Here's what they say about Jeff Buckley: "He died too young". Here's why they say it: Grace is simply one of the most amazing things you can do with your ears and a little digitally-encoded disc. He inherited the voice of his father, the legendary Tim Buckley--seven octaves, each of them only just enough to cram his big feverish dreams into--but his music was all his own. Think Van Morrison's Astral Weeks on drugs--but then drugs could give some kind of comfort, and there's no comfort in Grace; just constant flux between crippling despair and an almost violent joy. When "Last Goodbye" unfolds it's third different middle-eight of Bollywood strings and Buckley's ecstatic scatting, it's hard to believe an ordinary human could have had a hand in something so extraordinary. --Caitlin Moran

It seems to me that the best songs/tracks on this CD are (perhaps inevitably) the three standards, ie, "Hallelujah", "Lilac Wine" and "Corpus Christie Carol."

With regard to the first of these, I can't say I agree with a previous reviewer that Jeff Buckley's rendering totally supersedes the original.
Leonard Cohen , with that memorable, bantering growl of his, makes Buckley sound somewhat like a tearful choirboy!

It was interesting to hear the Britten piece but it comes from a choral work and Buckley's solo, pop-folk treatment - though possibly OK as a concert encore item - does not do it justice. But, on the other hand, "Lilac Wine" comes over very effectively and is the best recording of this song that I have heard.

As for the rest: some nice sounds but, on the whole, it strikes me as
being the usual the usual rock band stuff, including lots of sound and fury, signifying, one suspects, very little.

A ray of sunlight in humanity's tear.

This album is sublime from beginning to end. Stunning instrumentation, stunning vocals, stunning artistic vision, more passion than I have ever heard recorded, feverish dreamscapes and spiritual invocations, this is rock music's finest hour. Full stop. Buy this album. Now. You will be blown away!

Yes, this album won't be to everyone's taste. But that's the case for most albums of whatever genre. Look at the albums that Leonard Cohen and Neil Young have released over the years. Some albums will be revered by their fans and some will be reviled by others. Some fans may like most of their albums but not all their albums. It's all a matter of taste. But fortunately for these two artists, they have been around long enough to produce this many albums! Buckley had only one opportunity to show off his talents (disc wise) before he sadly drowned.

That is why it is an essential piece of music. He never got the chance to 'progress' and 'prove his worth'. Many bands/artists produce mediocre first albums and then move on to mega-stardom. This album is a little nugget of what might have been. Don't buy it because of myths or recommendations. Listen to it, it may take some time to fully appreciate it, but you will eventually.

My friend gave me this album to listen to a long time ago. I put it onto my itunes and there it stayed, unlistened to, until about an hour ago. I must say that it is absolutely amazing. I'm lost for words. Just stick it on, stick a pair of earphones in, grab a bottle of wine(as i'm doing right now!!!)and listen. Just listen. Enjoy it people!!

Jeff Buckley's first studio album 'Grace', hardly created a stir when it was released in 1994. The Britpop battle was well and truly on, and despite being heavily touted, Grace's performance was average at best. Those who heard it, liked it. There just weren't enough listeners, and 'Grace' went relatively quiet for a few years.

But, as is often the case, time works it's revenge. Whilst many best-selling albums of the mid-nineties are slowly being forgotten, 'Grace' is enjoying an amazing resurgence as the years go by. People are discovering it, loving it, and telling their friends. And this is a very good thing indeed. Jeff Buckley's passionate, haunting voice and dreamy, forceful lyrics are winning scores of people over, and today 'Grace' stands tall as one of the finest albums of the 90's.

I've lost count of the number of people i've shown this album to, who have then immediately fallen in love with it, and proclaimed it the best music of the nineties. Buckley covers so many genres, it simply defies belief. And over ten years later, people can still hear his influence everywhere. Radiohead, Coldplay, Razorlight, all carry the Buckley formula.

From the trippy, abstract 'Mojo Pin', to the beautiful 'Lilac Wine', to Buckley's masterpiece 'Hallelujah', to the roaring 'Eternal Life', this is music of the finest calibre.

Alas, there was to be no happy ending for Jeff. To combat his bi-polar disorder, he discovered that swimming fully clothed helped with his sudden mood swings. Wearing heavy boots, he went swimming and was caught by the heavy current of a passing boat. His lifeless body was discovered three days later. He was 30 years old.

But it's worth pointing out that 'Grace's' sudden turn-around in success, is not down to pity over his tragically short life, but due to the fact that the music is perfect. So ignore the nay-sayers and discover this for yourself, and you too will realise that music lost one of it's great talents too soon.

R.I.P Jeff.