I picked up Jeff Buckley's classic 1994 release "Grace" last week for probably the 20th listen since I first heard of him about four years ago. Time after time, I've found the emotive power of his voice and lyrics inspiring, yet the album continues to serve as a depressing reminder of a premature end to a promising musical life. Buckley and other artists whose lives tragically ended during my lifetime, such as Aaliyah and Selena, leave me to wonder what kind of music they could have contributed had their lives not been cut short.
I was introduced to Buckley in the backseat of my friend's car in an elementary school parking lot late on a Saturday night. My friend asked me if I had ever heard of Buckley, and he began to play Buckley's cover of the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah" before "no" could escape my lips. It was the beginning of high school, back when I usually sang along to jazz and R&B music. I wanted to find that soulful sound in other genres of music, like rock and alternative, and I found it in Buckley. I fell in love with Buckley's bluesy vocals on "Hallelujah" and demanded that my friend play the whole "Grace" album. We sat there listening to Buckley's recording until a cop pulled up next to us and told us we were trespassing.
I will never forget that night, and Buckley's music has continued to be a haunting presence in my life. I later borrowed "Grace" from my friend and tried to learn everything there was to know about Buckley. Track after track held promise, from his energetic, spiritual and belting title track "Grace," to his sentimental and emotional "Last Goodbye," to his pleading "Lover, You Should've Come Over."
Every song filled me with nostalgia and hope, unlike the dissatisfying alternative songs of the 2000s. I wanted more Buckley, so I sought out his second and last album, "Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk," released posthumously in 1998. Buckley was in the process of recording this album when he drowned in a 1997 swimming accident at the age of 30, so "Sketches" consists of tracks that Buckley intended to re-record.
"Sketches" showcases Buckley's signature style of Gothic alternative folk with a stripped down and slow-tempo twist as exemplified by the single, "Everybody Here Wants You." The album is of a quality and staying power similar to "Grace," an indicator that at the time of his death, Buckley was well-poised to continue his success as an artist.
Buckley remains of moderate fame for having contributed a blend of heavenly, bluesy and soulful music to the alternative music world.
Buckley's death was both tragic and sudden. His and other artists' premature deaths remain quite depressing, yet I find that I appreciate even more the music they created while alive. These artists were innovative early on in their careers and are remembered forever in this stage, without any knowledge of future skyrocketing success or eventual failure. These musicians' spirits will always live within their music, and my sense of wonder for what they could have done in later years lingers on.
