[contest] Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace Around The World’
Posted by PJ in Contests, The Yellow Stereo
Photo: Merri Cyr
It’s been twelve years since the death of Jeff Buckley, who drowned in the Mississippi River on that fateful day of May 29th at the age of 30. We were left with only one completed album to remember him by called Grace. Of course, we have what he was in the process of recording that ended up being Sketches (For My Sweetheart the Drunk), but knowing that it was incomplete and never intended to be listened to — I just can’t bear to hear it a lot of the time. We’re left with that potential though, of what he could have been if his life wasn’t so tragically cut short.
When I first picked up Grace at nearby music store, I remember the words the person working the cash register said to me when he noticed that I was purchasing it. “Every man should own this album,” he said. After listening to the album for myself, there isn’t one person I haven’t said that very exact sentence to when discussing this album. Honestly, what more is there to be said? How else could I describe that listening experience as a way of looking into the man’s soul.
His music lives on, and his influence is seen through many, especially through the many tribute songs, reissues, and new releases that have come down the pipe over the years.
Which leads us to this, in honor of the 15th anniversary of the release of the highly seminal album Grace, a DVD+CD package called Grace Around The World hit the shelves. It contains previously unreleased live performances, along with audio and video footage from television performances filmed during the first world tour in support of Grace from 1994-1996. The deluxe edition also includes the Amazing Grace documentary, available for the first time.
I’m just going to be up front with this and say that this is one of the best contests we’ve ever had the pleasure of running here on the site, and I’m incredibly jealous of who actually wins this. I was actually offered two different prizepacks for this, so we’ll actually have two winners, courtesy of Toolshed, Fun Palace Entertainment, Cornerstone and Jeff Buckley Music. That being said, a few of our lucky readers will be able to win this Grace Around The World prize package that includes the following:
– Jeff Buckley guitar picks/tattoos
– One Grace Around The World poster
– A copy of the Grace Around The World DVD/CD
– Postcards from Grace Around the World
– a Limited Edition Mystery White Boy t-shirt with Merri Cyr’s photo image of Jeff (and band)’
And another which includes:
Deluxe Package of Grace Around the World:
– Grace Around The World DVD
– Grace Around The World CD
– The award-winning documentary Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley
– “Be the Best” T-shirt
– A Jeff buckley poster
If you would like to win either of these, please leave a comment with anything regarding Jeff Buckley that you would like us to know about. Whether it be his music, his life, etc. — just make it good! Let’s hear your stories of how you discovered his music.
Here are some extra goodies, including a series of podcasts conducted by Rolling Stone, which includes the likes of Moby, Duncan Sheik and Mary Guibert, Jeff Buckley’s mother.
Listen :: Duncan Sheik
Listen :: Moby
Listen :: Mary Guibert
Additional posts you may be interested in:
Entries (RSS)
I’m in! Haha….
Hey P.J. ,
I recall so well the day I discovered the music of Jeff Buckley… On a whim I picked up his CD Live at Sin-e in a record store and became transfixed by his amazing voice. Concerts, the Grace CD, television appearances and the old Jeff Buckley mailing list would follow. All of them opened up a whole new world of music to me- Big Star, Nina Simone and countless others… He was the one the nudged me in those directions and his influence still guides me to this day.
I miss Jeff Buckley and in the pantheon of music and music stars, he was truly an original. I miss his zany sense of humour and uncommon respect he held for his fans. I’m fortunate to have experienced him as a man and not necessarily the mythical rocker in some ways he has become since his untimely passing.
Either way he left a rich legacy of memories for me and he changed the way I listen to music.
Cheers,
Sean
That Live at Sin-é cd is soooo good. I’d consider it just as essential to listen to as Grace.
Please count this as an entry to your contest! I was working at a photo lab and a photographer mentioned he had just seen Jeff Buckley at the Green Mill here in Chicago. I hadn’t heard of Buckley at the time. The photographer said the show was TERRIBLE and got progressively worse as the evening wore on, but that I HAD to get Grace. I did and I still remember where I was sitting in my apartment looking across the room at the windows and listening in awe.
i was first introduced to Jeff Buckley by my first ‘proper’ girlfriend who during our old fashioned courting period passed on a beat up old cassette tape (sweet nostalgia) of Grace.
at the time i was typically listening to grunge bands of the day, nirvana, mudhoney, sonic youth, i was a lank haired dirty flanel wearing teen alright, as such i didn’t know what to make of it on first listen. i was sure of one thing though; the band had an awesome backing singer, since try as might i couldn’t link together the delicate etheral whisper of hallelujah with the howling cresendo of grace, or much of the albums breathtaking octave spanning theatrics (imagine my surprise when i later realized what i twot i’d been).
regardless of the lack of info (no google back then) by the time i saw my girlfriend next, a couple days later, all i wanted to know was what else is there and when are they touring the uk next. it was here i was to learn he had tragically drowned and to add to the grief it was less than a month ago.
my underlying sadness was only to grow over coming months, but was soon replaced with an unhealthy obsession for more JB wherever i could find it. all these years later i still have the tape (though regrettably no means to play it), but fortunately i, along with everyone, have a whole lot more too.
..however, i DON’T have this lovely looking new box set. and i DO have new girlfriend with a birthday rapidly approaching and would like to pass the gift of JBs magic on to another like minded soul. after all who wouldn’t love that?
tatty bye
xxx
Okay seriously, if I win this you will make me the happiest girl. I have adored Jeff Buckley fr years and years. I first heard his cover of Hallelujah years ago, and fell in love with his voice. The entire Grace album has become so special to me, it’s like beautiful soul poetry set to music. His voice was so softspoken yet his singing was so soulful and raw, I still get chills when I hear him sing out the last line in the song “Morning Theft” from the Sketches album (“I miss my beautiful friend….”) his voice sings out with so much passion that you can’t help but feel what he’s feeling.
I even had an artist friend of mine custom paint a pair of Jeff Buckley shoes for me! They have his face on them along with one of my favorite lyrics from Lover You Should’ve Come Over. If you want to see pics of the shoes, feel free to email me!
Please make me the happiest girl ever. I would be ecstatic to win, and I really do adore Jeff so so much.
Amber
shevilkenevil1 at aol dot com
I discovered him a couple of years ago, when I really got interested in music, especially music that wasn’t played all over on tv and radio. I searched for some other music, wich lead to me hearing some songs of The Smiths. I had never heard of them, but got really interested, and discovered Jeff’s version of their “I Know Its Over”. I was stunned, I rarely get goosebumps, but anyone who have heard his songs can hear that he does so much more than just sing and play. His voice isn’t only incredibly beautiful, it has something I can’t really explain. I won’t call it “the x-factor” because it is something much more. His soul shines through his music, and because of that his voice reach out to my soul and wraps around it like a blanket. When I found out more about him and his music, I got only more amazed by him. I couldn’t believe how I had never heard of him before, and I was so devastated when I really thought about the fact that he was dead, and I would never get to look forward to going to his conserts or be exited by his next new album. I was 5 when he died, how i whish i was born in a different time and space. I can’t know how his career would have been had he never drowned, and he probably would have hit the wall at some point, but I know he would have made a lot of beautiful music. God, “Corpus Christi Carol”, angel in a human body, that’s what he is. Hearing his version of “Yeh Jo Halka Halka Saroor Hai” by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan opened my eyes, and made me more open to non-verstern music. Jeff Buckley has been a part of what has made me who I am today, not bad for a dead man! It’s impossible to choose only one favourite song, but the recording of him singing his late father’s “Once I Was” is incredibly touching, one among many pearls.
Only recently introduced to the rest of his stuff after only knowing him for his amazing version of Hallelujah, but glad I did.
Grace is the album that I will take on an island!
It has been following me everywhere I have been and it will be always a part of me.
Thanks Jeff
Grace was the first Jeff Buckley song I ever heard. My friend played his CD for me one day while we were in the car, and by the time the song was finished I knew I would never be the same. Jeff changed the way I think and feel about music. With his beautiful, sorrowful voice I feel like he could’ve changed the world, too.
Jeff is my favorite musician of all time. I have never heard anyone that even compares to him in the least. He had so much talent and love for music. I only wish I was older when he was around so I might have had the chance to attend one of his shows.
There was a time that couldn’t go to sleep without watching “The Making of Grace” documentary. I’m not weird or anything, I’m just devoted. Jeff just touched me in such a way that I wanted to experience his music and who he was every time. I still remember watching the BBC documentary about him a couple of years ago. The very last part was probably one of the most profound things that have touched me. When all his friends were reminiscing about his death, I suddenly felt that I myself missed him even though I’ve only known about him for a couple of months. I felt a longing, wishing somehow that he continued on to be present with us. It’s really not just about the music. It’s who he was and what he stood for. His soul, his personality really just transcends through his music. His songs came out so pure and the way he performed them was nothing short of entrancing. In music today we have a dearth of such artists. I don’t even think there’s anyone out there that can come close to what Jeff projected. That’s why he was so special and his death such a heavy loss. I can’t wait to experience Grace Around the World because I get to meet Jeff again and see him and his music from a whole new perspective.
I still get mesmerized when listening to the song Grace. The chord progression, the words, and especially his voice–they always have a way of tugging at my soul. Grace is my all-time favorite album and Jeff my all-time favorite musician. Who he was, we will never have again. I keep this as my tribute to him.
the first time i remember hearing the name jeff buckley was when my boyfriend at the time quoted a line from last goodbye to me: “kiss me, please kiss me, kiss me out of desire baby and not consolation”…i remember being instantly intrigued and ran out and bought every jeff buckely cd and dvd i could find. i have been in love ever since. as an actor i have always found that buckley’s music has the ability to prepare me for any role i am about to embark upon. he is an artist’s artist. it was never about the fame or the fortune. it was about the soul, the heart, the love, the heartbreaks, the rises and falls of this world, our lives, our hopes and dreams. jeff buckely has the ability to make you fall to your knees in utter despair of the beauty of a note hit with such soaring beauty that you feel the sorrow of a man whos heart was nothing short of a work of art.
I found a thoughtful consideration of Buckley at Pandalous. It’s here: http://www.pandalous.com/nodes/in_the_aeroplane_over_the
Through Jeff Buckley’s music I was able to discover Tim Buckley.
Both of them opened for me new perspectives as a musician. They teached me that I can go very far with my voice and to trust my instincts on that.
Other than that what can be a greater gift for a musician?
As soon as I learned the son of Tim Buckley had released music, I had to have it. Just to see his face recalled what we lost with Tim passing. Then, to hear Jeff’s voice, soaring-and taking me along, offered much comfort in a time of many losses. “It reminds me of the pain I might leave behind” The pain he left behind remains, but so does the joy he shared with us.
I caught the two Green Mill shows in Chicago in November, 2004. I went solo to the first show and got to the Mill early in the afternoon. I ended up doing a few too many shots of tequila with Mr. Buckley…which certainly affected his playing a bit, but it was still a wonderful set. The next night was much better and I ran into him the next year prior to the Metro show and had a laugh over it. If you listen closely to the DVD of that concert, you can hear me teasing him right at the beginning of the show to make sure “no tequila tonight”…