DVD Review: Jeff Buckley - Grace

I often wonder what type of artist Jeff would have been had he lived. Would he have done a Dylan by sticking to his integrity? Would he have lived with a dash of eccentricity? Would he be ducking behind walls, and falling in love, wearing his heart on his sleeve? Would he have sold his beautiful downtown New York heartbreak to the corporate budget line? Or would he live in SoHo and jam in clubs despite all his Grammys?

Grace stands alone as the first and last officially finished and released album that Buckley had ever done before his death in 1997. The album itself is a pure gem. After almost 10 years of listening to this gorgeous and poignant work, it's a pleasure to celebrate this music with an anniversary edition packed with sensual outtakes and those hard to find, not seen in years music videos. I still get chills when I hear those haunting shivering guitar strings at the beginning of "Last Goodbye". Jeff was like a confused choir boy, with a voice like an angel and a fire in his belly that came through in a tidal wive of grief and longing. One minute he's singing in his sleep in "Mojo Pin", making a song sound like a sexual prayer, and then suddenly he bursts forth in a coital rythmn. "Grace", the title song laments the demise of purity and a fall from virtue. The cover of Leonard Cohen's "Halleluah" is haunting, cutting, it can send you on your knees. The longing and horny-ness of "Lover You Should have Come Over" melt into the religious "Corpus Christi" straight into the angry drive of "Eternal Love". You're left panting from exhaustion on the last track "Dream Brother". Did I leave out "Lilac Wine"? It's like velvet against your skin. "So Real"? It's like listening to a confession that turns into a burst of cathartic expression.

Who knows what kind of music Jeff would have made, or what kind of name he would have made for himself if he lived today. The fact is, we lost a wonderful, remarkable talent who had so much ahead. He left us with a refreshing sound and sensibility that other groups are trying to emulate today. Like Nick Drake before him - he was a quiet force, struck down too young. For those who know this album and don't understand the beauty, it's your loss. The re-master provides more depth to the sound and is a great tribute to its beauty. The technical quality is wonderful. For those who don't have the original album, or this special edition...get either one.