Jeff Buckley Albums Ranked
Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by playing cover songs at venues in Manhattan’s East Village such as Sin-é, gradually focusing more on his own material. After rebuffing much interest from record labels and Herb Cohen, the manager of his father, singer Tim Buckley, he signed with Columbia, recruited a band, and recorded what would be his only studio album, Grace, in 1994. Since his death, there have been many posthumous releases of his material, including a collection of four-track demos and studio recordings for his unfinished second album My Sweetheart the Drunk, expansions of Grace, and the Live at Sin-é EP. Chart success also came posthumously: with his cover of Leonard Cohen’s song “Hallelujah” he attained his first number one on Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs in March 2008 and reached number two in the UK Singles Chart that December. Rolling Stone included Grace in its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and included Buckley in their list of the greatest singers. Here are all of Jeff Buckley albums ranked.
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7. Jeff Buckley Live À L’Olympia (2001)
“Grace” is an amazing work of genius; it’s a great place to start with Jeff Buckley. If you want to hear him live, you’ve got all sorts of choices, but I’m holding out for this one. He does a great series of tracks — you can see the listing above, and yes, it does include “Hallelujah”, a great version that sort of deconstructs it and puts it back together all by the end. His version of “Kick Out The Jams” is really funny, as he starts it out by saying something about “rocking out, White Boy style”. Everything he does is quasi-improvisatory and displays the full range of the expressive power of his voice (all however many octaves of it) as well as his guitar.”
6. You And I (2016)
“Jeff Buckley gained his following doing all kinds of covers in cafes and clubs, long before his recording career ever started, and these are mostly all of his best covers that he had been playing for years. Night Flight and Everyday People have some of his best wailing, and Poor Boy Long Way From Home is a fun tune that really sounds like some farmer playing guitar outside his shack sometime in the 1920’s. He puts his own personal touch into all of the covers and makes them his own with only his voice and guitar. It’s obviously not as good as Grace, nor is it meant to be; it’s in a more intimate and simple setting compared to most of Grace.”
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5. Mystery White Boy (2000)
“This particular live compilation, taken from his 95-96 tour across the world, is not only one of the best Jeff Buckley releases, but also one of the very best live albums ever created. Guitarist Michael Tighe (the rhythmic backbone to Buckley’s own wild and individual lead guitar) and Buckley’s mother Mary Guibert lovingly collected and put together this album by searching through each of the band’s performances throughout the entire tour (each show as individual as the next, I’m sure) to capture the Jeff Buckley live experience.”
4. So Real: Songs From Jeff Buckley (2007)
“So Real” is by far the best place for a person to discover the beauty of Buckley’s music. By culling the best bits of his recorded output and distributing them intelligently over one exceptional disk, it serves as a roadmap into the soul of an extremely gifted performer. Parts of this collection are merely brilliant; other parts are revelatory. The “Grace” selections sound every bit as good today as they did back in ’94, while songs like “Forget Her” and “Eternal Life” (both from posthumous releases) are frighteningly intense and emotionally stunning.”
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3. Live At Sin-é (Legacy Edition) (2003)
“The startling beauty in this piece is its fragility. It plays, if one can say so, like a quiet evening amongst close friends, where little is forced, and the occasional silences come to play as well as the impromptu jokes, allowing one ephemeral moment to blend within the next, permitting an occasional smile from the listeners. I have found myself listening to this amazing collection on repeat, making my way through the day, occasionally losing myself in work only to be drawn back by a certain song or joke.”
2. Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk (1998)
“The Sky Is A Landfill may be the best song he ever wrote, or at least my personal favorite. Based on the first ten songs it sounds like Jeff was about to eclipse Grace and pass it by; carrying on with his wondrous musical evolution. The fact that these songs were considered unfinished or inferior recordings to Jeff astounds me. He was definitely a perfectionist.”
1. Grace (1994)
“Now this is a solid ’90s rock album’ I’m used to rank these classics like What’s the story morning glory? Ten, Nevermind, or Siamese Dream 85 stars, but this is definitely a standout for me. I like all the songs, maybe the least favorite is Corpus Christi Carol or Hallelujah – and that’s just I happen to dislike it because of all the attention It got today, otherwise it’s a very beautiful song.. and album!”