Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley [Hardcover]

David Browne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 23, 2001

Jeff Buckley drowned in a branch of the Mississippi River on May 29,1997 -- the same day his band was to join him in Memphis to begin recording his eagerly anticipated second album. With his death, a rock legend died stillborn, leaving behind scattered musical works in progress, a reputation for electrifying performances, and memories of a voice that flowed effortlessly up and down five octaves in a style that made even other musicians' lyrics and melodies uniquely his own. He also left behind Grace, a recorded collection of ten songs whose power, range, and haunting beauty were equal to anything that had been put on vinyl or CD in decades. Jeff Buckley was thirty years old on that final, tragic day -- just two years older than was the errant father whom Jeff rejected for rejecting him, whose heart was stopped by heroin more than twenty years before: the brilliant, troubled troubadour of the sixties Tim Buckley.

Based on interviews, many exclusive, with more than a hundred associates of both men, and letters, journals, and unreleased recordings, Dream Brother is a true story of twisting roads and bizarre parallel destinies. A double portrait of the musical life, it offers a fascinating and illuminating look at two eras of popular sound -- and explores the alluring starmaker machinery that aged Jeff and betrayed Tim. It is the story of the music, capturing in words the aural magic, the virtuosic experimentation, the wild,exhilarating rush. But first and foremost, it is the intimate, heartbreaking, and unforgettable story of two musicians blessed with consummate ability, each poised on the brink of stardom when the maelstrom dragged him down-a son searching for his father, a father searching for his soul, each pursuing the same demanding and dangerously seductive muse. Alternately sad and elating, riveting and revelatory, Dream Brother offers a stunning new understanding of the Buckley tragedies and legacies while brilliantly humanizing the Buckley myth. And it stands as a clear-eyed yet loving and compassionate memorial to the conflicted, self-effacing genius of Jeff and his wild rebel father, Tim, both of whom, for the briefest of moments, blazed brighter than all the other stars in the rock heavens.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A rich and moving portrait of two damaged, gifted people." -- --Esquire

"A vibrantly detailed portrait...as poetic and probing as its subjects." -- --People

"An engaging chronicle...will rivet even cursory music fans. Highly recommended." -- --Library Journal

"Essential and engrossing...a remarkable job." -- --The Onion

"Expertly reported...engrossing detail...captures how two lives intersected and ended in the same tragic place." -- --Rolling Stone

"Gripping...an incisive portrait of the ill-fated father and son." -- --Karen Burns, B&n.com

"Haunting, plaintive...a provocative picture of father and son." -- --E! Online

"The first book to draw a clear picture of these soulful cult icons." -- --Hear/Say magazine

"[A] meticulously researched dual biography." -- --Chicago Tribune

"[An] ambitious dual biography...uses a wealth of reportage to depict convincingly two generations of pop music turmoil." -- --The Washington Post

About the Author

David Browne is the music critic for Entertainment Weekly and a former reporter for the New York Daily News. His articles on music and popular culture have appeared in Rolling Stone, the New York Times, Mojo, and other publications. A graduate of New York University's journalism program, be is the recipient of a 1996 Music Journalism Award for criticism. He lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: HarperEntertainment; 1st edition (January 23, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061076082
• ISBN-13: 978-0061076084
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,247,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Browne is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, and his work has appeared in the New York Times, Time, Spin, the New Republic, Men's Journal, the Huffington Post, and numerous other outlets. For many years he was the music critic at the New York Daily News and then Entertainment Weekly, where, among other tasks, he worked as a roadie for Kiss, shared a bagel with Leonard Cohen in Cohen's Montreal home, and spent time on the tour buses with Coldplay and the Black Crowes.

Browne is the author of four books: "Dream Brother" (2001), a dual biography of the late musicians Jeff and Tim Buckley; "Amped" (2004), a history of extreme sports; and "Goodbye 20th Century" (2008), a biography of the pioneering indie band Sonic Youth. "Dream Brother" has been translated into French and Italian and has been optioned as source material for a major feature film on the life of Jeff Buckley, for which Browne will be a consultant. "Goodbye 20th Century" was hailed as "an expressway to the soul of of the influential band" by Vanity Fair, "a rollicking, epic biography" by Salon, and "compulsively readable" by Publishers Weekly. It has also been published in the UK and Germany, with a Japanese edition forthcoming.

He is the recipient of a Music Journalism Award for criticism. Born and raised in New Jersey, not far from Bruce Springsteen territory, he lives and works in New York City. He has a jones for sci-fi and horror films, non-fiction books, and those chocolate/coconut Girl Scout cookies, in no particular order.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Listen, February 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley (Hardcover)

I have been a Tim Buckley fan for over 30 years, and never knew much about him. After 300+ pages, I knew the facts, the families, the flaws and failings of this incredible artist whose work has been overlooked for so long. And I learned the sad consequences of his frailities on the life of his son Jeff, another unique talent. Their story, when it's all said and done, is the same sad saga that has been played out in so many families since time began. What made Tim Buckley so incredible, and important enough to warrant a book about him, was the music. If you want to know about Tim Buckley or Jeff Buckely, read Dream Brother. If you want to know them, listen to their music.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very well done, February 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley (Hardcover)

I have to admit I was wary of this book at first. Having known Jeff Buckley a bit from 'round the neighborhood during that magic Sin-e summer of '93, I knew that a dual-bio with his father Tim would have been among his worst nightmares. But Browne has artfully woven their stories together with an admirable degree of distance and sympathy. Though Browne is very even-handed in his treatment of the elder Buckley, Tim's actions speak for themselves: often a fearless and innovative musician, he was also horribly self-centered, indulgent, and selfish. Jeff comes off as the sweet one, which (mostly) he was. His loss was immense and breaks my heart to this day, and I'm glad that Browne has avoided the bottom-feeder approach of his contemporaries (like Victor Bockris) and written a book that is caring, accurate, and moving. If you like either or both Buckleys, this is a bracing read that will enrich the experience of listening to their music.

40 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read...but not enough., February 5, 2001

By 

"nycybergal" (New York City, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley (Hardcover)

After reading David Browne's book, I was left with the impression that all these people who surrounded Jeff Buckley had no idea who he was or how sick he was. He needed help, serious help and everyone -- from people who were friends with him to the record company and management, had no clue how to deal with this person who had a lot of pain and never really dealt with it. The book doesn't mention whether Jeff actually had some therapy done, if anyone pushed for Jeff to get some help, and the book doesn't seem to go into much depth as to who this Jeff Buckley was. There are no indepth readings of his journal, just bits and pieces, fragments.

It's mentioned he reflected everything and everyone around him -- which would happen when one has a loss of self. The book is amiss of what happened to him in Los Angeles -- it's sketchier than Tim Buckley's bio part, which is a surprise, knowing that Jeff's history is more recent than Tim's. I was left with the impression that Jeff was having a nervous breakdown, a serious one, and that no one was equipped or aware enough or cared enough to commit Jeff or do what needed to be done to help him and have him confront his inner demons.

It is said Jeff joked about tortured souls yet the one light this book shed showed that Jeff seemed to follow his father's steps in every chapter. And that his tortured good looks brought about his downfall -- everyone seemed so charmed by him in the book that no one helped him. His physical appearance during the final months screamed help yet no one seemed to be really listening -- not even his lovers, apparently. All we see are people being or getting uncomfortable with him and walking away towards the end, like they could smell death coming and they were too alive to get sucked in. What I also found interesting is that despite Jeff's claim that he did not want to be compared to Tim his father, he was drawn to anyone or anything that was related in some way shape or form to Tim. Jeff would go after it. Jeff never fully grieved for his father and his one outlet, music, was his release. When his music became "work", he started to dry up and his one outlet, his one lifeline, started to choke him.

The picture of his life with his mother was dramatically toned down. Although some of it was written up, there is the fact his mother had some say in this book, which makes me wonder how much was left out. We will never really know. All we have are his own references from various interviews of stuff that happened that he would sort of mention. His childhood, one of constant uprooting (clothes literally thrown into a paper bag for god's sakes!) and shuffling around with various father figures that came and went with a mercurial immature mother was something that would certainly have a lot to do with why Jeff turned out the way he did. Jeff was basically left to raise himself with the knowledge he was basically abandoned by his father who didn't love his mother enough and had deep emotional wounds from both parents that were left unattended and left to fester for years.

I grieve that Jeff never got a chance to have some peace on this earth -- and I'm angry too! This world will miss the talent he had. I don't think Jeff committed suicide out in the Mississippi waters but I can't help but think that if the tide sucked him under, he wasn't going to fight it.

This book taught me some very valuable lessons -- get therapy, grieve til you pass out, and find yourself. Get strong enough to get rid of people or distance yourself from those who only hurt you even if they are your own parents. Make a binding will so that the estate doesn't fall into the wrong hands. And thank your lucky stars if you have people around you who TRULY care. It made me grateful that I was able to forgive my parents for their f-kups. Otherwise, I would've destroyed myself.

This book also brings to mind the mystery of how some manage to triumph over their childhood traumas while others do not. You got old before your time. Rest in peace, Jeff.