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