Everybody knows what it’s like to create an artistic moment. If you’ve spent a night making love, you know exactly what it means. To strip your ego where you are expressing yourself, wordlessly, collaborating on a moment that has an energy about it that is completely inspirational in a way you could never imagine. That’s the way art really is. ~ Jeff Buckley

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Back in 2006, Mojo magazine, arguably one of the best music magazines around, compiled a list of the Top 100 Albums of Mojo’s Lifetime. We’re talking about a timeframe of 1993-2006. Readers’ contributions were incorporated.

And the results?

1. Grace - Jeff Buckley (1994)
2. American Recordings - Johnny Cash (1994)
3. OK Computer - Radiohead (1997)
4. Time Out of Mind - Bob Dylan (1997)
5. Definitely Maybe - Oasis (1994)

The two things made me scrunch my nose in bewilderment:

a) Blur wasn’t in the top half of the list (um..Parklife?)

b) Jeff Buckley topped the list – really?

This wasn’t a complaint.  This was shock. As David Fricke described in the documentary Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley, Jeff is usually remembered in music antiquity as more of “a weird footnote” than as the heritage artist initially hoped for him. Something like the next Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen.

But unfortunately, I usually hear “Jeff who?”

Supernal musical talents. Outré and affected tendencies. An old vulnerable soul. One album’s worth of material. Somehow Jeff Buckley does more for music while on the periphery than most prevailing artists do in their whole careers.

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I don’t write my music for Sony. I write it for the people who are screaming down the road, crying to a full-blast stereo. ~ Jeff Buckley

I was not a Jeff Buckley fan until 5 years after his death. At my dreadful office job, I had a streaming radio station coming through the computer. They played a lot of British music (Muse, Radiohead, Blur, The Specials, Pulp) as well as lesser-known American bands like Soul Coughing, Gomez, G. Love & Special Sauce. And Jeff Buckley.

“Last Goodbye.” The first glissando of the notes brought back a flood of memories and emotions.  I vaguely remembered the video from my college days in ‘94. I remembered my impression of the handsome lead singer and how hard it was to tell him apart from the others because they all had the same haircut. I thought the song was noteworthy and made a mental note to explore this Jeff guy. There was something sorrowful in the voice. Disquiet. Passion.

I liked this wave of memories. My thoughts were nebulous. I knew that this one single album had garnered plenty of critical and popular praise. Maybe it was time I get in the know.

I’m convinced there is no way to accurately describe his music.  Labeling it as “alternative” would be like calling wine a “beverage.”

Musically, you can hear his influences. You can hear Zeppelin. You can hear Edith Piaf. You can hear UFO. You can hear Leonard Cohen. You can hear Nina Simone.

There is metal. There is jazz. There is folk. There is a haunting melody over swirling guitars. There is even a smidgen of Qawwali.

Jeff created remarkable beauty. His lyrics of “love gone bad” belie the sound of his record. The music inspires you to experience every emotion wholly and madly. To love with all of your being, whether it’s the lover next to you or that spot on the wall.  To be utterly alive.

I won’t go into how much this album changed me. I won’t babble on about how it was the first time a voice brought me to tears.

But I have yet to encounter another album quite like his.

His voice didn’t merely sing. It was an exhalation of his soul.

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My musical influences? Love, anger, depression, joy and dreams. And Zeppelin. Totally. ~ Jeff Buckley

If you are a die-hard Jeff Buckley fan, you have already heard Grace Around the World. The CD of live tracks is not much different than the countless bootlegs and imports available out there.

Once I became in the Buckley “know”, I was one of those that purchased just about anything you could find on  Amazon and Ebay. Deluxe editions of everything.

After a while, there was only so much that could entice me. But it’s Jeff Buckley. Even overplayed Buckley is still better than regularly programmed crap.

However, the best aspects about this latest release are the DVD’s included, depending on the version you buy.

The 1 DVD/1 CD version is priced at about $13.99, and the DVD contains live performances from around the world of each Grace song.  Be mindful of the price. My local Best Buy has a stack of this edition inadvertently (or  not) priced at $25.99. Bastards.

I was looking for the Deluxe edition (of course) which contains 2 DVDs/1 CD priced at $25.99. Even if the world is saturated plenty with Buckley material, I find it hard to deride a deal like that. There are other  items included, such as postcards and a poster, but I’m not concerned about that. It’s the two 1-hour DVD’s of just Jeff that I appreciate. And a CD. For under $30. Dude.

The second DVD is the Amazing Grace documentary referenced earlier. It’s not so much a biography but rather a simple collection of interviews and backstage footage of Jeff interspersed with interviews from loved ones. Chris Cornell. Jeff’s mom. The surviving band members. And – as a nice touch – the fans.

The oddest aspect of the film has to be the interview with Sebastian Bach. While it’s admirable that Sebastian liked Jeff enough to cover “Eternal Life”, I can’t agree that he plays a “different” or “harder” version of the song. Clearly, he’s never listened to Mystery White Boy. There are parts of “Eternal Life” that sound like an exorcism on that album. Pretty metal to me.

Jeff could rock out like the best of them, and he could utter a whisper that could break your heart. That’s the essence of his performance.

Does this film illuminate any earth-shattering new details about him? No. Is some of it new? Yes. Is some of it done before? Sure.

So what? Why do we watch our favorite movies over and over? Why do we wear those favorite pajama pants whenever we can? Why do we listen to Grace again and again? Because it feels damn good.

I don’t think true Buckley fans are viewing these things for the content as much as they are wanting to simply enjoy him. To witness the talent. To remember him.

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Click here for BBC Documentary: Everybody Here Wants You

One of his best songs:

BE THE BEST.

NO NEGATIVITY.

NO WEAKNESS.

NO ACQUISCENCE TO FEAR OR DISASTER.

NO ERRORS OF IGNORANCE.

NO EVASION FROM REALITY.

~ Jeff Buckley