Jeff Buckley's Music - Day 128 - Daily Haiku - Grace for Drowning, Part 1
Jeff Buckley's music
indicative of talent
of rare depth and breadth
Cori MacNaughton
Some time ago, eighteen months or perhaps a bit more, Marek's best friend Michael sent him a copy of some of Jeff Buckley's music. Marek asked me about him one evening, to which I replied, "He's a phenomenal guitarist," which he noted, and we went on to other subjects.
A couple of days later, he mentioned that Buckley had a really good singing voice, to which I responded, "Really? I didn't even know he sang."
I was, in the end, not thinking of Jeff Buckley at all; but of Jeff Beck, who is indeed a phenomenal guitarist.
I was largely unfamiliar with Buckley's work at the time, at least by name, which is, quite simply, a crime.
The next time Marek was home, we transferred Buckley's work to my memory stick, and I began going through his music. And, in the process, I came across several songs that I knew and recognized, and had loved when they came out, but had not known at the time who the artist was.
The songs with which I was most familiar were "Last Goodbye" and "Grace," from his sole studio album, 1994's "Grace;" and "Everybody Here Wants You," from the later compilation "Sketches from My Sweetheart the Drunk," posthumously released in 1998, after his untimely death the previous year by drowning.
I strongly associated both songs with sailing and boating, since they came out during the period when we were actively racing our Morgan sailboat, and doing a lot of SCUBA diving up and down the West Coast of Florida and elsewhere.
As the only studio album completed and released during Buckley's life, "Grace" stands out as a testament, not only to his musical prowess as a first class singer, songwriter, and performer, but also to the breadth and depth of his musical influences, and the sheer audacity and courage of some of the musical choices he made for the album.
That his record label allowed him full creative control on a debut album still amazes me, knowing something of how the music business typically works, but as Steve Berkowitz of Sony Music put it, "I thought that Jeff would make twenty-five records, and I think that Columbia and Sony thought that it went Dylan, Springsteen, Buckley."
What surprised me more was the depth to which I was personally moved by his music, by the sometimes deceptively simple yet introspective and insightful lyrics, and by the intensely personal manner in which he bared his soul, repeatedly, to serve his muse. Few musicians have affected me as deeply or as profoundly as Jeff Buckley.
That I have come to know his music so recently, and was unfamiliar with him for so long, still seems astounding.
Not surprisingly, one of his most genuinely affecting songs is "Dream Brother," above, a song he wrote for a close friend of his, to convince him not to abandon his pregnant girlfriend and their child.
Buckley's own biological father, the popular folk and jazz/funk singer/songwriter Tim Buckley, had abandoned his mother and him. It affected him deeply, and he met the elder Buckley only once, at age eight, when Buckley's second wife invited him to stay with them for several days, so that they might get to know one another.
Tim Buckley was recording an album at the time, and as Jeff related years later, never even invited his son to watch him record, leaving Jeff with the impression that his father was simply uninterested in him. A few months later, his father was dead of an overdose, at age twenty-eight, of a combination of heroin, morphine and alcohol.
The irony is that Tim had recently been clean, and no longer using drugs; thus the dose that had previously not been dangerous for him, once his body was no longer used to the drugs, proved lethal. Jeff was not invited to his father's funeral.
To be continued.
And I would love to hear your take in the comments.
Lovely Hummingbirds - Day 126 - Daily Haiku
Most Charitable Poetry Contest #1 - Speaking My Truth - Original Poetry
Nashville at Nighttime - Day 125 - Daily Haiku
Comic recordings - Day 124 - Daily Haiku - More Comic Genius
Music is My Joy - Day 123 - Daily Haiku - and a Tribute to Tom Lehrer's Comic Genius
Fireflies Are Active - Day 122 - Daily Haiku
A Date with Marek - Day 121 - Daily Haiku
For the Alliance - Day 120 - Daily Haiku - My Application to join The Alliance
Speaking Words of Love - Day 119 - Daily Haiku
Speaking My Own Truth - Day 118 - Daily Haiku - and some Questions for Empaths and Lightworkers
Some of the sources I used in researching this:
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/rivers-edge-19970807
https://headlinermagazine.net/headliners/saying-grace-jeff-buckley-20-years-on.html
https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/11/12/455647161/new-album-of-previously-unheard-jeff-buckley-recordings-to-be-released
The following two are interesting as well, but get a lot of the facts incorrect:
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/jeff-buckley-a-singer-with-the-real-x-factor-1204998.html
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-jeff-buckley-1254388.html
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All words are my own.
The additional images and videos are the intellectual property of Jeff Buckley's estate, his producers and record companies, and all rights remain with them.
I claim no rights, but offer these videos, as I offer all the music videos I post, in the hopes of promoting my favorite music artists, so that more people become familiar with their music, and that they grow their fan base in the process, as they so richly deserve. Buckley, absolutely, should be far better known than he is today.
The photo of our dog, Lolo, and our late cat, Miod, I took as they were cooperatively begging at the dinner table, despite our longstanding rule of not feeding them from the table.
You can see how much that deterred them both.
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This is where you really shine. Your personalized view of a musician and their music. Bravo! Plus I looked at your link to Dr. Sears. Seems like good stuff... and I'll try some. Anything work particularly well for you? Blessings.
Thank you kindly, @mistermercury. Music is definitely one of my passions, as you know, and has been for as long as I can remember. ;-)
As for Dr. Sears, I've been getting his newsletters for around twenty years and counting, and I trust him to give me accurate, non-hyped information. So far everything I've tried has worked as advertised.
The one that has impressed me the most, so far, is the Curcurmin Triple Burn, which is listed under Inflammation, but also boosts the immune system and help to combat the effects of aging, among other things.
And, of course, the vast majority of ailments of all kinds begin with inflammation and digestive tract issues, both of which this formula addresses.
We sent it to Marek's dad, who wanted it for his wife, as she is having progressively worse memory problems. They are both in their eighties.
Unfortunately, he couldn't get her to take it, so he started taking it himself, and both Marek and I noticed a distinct difference in both his mood and his cognition; he is forgetting less, remembering more, sleeping better, and his overall mood has brightened.
Based on his results, we both plan to start taking it come fall.
I was pleased to notice, when I first scrolled through the ingredients list, that most of the primary ingredients are in the spiced honey I've been making for years, so it's nice to know after all these years as a lay herbalist that I was on the right track. ;-)
Thanks I will definitely give it a try. There were so many things on his site I want to use, but at the moment must watch my budget. But hopefully will be able to use more in the future. Thanks again. blessings.
Right there with you. We're doing the same, and trying things a little at a time. So far so good.
God i was in love with Buckley in the 90s. Like.. totally in love. We were lucky enough to see him live in Perth... it was the most magical event and i can rave about it if you WANT to hear about it... 😎
I'm totally jealous. I would LOVE to have seen him live.
I was laughing a few days back, because I read a quote from another musician (can't think who at the moment) saying that while he really liked Buckley, he was also jealous of him because of his amazing voice, guitar skills, and how classically handsome he was.
Marek was nonplussed, Buckley was good looking?
Ummmm . . . yeah. Duh. LOL. I can completely appreciate a woman's beauty despite not being attracted to her, but for him, if it's a guy, he's automatically not interested in how they look. ;-)
The irony is that Marek and his friends were playing in and around NYC at the same time, and in a lot of the same clubs where Buckley and his cohorts played, but they never crossed paths. Too bad, because they would absolutely have hit it off when discussing music, as both had such wide-ranging interests and influences, including many in common.
And yes, I'd love to hear you wax poetic about Buckley's performance. Any time. ;-)
Buckley was the whole package! You can't look like that AND sing like that and not have people swwwoooooonnnnn - no matter what gender you are!
We used to love that Tim Buckley album too - Greetings from LA. Had it on vinyl.
Wellllll.... he was playing at a natural amphitheatre in the middle of the Swan Valley (a wine district) in Western Australia, in Perth. We had to beg and borrow a car to get out there - when we bought the tickets we didn't realise it was so out of town. As we got out there all we could see where all these cars in a paddock - what the? But it was an old bluestone quarry, so the whole gig was sunk into the earth!!
I remember leaning against the stage waiting for him to come out. There were no barriers in those days. It was a really simple stage and a beautiful setting - gum trees lining the top of the quarry, all covered in fairy lights, bluestone steps leading down. My friend and I were not giving up our spot for anyone (in fact, half way through, we pissed under the stage rather than miss a second).
When he came out, the full moon was rising right above his head, and all these little insects flitting around catching the light. When he opened his mouth we all just went dead quiet. I remember bursting into tears like a proper groupie, but I think I was just overcome with the emotion of it all. It was pretty spectacular.
He died two years later. Funny, we'd seen Nirvana the year before Kurt died and were beginning to think it was us.
Here's the photo we actually had blu-tacked to the dash of the Ford Falcon driving across the Nullarbor (me and my bestie) to WA that year. What were we like. Lol.
He was, indeed, the whole package.
And on top of his looks, and his amazing voice, he was also a first rate guitarist, with a nearly photographic memory for music. I can especially relate to the latter, as that was my dad's talent, as he could hear any song one time and it was a part of his repertoire from that day forward.
I'm not quite in their league, but I do have an exceptional memory for music, though it takes me more than one listen to commit it to memory. Marek is always surprised that, after hearing a song two or three times, I can usually sing it pretty well, albeit with the occasional misheard lyric. ;-)
Thanks so much for sharing your memories with me. Sounds like a lovely experience.
That concert at the quarry - the full moon rising behind Buckley - the fireflies or sparkly bugs - epic!!! Now that was worth the long drive! Thanks for sharing this. My sisters grew up in that era when musicians weren't kept behind protective barriers. Julie waltzed back stage to get an autograph from Glenn of The Eagles. His back was turned to her. She called him out. He turned his head toward her and said yeah, sure, she could have his autograph, when he was done pissing... A year later, Julie (not Glenn) was dead. So, the luck could be worse for you. :)
Ha good story. Those were the days!!
STOPYou've made a convert of me! I love Jeff (more so than his dad, Tim) Buckley. Son Miles, of course, knew Buckley - this song has been in movies -
Yeah, I am right there with you - I like some of Tim Buckley's work, and have a great deal of respect for what he accomplished as an artist . . . I mean, seven or eight albums by the time he died at 28? I know damned few artists who have equaled that track record.
But Jeff Buckley's music and delivery resonates with me much more strongly; I get his music in a way that I really don't "get" much of Tim's.
Though several friends older than I feel it the other way around, so it may truly be an age thing.
But, for me, a lot of it is that I just recognize in Jeff a similar breadth of musical influences to mine, and his was even broader, which speaks to the depth of his passion for music. And as his mom tells it, as a kid he decided that he wasn't going to be a vocalist like his dad, he was going to be a guitar god.
And damned if he didn't master that as well. When Marek and I were listening to "You and I," the album made from his first session tapes for Sony Records, which were literally just Jeff and his guitar, Marek's comment was that it sounded like we were listening to three guitars. Which it did.
What can I say - when it comes to Buckley, much like Steven Wilson and Mariusz Duda, I'm a total fangirl, and proud of it. Amazing musicians all. ;-)