Jeff Buckley Rarities

"Nightmares By the Sea"---a pastel drawing by Kristy Parker (me) in tribute to Jeff Buckley


I'm usually not an overly sentimental person, but on Jeff Buckley's birthday (November 18th...a day before mine) I like to lie in my bed with a glass of wine and try to listen to all of his recordings that I have. Considering that he only released one official album, Grace in 1994, you would think that such a task would be far far from daunting. You would be wrong though, since there are numerous post-humous releases, his soundtrack work, bootlegs, radio shows, and alternatve takes.

For those of you unfamilar with Jeff Buckley, I feel so sorry for you. Seriously...go out and buy Grace right this second. It will be one of those albums that you would not hesitate for a second to replace if it went missing or becomes scractched. I really don't want to go into Tim Buckley comparisons (most people know him as the son of folk musician, Tim Buckley). Just know that he was a brillant guitarist...and that his voice is so romantic, lush, and angelic that he could rival Orpheus. So, if you don't already own one copy of Grace (or two if you're like me and got the Legacy Edtion too) that's your goal whenever you get your next paycheck. In the meantine, I decided to collect a few of the numerous Jeff Buckley rarites I have in my collection at the moment. Some of these tracks are EXTREMELY hard to find, even for all of you audiophiles who haunt Kwaya-Na-Kisser.

Highlights include:

• Jeff Buckley's reading of "Ullame", an Edgar Allen Poe poem
• A live radio show recording the the Elton John tune, "We All Fall In Love Sometimes"
• Alternate lyrics for the already beautiful Jeff tune, "Dream Brother"
• Jeff harnassing his inner Marvin Gaye on the fantastic "I Want Someone Badly"

Hallelujah/I Know It's Over (Leonard Cohen/Smiths cover) by Jeff Buckley
Unforgiven (early version of "Last Goodbye") by Jeff Buckley (solo)
Be Your Husband (Nina Simone cover) by Jeff Buckley (solo)
Dream Brother (Alternate Take) by Jeff Buckley
Eternal Life (Road Version) by Jeff Buckley
Cruel by Jeff Buckley and Gary Lucas
I Want Someone Badly by Jeff Buckley and Shudder to Think
We All Fall In Love Sometimes by Jeff Buckley (live radio broadcast)
Forget Her by Jeff Buckley (live at CBGB's)
Last Goodbye (acoustic B-side) by Jeff Buckley (live radio broadcast)
Gunshot Glitter by Jeff Buckley (rare Australian import track)
The Boy With The Thorn In His Side by Jeff Buckley (rare live bootleg)
Ullame (Edgar Allen Poe poem) by Jeff Buckley (spoken word)