buckley. His mother is a Zonian of Greek, English, French and Panamanian descent, while his father was the son of an Irish American father and an Italian American mother. Buckley was raised by his mother and stepfather, Ron Moorhead, in Southern California, and had a half-brother, Corey Moorhead. Buckley moved many times in and around Orange County while growing up, an upbringing he called "rootless trailer trash". As a child, Buckley was known as Scott "Scottie" Moorhead, based on his middle name and his stepfather's surname.

Career

In Los Angeles, Buckley spent six years working in a hotel and playing guitar in various bands, playing in styles from jazz, reggae, and roots rock to heavy metal. He toured with the dancehall reggae artist Shinehead and played occasional funk and R&B studio sessions, collaborating with the fledgling producer Michael J. Clouse to form X-Factor Productions. From 1988 to 1989, Buckley played in a band, the Wild Blue Yonder, that included John Humphrey and future Tool member Danny Carey. Buckley limited his singing to backing vocals.

Musical style

Buckley possessed a tenor vocal range. He cited singers including Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Patti Smith and Siouxsie Sioux as influences. He said: "Siouxsie, I have much of her influence in my voice". Buckley made full use of this range in his performances, particularly in the songs from Grace, and reached peaks of high G in the tenor range at the culmination of "Grace". "Corpus Christi Carol" was sung nearly entirely in a high falsetto. The pitch and volume of his singing was also highly variable, showcased in songs "Mojo Pin" and "Dream Brother", which began with mid-range quieter vocals, before reaching louder, higher peaks near the ending of the songs.

Legacy

After Buckley's death, a collection of demo recordings and a full-length album he had been reworking for his second album were released as a compilation album, Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk. It was overseen by his mother, Mary Guibert, band members and his friend Michael J. Clouse, as well as Chris Cornell. It was certified gold in Australia in 1998. Three other albums composed of live recordings have also been released, along with a live DVD of a performance in Chicago. A previously unreleased 1992 recording of "I Shall Be Released", sung by Buckley over the phone on live radio, was released on the album For New Orleans.

Dream Brother

"Dream Brother" is a song by American musician Jeff Buckley, featured on his only studio album Grace. Written by Buckley, bassist Mick Grøndahl and drummer Matt Johnson, it was written as an urge for a friend of his, Chris Dowd of Fishbone fame, not to walk out on his pregnant girlfriend in a similar way to Buckley's own father, Tim Buckley, as evidenced in the chorus, "Don't be like the one who made me so old/Don't be like the one who left behind his name/'Cause they're waiting for you like I waited for mine/And nobody ever came".

Covers

The song was covered by English progressive metal band TesseracT on their Perspective EP. The song has been performed by jazz pianist Brad Mehldau in various arrangements over the years. A version appears on is 10 Years Solo Live record. In October 2024, the song was remixed by Russian-German electronic music producer Zedd on Telos.

Eternal Life

"Eternal Life" is a song composed by Jeff Buckley, released as the fourth and final single from his album Grace. It is believed to have been influenced by a long-time love for Led Zeppelin's music and a wish to emulate them in this song.

The track is something of an exception on the album, featuring aggressive, overdriven guitar and bass riffs that contrast with the more intimate, melodic format that otherwise characterizes the album. "Eternal Life" can also be found on his 1993 EP Live at Sin-é.

Lover, You Should've Come Over

"Lover, You Should've Come Over" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley. It is the seventh track on his only studio album Grace, which was released on August 23, 1994, by Columbia Records.

Music and lyrics

Musically, "Lover, You Should've Come Over" is a folk-pop and soul ballad. The song has a length of 6:43, and is composed in 68 time and the key of D major. It moves at a tempo of 120 beats per minute, and Buckley's vocal range spans more than two octaves, from B3 to D6. The song begins with a harmonium passage. The song also includes organ performed by Loris Holland.

Release

On August 23, 2019–the 25th anniversary of the release of Grace–Columbia/Legacy Recordings published unreleased footage of Buckley performing the song on February 19, 1994, at Middle East in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Cover versions

The song was covered by the English jazz pianist songwriter Jamie Cullum on his 2003 album Twentysomething. It has also been covered live by Australian singer-songwriter Matt Corby, English rock band Nothing But Thieves, and American singer-songwriter John Mayer, who named it the best song of all time in a 2003 interview with Rolling Stone's Austin Scaggs. The song was also featured in the third episode of the ABC series FlashForward titled "137 Sekunden". The song was covered by Natalie Maines on her 2013 solo album Mother, with NPR's Ann Powers calling it "the sort of careening soul-metal epic that few vocalists even dare to attempt". American singer Nikka Costa included a version of the song on her 2017 album Underneath and in Between....

Legacy

In 2019, Paste's Steven Edelstone ranked "Lover, You Should've Come Over" as number one on his list of "The 10 Best Jeff Buckley Songs". Edelstone deemed the song "lyrical perfection" and its bridge an "all-timer": "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 / It's never over, all my blood for the sweetness of her laughter / It's never over, she's the tear that hangs inside my soul forever." Jacob Nierenberg of Consequence of Sound wrote that the song served as a "[reminder] that Buckley was making some of the most unique and unabashedly beautiful music of the 90s."

Mojo Pin

"Mojo Pin" is a song by American musician Jeff Buckley. Featured on his only studio album Grace, it was written by Buckley and Gary Lucas, and was first introduced on his EP, Live at Sin-é before it was later used as the first track on Grace.

Buckley stated that the song was about a dream of a Black woman. Through a wash of bizarre images, the lyrics convey a feeling of addiction, either to drugs or a person.

So Real

"So Real" is the third single from Jeff Buckley's 1994 album Grace, and also had an accompanying video. A commercial CD-single was only released in Australia.

Background

Michael Tighe, a guitarist who joined Buckley late in the recording of Grace, brought with him what was to become the main riff on "So Real" that is played during the verses.

Music video

A music video for "So Real" was directed by English filmmaker Sophie Muller, and filmed in New York City. The video depicts Jeff Buckley riding a bicycle through the streets of New York City to a diner. After finding a seat at the diner and interacting with other customers, he notices his bicycle being stolen by a group of gorillas. Pursuing the gorillas, Buckley begins to undress himself while in the evening sunlight. Alongside the video's main narrative, surreal footage of Buckley and his band performing the song is featured throughout.