2008 Woodie Awards
Buckley legacy kept alive by mother
Joel Kopplin
Issue date: 9/17/07 Section: Intermission
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Immensely talented singer/songwriter Jeff Buckley only had one complete album - 1994's "Grace" - under his belt when he died in an accidental drowning in 1997.
Since then, his mother, Mary Guibert, who also happens to be the head of the late musician's estate, has made a point of keeping her son's legacy alive with an excellent output of remaining material.
The material includes live albums and the unfinished material that would have been his sophomore album, My Sweetheart the Drunk. Guibert has stated within the past couple years that the material left to release is all but exhausted.
Perhaps that's why she has chosen to release this compilation album, "So Real: Songs From Jeff Buckley," an album that won't shed any real light for fanatics, but will serve as an admirable starting point for those curious as to what Buckley's music was all about.
Being that "Grace" was Buckley's only official album released in his lifetime, it's obvious a great deal of the material on "So Real" would come from these sessions.
Essential tracks like the hauntingly heartbroken and lamenting "Last Goodbye," the soulful and meticulously arranged "Lover You Should Have Come Over" and the now-classic cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," are all here to represent the impact of Buckley's debut.
"So Real" also does a legitimate job of displaying the earlier stages of Buckley's developing artistry. Before "Grace" and the addition of the incomparable Jeff Buckley Band, he performed as a solo artist, which is captured here with a few live performances at Sin-E, including a vibrant and singular version of "Mojo Pin," as well as a cover of a song made famous by French singer Edith Piaf, "Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin."
The compilation also gives listeners a taste of what would have been Buckley's follow up to "Grace." Though these tracks were incomplete at the time of his death, they still give the impression Buckley was on a steady path toward new avenues of artistic growth.
Since then, his mother, Mary Guibert, who also happens to be the head of the late musician's estate, has made a point of keeping her son's legacy alive with an excellent output of remaining material.
The material includes live albums and the unfinished material that would have been his sophomore album, My Sweetheart the Drunk. Guibert has stated within the past couple years that the material left to release is all but exhausted.
Perhaps that's why she has chosen to release this compilation album, "So Real: Songs From Jeff Buckley," an album that won't shed any real light for fanatics, but will serve as an admirable starting point for those curious as to what Buckley's music was all about.
Being that "Grace" was Buckley's only official album released in his lifetime, it's obvious a great deal of the material on "So Real" would come from these sessions.
Essential tracks like the hauntingly heartbroken and lamenting "Last Goodbye," the soulful and meticulously arranged "Lover You Should Have Come Over" and the now-classic cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," are all here to represent the impact of Buckley's debut.
"So Real" also does a legitimate job of displaying the earlier stages of Buckley's developing artistry. Before "Grace" and the addition of the incomparable Jeff Buckley Band, he performed as a solo artist, which is captured here with a few live performances at Sin-E, including a vibrant and singular version of "Mojo Pin," as well as a cover of a song made famous by French singer Edith Piaf, "Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin."
The compilation also gives listeners a taste of what would have been Buckley's follow up to "Grace." Though these tracks were incomplete at the time of his death, they still give the impression Buckley was on a steady path toward new avenues of artistic growth.